Newcastle called an emergency meeting on Wednesday in order to work out a strategy to keep their coach Eddie Howe. The Football Association accepted England boss Gareth Southgate’s resignation after losing the Euro 24 final and Howe was immediately installed as the favourite to take over the national team. Other coaches already under consideration are ex-Chelsea boss Graham Potter and from overseas Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino and Jurgen Klopp.
Southgate earned £3m a year which is far below the pay of a Premier League coach and Howe is already earning a basic £4million and if Newcastle finish in the top four this coming season he will be paid a bonus of £1m. The FA are not in a hurry to appoint Southgate’s successor and it is possible that the England Under-21 coach Lee Carsley will be given the job until a final decision is made. Carsley won the European Under-21 title in 2023.
Newcastle have already started preparing their defence and pointed out that Howe is on a long term contract. However, with his main “protectors” Amanda Stavely and her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi having left the club, the Saudi owners Public Investment Fund are already demanding Champions League qualification for 2026 and if Howe doesn’t start the new season he will be under immediate pressure.
Ten Hag and Sancho meet to make up
The long running argument between United boss Erik Ten Hag and Jadon Sancho has been well documented. At last the pair have met up and discussed repairing their relationship. It is unknown if Sancho has actually apologised for calling Ten Hag a liar when the coach criticised his training efforts but Sancho is scheduled to go on United’s pre-season tour.
Ten Hag became very annoyed at the end of last season every time journalists questioned him about the situation and refused to refer to Jadon by name until the winger joined Borussia Dortmund on loan where he put in some excellent performances. Ten Hag is scheduled to give a press conference at California’s UCLA during the club’s pre-season tour and will almost certainly face questions relating to the situation. It is possible that Sancho will be sold before the season even begins but if that does not happen he could line-up against Fulham in United’s opening match of the season and I can only imagine what the United and Fulham crowds will chant and sing.
Transfer News…
**Manchester United appear to have beaten Real Madrid and Liverpool by agreeing to sign Lille defender Leby Yoro for £52m. The 18 year-old is rated as one of the best young centre back prospects in Europe. As I write this he is expected in Manchester for a medical and to finalise details.
**Arsenal’s £30m rated midfielder Emile Smith Rowe has received offers from Fulham and Crystal Palace which the Gunners have turned down. The 23 year-old wants to play regularly but groin and knee injuries have severely cut his playing time and eventually he fell out of favour with Mikel Arteta. I am told Fulham intend to raise their offer. **Crystal Palace have also contacted Arsenal about Eddie Nketiah and Manchester United’s unwanted Mason Greenwood.
Is the role of a No9 changing?
Many people criticised Harry Kane for his lack of performance in the Euros but I think this can be explained. Like many of my football journalist witnessed I noticed the demise of the Number 9 role. Some of the best strikers in the world were almost redundant. Alvaro Morata and Harry Kane were often left in isolation in the final and both were eventually replaced. Kylian Mbappe, Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski – among the world’s best – were often almost spectators. The reason for this is simple, wingers and attacking fullbacks progressed on both sides of the pitch and then passed back to allow midfielders to come through the centre to mount an attack on goal. In the final Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, Marc Cucurella and Danni Carvajal all succeeded because of a system which used the wings instead of going through midfield and passing onto the strikers.
I am wondering how many coaches watching around the world will adopt this style of play.
Half the City squad given extra holidays
Manchester City have given their Euro stars an extra three weeks holiday. The problem for Pep Guardiola is that there are so many of them not yet returning. Kevin de Bruyne, Bernado Silva, Jeremy Doku, Nathan Ake, Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji, John Stones, Rodri, Kyle Walker and Copa America winner Julian Alvarez were not present at pre-season early training which started last Monday.
Grealish doesn’t want to be out of City’s revolving door
England is still recovering from failing to win Euro 24 but for the domestic players it was business as usual. Manchester City saw a smaller group than usual returning for pre-season training.
All eyes are on Jack Grealish who was left out of the England squad and has been working hard with his personal trainer in Portugal. City insiders are expecting Jack to make up for lost time and he will be a big part of pre-season training. Pep Guardiola is planning to work closely and one-on-one with his midfield winger which is an opportunity Jack cannot afford to waste.
Onana making the move from Everton to Villa
I have waited all week for Aston Villa to announce the arrival of Amadou Onana from Everton. The Belgian has agreed a deal for about £50million. He will join other incoming players Ross Barkley and Enzo Barrenechea which considerably strengthens the midfield despite the sale of Douglas Luiz who has joined Juventus for £42million.
Onana was brought in by Frank Lampard but the dynamic of the team has changed under Sean Dyche with Everton playing more direct football and competing for less possession which often bypasses the midfield so they are not caught moving forward which often happened under Lampard. Onana simply did not fit into Dyche’s style of play which was emphasized by his omission from key games especially in April when the Toffees won three games and he did not feature in any of them.
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