West Ham manager David Moyes has hailed January loan signing Jesse Lingard. The 28 year-old winger is tipped for Player of the Month after three goals and two assists in his first five appearances for the Hammers. At Manchester United Lingard was not selected for a Premier League game and was used in only 179 minutes of first team action in the EFL and FA Cups. A delighted Moyes said, “He is in good physical condition and is getting better with match practice. I think he is still four or five games from complete fitness and we are still trying to get him in peak condition. Finding someone who makes a difference to a team is difficult and we have struck gold with Jesse.” Having seen how well Jesse is playing, United’s Ole Gunner Solskjaer is already considering bringing him back after the current loan period but West Ham have signalled that they would like to sign him permanently.
United closer to signing Varane from Real Madrid
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Following several enquiries by Manchester United, Real Madrid have indicated that their centre-back Raphael Varane could be available. His contract with Real runs out next year and the player’s agent has told the Spanish club that he is unlikely to accept a new deal. That means Real have just over 12 months to make money from a transfer otherwise Varane will leave for free. Real have even offered him the captaincy as part of the deal after a glittering 10-year career at the Bernabeu. January’s accounts revealed that Real have debts of £850million and the club still want to sign Paris St-Germain dynamo Kylian Mbappe. Varane is 28 years-of-age in April and United want him to partner Harry Maguire in a dual centre back role. I have also learned that United Vice-Chairman Ed Woodward had an informal breakfast with Real Madrid president Florentine Perez a few months ago and Varane joining United was discussed.
Time to say goodbye to some of the loyal Liverpool servants
Liverpool management, along with manager Jurgen Klopp have admitted that the rest of this season and the coming summer transfer market, will be a huge test for just how good this current Liverpool side is. Liverpool have for the past four years been supreme but now it has all fallen apart and the high achieving stars need overhauling. That means that this summer will say goodbye to some of the Red’s loyal servants over the past few years. Injuries have been a problem and Liverpool accept that but the players stepping up have not produced first class quality football. Klopp accepts that the likes of Salah and Sane score regularly because of the service provided to them but this has been lacking during the last few months. A summer clear-out with new blood being brought in is inevitable.
How Solskjaer beat Pep Guardiola in derby match
I am full of admiration for Manchester United this week. Their display in beating City 2-0 was perfection in many ways. Ole Gunner Solskjaer worked out how to defeat his rival Pep Guardiola in the Manchester battle of the giants by studying videos of their patterns of play. At United’s AON training ground for three days they practised Solskjaer’s and his assistant Mike Phelan’s plan. City’s winning run of 21 games ended because he beat Guardiola with tactics. At last Monday’s training session the United manager showed a video of the match and pointed out all the highlights. And most of them belonged to United. As Solskjaer pointed out, the plan was to stop City’s wide players Sterling, Mahrez, Silva and Foden from stretching their opponents by hugging the sidelines and drawing out defenders then moving inside with City midfielders and defenders coming through the middle. United’s full backs Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka made sure the City wingers were pegged back and driven back into their own half. Combined with the sheer pace of the United front men they tore City apart with break-away moves which resulted in goals. As Solskjaer also pointed out in the session, his team have learnt how to break down teams which doggedly sit in and defend. That is something else the boss was working on with his assistants this week. By the way, last weekend was the first time both Manchester City and Liverpool had lost at home on the same day since 2007!
Tuchel admits Pulisic and Emerson have suffered
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has been very successful since taking the helm at Stamford Bridge. However, he shared with us this week that he has been unfair to a couple of players. Christian Pulisic worked under Tuchel at Dortmund. He said this week that he had nothing but good things to say about the striker however niggling injuries and a strong squad has limited his appearances. Emerson (Palmieri) is another who has been left out but again Tuchel praises the midfielder and says his opportunities will come. He stressed that both players were training hard and were determined to prove their value to the team and he respects both them and their attitude. With just a hint of dissatisfaction from Pulisic himself, six of the top Premier League clubs have already shown interest in signing him should he decide to leave.
United want Cavani to stay
I was sad to hear that Edinson Cavani doesn’t want to continue to live in Europe and intends to return to South America after his current one year contract expires this summer. I spoke with Manchester United and they say nothing has been decided but they are aware the player’s father has spoken to the local press in Uruguay and said the rumours are true. It appears that Edinson wants to play for Argentinian club Boca Juniors although his paywould be cut from £4m at United to £3m at Boca. His father is reputed to have said that Edinson does not feel comfortable in England, is unhappy at Old Trafford and wants to be closer to his family. This surprises me because he has been made most welcome, is highly respected by other players and has a voice in the dressing room. I have certainly not heard anything which indicates there is any sort of problem. United intend to hold talks with the striker and will try and persuade him to stay for one more season. Since joining from PSG he has scored seven goals and provided two assists. Last weekend he was on the substitute’s bench and I know he was unhappy about this.
Leicester planning for Vardy’s successor
I always write about Jamie Vardy with a tinge of sadness. This great striker only came to prominence as he was approaching his mid to late twenties and previously had played much lower league football. Vardy has been arguably the best striker in the Premier League during the past five seasons but despite reaching the age of 33 he is still electrifying and scores with regularity. However, manager Brendan Rodgers knows that as Jamie approaches his mid-thirties it is time to look for replacements to step into his shoes. Rodgers said this week, “For me he is irreplaceable. His story, his qualities and what he’s given to Leicester City and the Premier League is so unique. I’ll always look to have speed at the top of the field, but there are other attributes that we would also look for such as awareness and ability to make assists.” Leicester’s magnificent new £100million training facility will also include their much envied training academy and many of the club’s best players have been home grown. Thomas and Barnes are two glittering examples of what Leicester’s recruitment have achieved and Rodgers admits that the club does not have the spending power of the “big six” and therefore the academy will probably provide Vardy’s successor.
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