Two new debutant coaches to the Premier League, Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna and Chelsea’s Enzo Maresca face a trial by fire in their first games of the new season. Ipswich take on Arne Slot’s Liverpool in his first fixture since replacing Jurgen Klopp. The match will be televised on TNT TV at 12:30pm UK time. Meanwhile Maresca will face Pep Guardiola at Stamford Bridge when Chelsea test their new playing strategy against champions Manchester City. In the tough battles to come it might be a good idea to get some of the worst over first because that is exactly what Ipswich will face because their second game features a clash with Manchester City. McKenna said he relishes the challenge and the games give him a chance to test his new Premier League team against two of the best. He is in a confident mood and Town have sold their entire season ticket allocation guaranteeing their stadium will have a 30,000 crowd for every match. Ironically Ipswich Town’s last Premier League match before being relegated in 2002 was a 5-0 defeat against Liverpool!
The season opens on Friday August 16th in an evening match which sees Fulham travel to Manchester United who start their eighth consecutive season’s opening game at home in front of their own fans.
Newly promoted Leicester host Tottenham on Monday 19th August and the other promoted club Southampton face a difficult game at Newcastle where coach Eddie Howe has to do well in order to impress his Saudi employers who are anxious to see a good return for their investment in the north eastern club.
Pressure builds on Mount
One of the main reasons the Manchester United minority shareholder INEOS decided to stick with coach Erik Ten Hag was what they called problems beyond Ten Hag’s control which he can put right for next season. They recognised that incoming players take time to settle as is the case with Andre Onana, Rasmus Hojlund and Mason Mount. INEOS believe the trio will turn out to be good investments long term. Onana has improved steadily and Hojlund has shown occasionally that he will lead the line in time. The big problem is Mason Mount who has sustained injuries but has not shown his true ability with some disappointing performances. Everyone expected Mount to build on his success at Chelsea but the £55million star managed just 20 matches with only eight starts. He scored one goal and made one assist. Pressure on Mount to survive at United has intensified because the role he was signed for is now taken by the in-form Kobbie Mainoo.
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United are likely to bring in a another holding midfielder this summer and with Mainoo and Fernandes certain to start it is difficult to see where Mason will fit in. Ten Hag intends to work hard with Mount during pre-season in the hope that he can repeat the form he showed at Chelsea under former coach Thomas Tuchel.
Who is likely to leave Manchester United
The futures of seven players at Manchester United are under review. Now that Erik Ten Hag has been given more time to complete his “project” United are looking to strengthen their options but they have to sell to remain inside the financial fair play rules. The summer transfer window is officially open for business and a number of players are heading towards the final year of their current contracts. This is particularly important because Ten Hag has to reach a decision about who can make his plan work.
If United wait until January, United could be in trouble because the Bosman ruling allows players to agree a pre-contract with an overseas club if they are in the last six months of their contracts. The main players affected by this are:
Harry Maguire: Defender stripped of the captaincy but has enjoyed a good season.
Victor Lindelof: Defender behind Maguire in Ten Hag’s selection and he is under considerable threat if United bring in either Jarrad Branthwaite or Matthijs de Ligt.
Scott McTominay: Midfield second choice by Ten Hag who has discovered Kobbie Mainoo but his goals and energy and ability still make him a valuable asset.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka: Defender is a real talent but Ten Hag prefers Diogo Dalot. He is expected to decide his own future during the next few weeks.
Amad: Forward who did enough in a brilliant display against Newcastle and scored against fierce rivals Liverpool which should be enough for Ten Hag to keep him. I can reveal that Ten Hag rates Amad, Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund as the youngsters who will lead his future team.
Willy Kambwala: Defender who will probably be given another season to prove his worth.
Christian Eriksen: Midfielder currently doing well for Denmark in the Euros but out of favour with Ten Hag. After having limited gametime he will probably leave this summer if an offer comes in.
Saudi and Madrid are a worry to Liverpool
Three words Liverpool fear hearing at the same time are transfer, Saudi League and Real Madrid. The Saudi league forced the Reds into recruiting midfield players after Fabinho and Jordan Henderson took the road to middle east riches. Now they have made it public knowledge that they intend to buy Mo Salah and Alisson Becker. Apart from ending Liverpool’s hopes of winning the Champions league Real Madrid also won the signatures of Aurelien Tchouameni and Jude Bellingham when the Premier League club had put together tempting offers for both players.
Club captain Virgil Van Dijk is the latest name to be talked about by the Saudi League. Several worried Liverpool fans emailed me to ask me to find out if the rumours are true.
After a few telephone calls and a couple of meetings I can confirm that Virgil has no intention of leaving and is looking forward to working with new coach Arne Slot. The Saudi team Al Nassr was rumoured to be in contact with Liverpool about Virgil however I can confirm that no contact has been made but it is important that Liverpool start working on a new contract for the defender because his current deal ends at the end of next season.
United’s insulting bid for Everton’s Branthwaite
Manchester United’s opening bid last weekend for Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite was ridiculous! The Blues have financial problems stemming from the Financial sustainability rules plus uncertainty as to who will own the club next season. However, despite Everton needing to bring in money the bid of £35million for a player who has broken through into the top ranks of the Premier League to become one of Europe’s hottest properties was viewed by the Toffees as insulting. I felt it was crazy of England coach Gareth Southgate not to pick Branthwaite for the Euros because playing alongside John Stones with his Everton teammate Jordan Pickford behind him in goal would have given the national side a strong defensive backbone. The result of not going to Germany has made him an easier target for big clubs to come calling and offering to buy him. Everton are determined to hang on to their golden nugget but financially they might be forced to sell him.
Because of the financial rules Everton were forced to sell Richarlison a couple of seasons ago and the price paid by Tottenham was probably £20 million short of his true value. Everton are desperate not to be forced into that position again.
*The owner of Roma football club Dan Friedkin is nearing a deal to buy Everton. The American has been granted exclusivity which will give him time to put a solid offer in place.
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