Liverpool coach Arne Slot wants to play more possession-based football and consequently intends to strengthen his No6 position. He needs a more technical player who can fill the role played by Rodri at Manchester City. Slot wants to rely less on Wataru Endo, signed last summer from Stuttgart after failing to capture Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo both of whom signed for Chelsea.
Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi is the man Liverpool have identified to strengthen their midfield. Barcelona former coach Xavi described Zubimendi as a player who can dominate with or without the ball. He is a deep lying playmaker who could be described as similar to Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets and he can create space and dribble past players. Most importantly, he won possession in midfield more than any other La Liga player last season. His £51million release clause is the only potential problem because Sociedad would want the payment made immediately.
Gallagher forced out of Chelsea
Conor Gallagher reluctantly agreed to join Atletico Madrid after being told that his team appearances would be limited at Chelsea this season. Many fans are furious that one of their own has been forced out of the club especially after proving to be the Blues best player last season.
Diego Simeone’s Atletico and Chelsea forced Gallagher to make a decision by last Sunday night but left him little chance to refuse. He was told that he would not be allowed to train with the first team after returning from holiday.
With only 12 months left on his contract Chelsea say they had to capitalise on selling him because of the club’s financial profits sustainability position and Conor is pure profit having risen from the club’s academy.
He had already rejected a deal to join Aston Villa which would have been the claret and blues club record spend at £57million.
Chelsea ended their pre-season tour of America with a 2-1 loss to Real Madrid and boss Enzo Maresca admitting he is struggling with his team’s defensive problems.
The club ended its tour after conceding 12 goals in five games. Maresca played with Reece James, Benoit Badiashile, Levi Colwell and Malo Gusto in his backline which gave Chelsea plenty of pace but they were vulnerable to balls played in behind those defenders. Chlesea looked slow, gave up too much space and Real’s forwards were able to stretch the defence. Maresca blamed his players for still doing what Mauricio Pochettino taught them and he wanted his defensive line to drop deeper when necessary. Chelsea finish their pre-season on Sunday when they play Inter Milan at Stamford Bridge.
Atletico Madrid have cleared the way for Samu Omorodion to leave as Chelsea move in with a £35million offer for the 20-year-old. Chelsea want a new striker and Atletico have agreed an £81million deal to sign Julian Alvarez from Manchester City and therefore Omorodion can leave.
Sancho – Zero to Hero
The campus at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) breeds champions.
So many of their athletes have risen to the top in their chosen sports. The campus was the base for Manchester United’s pre-season tour of the USA and coach Erik Ten Hag was hoping that some of the star dust would rub off on his team. The plan did not work perfectly with some questionable performances but Ten Hag remains confident that this year they will do well enough to forget last season’s 6th place in the league. He was excited and animated on the touchline when United destroyed Real Betis in San Diego. He was also delighted with the work Ruud van Nistlerooy, Rene Hake, Andreas Georgson and Jelle ten Rouwelaar have contributed giving the United forward line aggression and impetus. He was particularly pleased with Marcus Rashford, Amad Diallo and Jadon Sancho – yes, I did say Jadon Sancho! He could well become a major part of the United strike force having resolved his differences with Ten Hag and their joint decision to draw a line under last season’s massive disagreement but the rumours regarding him possibly joining Paris Sant-Germain are still rumbling on.
Ten Hag is also excited about the arrival of Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee although the 18-year-old centre back Yoro will not be available for a while due to injury.
United are still negotiating to bring in Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt from Bayern Munich. United’s biggest challenge is to keep their players fit and avoid last season’s total of 60 injuries when regular first team players were often not available.
My latest information from inside the club is that Yoro will likely miss three months at the beginning of the season and Rasmus Hojlund six weeks.
Community Shield: Manchester City v Manchester United
This weekend’s Community Shield promises to be a test of two teams who expect to be challenging for Premier League title honours this season. The rivalry between the two Manchester clubs, United and City, will definitely guarantee a lively atmosphere and plenty of spice!
United lost their final pre-season match against Liverpool 3-0 but Erik Ten Hag does not give much importance to that result. With Rasmus Hojlund sidelined because of a hamstring injury, Jadon Sancho did well playing centre-forward. The 24-year-old is a definite option. “That is what we can do if we don’t have the availability of Rasmus,” said Ten Hag.
Match facts: This will be the 194th Manchester derby and their third Community Shield with United winning in 1956 and 2011. Can City gain revenge for losing the FA Cup final.
2-1? City have lost their last three Community Shield games. United have won more Shields than any other club and can boast 21 wins but the last one was in 2016. Pep Guardiola and Erik Ten Hag will not choose their line-ups until Saturday morning however this is what I am hearing from each camp:
Possible team selection City: Ortega, Walker, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol, Kovacic, Rodri, Savinho, De Bruyne, Doku, Haaland.
Possible team selection United: Onana, Dalot, Yoro, Martinez, Malacia, Mainoo, McTominay, Garnacho, B. Fernandes, Rashford, Sancho.
West Ham strengthens striking force
Good news at last Hammers fans…West Ham have completed the signing of Niclas Fulkrug from Borussia Dortmund. The German striker has agreed a four year deal costing the club £27million and he becomes the fifth player to arrive under new coach Julen Lopetegui. Fulkrug should fit in nicely because he worked with technical director Tim Steidten at Werder Bremen and he is looking forward to working with Lopetegui. He said this week, “The chance to play under the head coach is really exciting. His playing style is important for me and I am confident that under him I will be able to perform at my best and score lots of goals. Fulkrug scored 16 times in 41 games for Dortmund last season and the team reached the Champions League final where they lost to Real Madrid. West Ham have also signed Leed’s winger Crysencio Summerville for £25million and Wolve’s defender Max Kilman for £40million. Argentina’s 30-year-old midfielder Guido Rodriguez will also arrive at the club following the expiration of his contract with Real Betis.
Fears over Solanke
Bournemouth coach Andoni Iraola is monitoring carefully the injury sustained by his star striker Dominic Solanke and his future at the club. The Englishman missed last Sunday’s 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano but this has been followed by intense interest from Tottenham.
Bournemouth confirmed last week that Solanke has a deal which expires in 2027 and includes a release clause of £65million. Iraola played down the injury and said, “Dom came to the match but we decided not to risk him in a friendly with the new season about to start, but it’s not a big worry.”
26-year-old Solanke scored 19 goals last season and Tottenham want him if Richarlison finally moves to a Saudi club. Since the departure of Harry Kane, Heung-min Son has shouldered the responsibility of scoring goals for Spurs. However, coach Ange Postecoglou knows that Sonny is more of a No10 than an out and out striker. He will score goals but he is more comfortable coming in from the left and moving into the centre following a ball from the wing or midfield…playing with a strong striker makes him a more dangerous player and that is the role Solanke can fill.
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