There are some great matches this weekend but quite honestly who can look beyond the vital six pointer between Manchester City and Liverpool. The tussle at the top is incredibly exciting. Which team would you put your money on to win the title? My money is staying in my pocket because this could go either way. Manchester City have the edge on Sunday being at home but Liverpool are on a very hot streak and this match will be tight. City’s Kevin de Bruyne said this week, “It is really big and the game is one of my biggest since joining the club. As a player you want to win games and trophies and if you want to do that then you need to win these big games. We have done good things but their quality is good too.” Jurgen Klopp has perhaps the biggest headache with Mo Salah’s drop in form. Training has come second this week for both clubs as they fought in the Champions League but Klopp has spent extra time with his trainers and Salah. Without blaming Mo’s international duties with Egypt he showed his concern by telling us, “These players will not come to me and ask for a break so I have to give them the break at a specific moment. Hopefully together we use that little break and go again.” Klopp is wrestling with his team selection and at the time of writing this column he has not decided who to select given the mid-week Champions League win in Lisbon. Klopp believes Mo is the best player in the world but recognises that he is very off form at the moment. He took both Mane and Salah off after one hour into the match and said, “Both boys came back from Africa and it is not easy because of the massive pressure on their shoulders from their national teams. Luis Diaz has performed well enough for selection against City and Bobby Firmino showed enough form to put himself into the starting team. Klopp’s biggest challenge as he works this week is to decide whether or not to start Mane, Salah and Jota and it will be a last minute decision.
All set for Ten Hag to join United
Of the three managers interviewed for the job of managing Manchester United Erik ten Hag is clear favourite according to my sources. Football director John Murtough and technical director Darren Fletcher spent over three hours with ten Hag and have advised the United board to trigger his release clause from Ajax which I believe is £1.67 million. Current interim manager Ralf Rangnick supports the decision. I am told ten Hag wants to select his backroom staff, assistant trainers etc before formally accepting the position. He also wants assurances from the club about future plans at Old Trafford. Mauricio Pochettino would have cost £15 million but his failure to take PSG to the Champions League final stages has counted against him and could even cost him his present job. He has one of the most expensive set-ups in world football but success eludes him. Ten Hag approached ex-players Robin van Persie to join him at United but he wants to remain in Holland and Ruud van Nistelrooy is now manager of Dutch club PSV Eindhoven. Jaap Stam, Steve McClaren and former Ajax boss Peter Bosz are possibilities to join ten Hag.
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Kulusevski available for £30 million
I have learned from Tottenham that the club will take up their option to sign Dejan Kulusevski as soon as possible. Spurs can sign him in the next two transfer windows. His loan contract is for 18months and Spurs paid £8 million to Juventus in January. The 21-year-old will be available to them for £25 million which is a bargain considering his performances and effective link-ups with Harry Kane and Son Hueng-Min. If Dejan stays on loan and plays in fifty per cent of Tottenham’s games next season and they qualify for the Champions League, the price rises to £30 million.
*Tottenham also said they are on the verge of completing a new £35k long term deal for Oliver Skipp.
Eriksen wanted permanently by Brentford
The impact of Christian Eriksen at Brentford has been enormous. Not only have the Bees broken their run of defeats with three wins but last weekend’s 4-1 win against Chelsea was one of the best in their history. All of that has been achieved since Eriksen’s return. Manager Thomas Frank has heaped praise on the Danish maestro. Frank said this week that he is hoping to persuade Christian to stay until after his contract ends in June. Frank is concerned because Tottenham boss Antonio Conte has been monitoring Eriksen’s progress and is looking at possibilities for his return to the north Londoners. Manchester United and Inter Milan also have scouts watching Brentford’s games. Frank said this week, “It’s no secret that I want him to continue next season. Christian is enjoying his football and really enjoying being back. I know I will have to answer questions about him staying at the end of the season but let’s see what happens.”
Zaha has new belief playing for Patrick Viera
Whether or not Wilfried Zaha will stay at Crystal Palace has long been a subject for discussion. The incredibly talented winger has been the Palace stand-out player for several seasons. He has said many times that he wants to play top four football and encouraged the big clubs to make a bid for his services. Now things have changed. Why? Because he is caught up in the new belief at Palace brought about by Patrick Viera. Zaha is excited about the new manager’s training sessions, his respect for his players and their respect for one of the best centre halves ever to play football. The 29-year-old Zaha scored his tenth goal of the season when Palace thrashed Everton 4-0 and was again on the scoresheet when Palace embarrassed Chelsea. He commented, “This shows the direction the club are going in. The players we have brought in, how we play, how we train, it just shows what we have got for the future.”
Newcastle living the life of luxury…
Money doesn’t always buy you everything. During the international break Newcastle manager Eddie Howe took his players to the Dubai Nad Al Sheba training camp. There the players enjoyed two days off in the sunshine and an Olympic size swimming pool. Following that Howe wanted them to be in peak condition and so they used the hyperbaric chambers, cryotherapy chambers and state-of-the-art training apparatus. The team never enjoyed such extravagance under previous ownerships. The team returned to the UK bursting with health, vitality, wellbeing and suntans. What happened? Tottenham crushed them 1-4 last weekend. As I said, money doesn’t etc…
United’s failures cost Ronaldo a fortune
When Cristiano Ronaldo left Juventus for Manchester United his pay packet went down considerably. At Juve he was earning an astonishing £800k a week – yes, that’s £40 million a year!) and this reduced to £450k a week at United but don’t feel too sorry for him as that is still over £20 million a year. And Cristiano is reputed to be worth approximately £200 million.To make up the difference the Portuguese hot shot was due to earn bonus payments but United’s form has declined so much that they have crashed out of the Champions League and other domestic competitions. All of these have cost Cristiano a lot of money. He will however likely pick up United’s top scorer award for this season with currently 18 goals which took his total during his playing career to an astonishing 807 goals which makes him the highest scorer ever in world football!
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