Millwall change their formation and seem to be on the up, but the defensive frailties shine massively again, as the Lions lost 3-2 at Blackburn Rovers.
This was a game we could’ve got something from if it wasn’t for mistakes. Defenders slipping and failing to clear the ball was a theme of the 90 minutes.
It was always going to be a struggle as we don’t have a settled team. Scott Malone & Shane Lowry have both had the left back position, but Malone has won that battle for now.
Most of the season at centre back it has been who will partner Beevers, skipper Paul Robinson or Danny Shittu? Shittu isn’t good enough now, and maybe rose tinted glasses come into play for Robinson, yes he is the captain, but is he still good enough for this level?
We have played also four right backs this year and Lomas still doesn’t know who to play there.
But let’s be honest, this season was always going to be a transitional period, we need to keep our heads above water which is what we are doing at the moment, just.
The club will see it the same way, we could be slightly struggling and Lomas won’t go, there are three worst teams in the division for sure.
We still don’t know whether Lomas is good enough, and signs point to most likely not. But we knew how hard a job this was to take after the squad Kenny Jackett left us with last year and even with the signings and wage increases we still have one of the lowest budgets in the division.
Lomas has made mistakes both with tactics, team selections and formations, but he is learning from them, even if it isn’t as quickly as we would like.
He has sorted the frontline massively, but now it’s time to work on the defence, whether it’s with our players, or new blood. But then it’s down to Berylson and how much he’ll want to spend in January.
It seems that aslong as there are three teams below us, Lomas will keep his job.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Okay we are not in the best position at the moment, but we are showing we can compete against some of the big teams in the division, the likes of Blackburn and Forest.
Let’s hope the fine home form can carry on against Middlesborough on Saturday. We need a win to push us up the table while moving into the busy festive period which can make or break a season.
Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud has said that he doesn’t think he should be judged just three games into the season, according to The Mirror.
The 25-year-old signed for the Gunners for a fee of around £12 million in the summer on the back of a championship winning season at French side Montpellier, where the forward ended the campaign as Ligue 1’s top goal-scorer bagging 21 goals.
However, the Frenchmen hasn’t enjoyed the best of starts in an Arsenal shirt, missing several opportunities that have been presented to him at the start of this Premier League season. Giroud’s lack of composure in front of goal so far this campaign has also been worsened by the fact that former Arsenal striker Robin van Persie, who scored 30 goals for the Gunners last season, has already scored four goals in his opening three games for Manchester United.
Despite this, Giroud says that he is not interested in people making comparisons between himself and RvP, “People seem to think [van Persie] is something that weighs on me, but I know that the manager has confidence in me.”
To add to this, Giroud claimed that any judgement of him is unfair as van Persie himself took a while to settle in North London, “I’m coming in after someone who scored 30 goals last season, but who took eight years to reach that level.”
Meanwhile, one man who hasn’t needed any time to settle in the Premier League is explosive Chelsea winger Eden Hazard. Hazard is a man Giroud knows well after playing against him on many occasions in the French league when Hazard was at Lille.
Giroud says he is not surprised by the impressive start the Belgian winger has made to his Chelsea career, who has already scored one goal and provided six assists for the Blues, “He’s very comfortable everywhere he goes. He’s a very good player who is going to give Chelsea quite a boost.”
Giroud will be hoping to rectify his fruitless start to the campaign when the Gunners welcome newly-promoted Southampton to the Emirates Stadium, whose position at the foot of the Premier League table may be deceiving given that they have lead against both Manchester City and Manchester United so far this season.
According to reports in The Sun, Brighton and Hove Albion are tracking £1m-rated Lokomotiva Zagreb centre-back Denis Kolinger, and their Premier League rivals West Ham United should look to hijack any deal.
What’s the word, then?
Well, The Sun says that the highly-rated has been an impressive performer in the Croatian top flight this season and is attracting interest from the Seagulls, as well as Championship sides Middlesbrough and Reading.
The Sun says that while the 24-year-old, who was born in Germany but qualifies for Croatia through his parents, has two years left on his contract with his current club, he could still leave for just £1m this summer as he looks to make the move to England.
Meanwhile, West Ham are certain to be looking for at least one – and potentially two – new central defenders during the close season, following Jose Fonte’s departure to China in February, James Collins’ contract expiring next month and Winston Reid continuing to be hampered by injury issues.
How has Kolinger done this season?
The 6ft 6in tall centre-back has been an impressive performer for Lokomotiva Zagreb, making 33 appearances in all competitions.
As well as his defensive abilities – he is a renowned tough tackler – he has also shown the presence and threat his height gives him in the opposition penalty area with four goals this term.
[ad_pod ]
Would he be a good signing for West Ham?
He certainly would be – especially if they are planning to sign two centre-backs.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
While the east London outfit may be willing to splash the cash on one central defender, they probably will want to save some of their budget for other parts of the tea rather than spending big on two of them.
Bringing Kolinger to the London Stadium for around £1m could prove to be a bargain in the long run, and he could be a cut-price replacement for Collins who is unlikely to be handed a new deal – much to the frustration of Irons fans on Twitter.
FIFA 18 is the most popular sports game on console in the world right now.
Every year it gets even better and with so many different game modes available to play, like Ultimate Team, Career Mode and the journey, it can be very addictive.
In career mode, and even Ultimate Team, there is a lot of satisfaction to be had in identifying a young player and seeing him grow in to one of the world’s best players.
Finding the wonderkids is the hard part, though, which is why we’ve gone out of our way to find the top 100 wonderkids on FIFA 18, so you don’t have to.
So read on to learn which young players you should be looking to bring in to your Ultimate Team or sign on career mode…
Vincent Thill
Age: 17
Club: FC Metz
Position: CAM
Nationality: Luxembourg
Rating: 63
Potential: 85
Ryan Sessegnon
Age: 17
Club: Fulham FC
Position: LB
Nationality: England
Rating: 66
Potential: 85
Jordi Mboula
Age: 18
Club: AS Monaco
Position: RM
Nationality: Spain
Rating: 68
Potential: 85
Emre Mor
Age: 20
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Position: RM
Nationality: Turkey
Rating: 70
Potential: 85
Panagiotis Retsos
Age: 19
Club: Olympiacos CFP
Position: CB
Nationality: Greece
Rating: 72
Potential: 85
Tom Davies
Age: 19
Club: Everton FC
Position: CM
Nationality: England
Rating: 73
Potential: 85
Alex Iwobi
Age: 21
Club: Arsenal FC
Position: LM
Nationality: Nigeria
Rating: 74
Potential: 85
Henry Onyekuru
Age: 20
Club: Anderlecht
Position: LM
Nationality: Nigeria
Rating: 75
Potential: 85
Theo Hernández
Age: 19
Club: Real Madrid
Position: LB
Nationality: France
Rating: 75
Potential: 85
Moussa Dembélé
Age: 21
Club: Celtic
Position: ST
Nationality: France
Rating: 75
Potential: 85
Lorenzo Pellegrini
Age: 21
Club: Roma
Position: CM
Nationality: Italy
Rating: 77
Potential: 85
Nadiem Amiri
Age: 20
Club: TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
Position: CAM
Nationality: Italy
Rating: 77
Potential: 85
André Onana
Age: 21
Club: Ajax
Position: GK
Nationality: Cameroon
Rating: 78
Potential: 85
Vincent Koziello
Age: 21
Club: OGC Nice
Position: CM
Nationality: Cameroon
Rating: 78
Potential: 85
Brahim Díaz
Age: 21
Club: Manchester City
Position: CAM
Nationality: Spain
Rating: 66
Potential: 85
Cucurella
Age: 19
Club: FC Barcelona B
Position: LB
Nationality: Spain
Rating: 67
Potential: 85
Malcom
Age: 19
Club: Girondins de Bordeaux
Position: RW
Nationality: Brazil
Rating: 79
Potential: 85
Richarlison
Age: 20
Club: Watford
Position: LM
Nationality: Brazil
Rating: 73
Potential: 85
Rui Pedro
Age: 19
Club: FC Porto
Position: ST
Nationality: Portugal
Rating: 70
Potential: 85
Vallejo
Age: 20
Club: Real Madrid
Position: CB
Nationality: Spain
Rating: 77
Potential: 85
Christian Früchtl
Age: 17
Club: Bayern München
Position: GK
Nationality: Germany
Rating: 65
Potential: 86
Dayot Upamecano
Age: 18
Club: RB Leipzig
Position: CB
Nationality: France
Rating: 69
Potential: 86
Nicolò Barella
Age: 20
Club: Cagliari
Position: CM
Nationality: Italy
Rating: 70
Potential: 86
Bartłomiej Drągowski
Age: 20
Club: Fiorentina
Position: GK
Nationality: Poland
Rating: 71
Potential: 86
Denis Zakaria
Age: 20
Club: Borussia M’gladbach
Position: CM
Nationality: Switzerland
Rating: 72
Potential: 86
Josh Onomah
Age: 20
Club: Aston Villa
Position: CAM
Nationality: England
Rating: 72
Potential: 86
Justin Kluivert
Age: 18
Club: Ajax
Position: RW
Nationality: Netheralands
Rating: 73
Potential: 86
Santiago Ascacibar
Age: 20
Club: Estudiantes de La Plata
Position: CDM
Nationality: Argentina
Rating: 73
Potential: 86
Tammy Abraham
Age: 19
Club: Swansea City
Position: ST
Nationality: England
Rating: 73
Potential: 86
Kelvin Amian Adou
Age: 19
Club: Toulouse FC
Position: RB
Nationality: France
Rating: 73
Potential: 86
Timothy Fosu-Mensah
Age: 19
Club: Crystal Palace
Position: RB
Nationality: Netherlands
Rating: 74
Potential: 86
Giovani Lo Celso
Age: 21
Club: Paris Saint-Germain
Position: CAM
Nationality: Netherlands
Rating: 74
Potential: 86
Martin Odegaard
Age: 18
Club: sc Heerenveen
Position: RW
Nationality: Norway
Rating: 74
Potential: 86
Manuel Locatelli
Age: 19
Club: AC Milan
Position: CDM
Nationality: Italy
Rating: 74
Potential: 86
Joris Gnagnon
Age: 20
Club: Stade Rennais
Position: CB
Nationality: Ivory Coast
Rating: 75
Potential: 86
Kelechi Iheanacho
Age: 20
Club: Leicester City
Position: ST
Nationality: Nigeria
Rating: 75
Potential: 86
Emanuel Mammana
Age: 21
Club: Zenit St. Petersburg
Position: CB
Nationality: Argentina
Rating: 75
Potential: 86
Franck Yannick Kessié
Age: 20
Club: AC Milan
Position: CM
Nationality: Ivory Coast
Rating: 76
Potential: 86
Leon Bailey
Age: 20
Club: Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Position: LM
Nationality: Jamaica
Rating: 76
Potential: 86
Benjamin Henrichs
Age: 20
Club: Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Position: RB
Nationality: Germany
Rating: 76
Potential: 86
Onyinye Ndidi
Age: 20
Club: Leicester City
Position: CDM
Nationality: Nigeria
Rating: 77
Potential: 86
Sebastián Driussi
Age: 21
Club: Zenit St. Petersburg
Position: ST
Nationality: Argentina
Rating: 77
Potential: 86
Andrija Živković
Age: 21
Club: SL Benfica
Position: RM
Nationality: Serbia
Rating: 77
Potential: 86
Alen Halilović
Age: 21
Club: UD Las Palmas
Position: CAM
Nationality: Croatia
Rating: 77
Potential: 86
Antonio Sanabria
Age: 21
Club: Real Betis Balompié
Position: ST
Nationality: Croatia
Rating: 78
Potential: 86
Kingsley Coman
Age: 21
Club: Bayern München
Position: RM
Nationality: France
Rating: 79
Potential: 86
Max Meyer
Age: 21
Club: FC Schalke 04
Position: CAM
Nationality: Germany
Rating: 79
Potential: 86
André Silva
Age: 21
Club: AC Milan
Position: ST
Nationality: Portugal
Rating: 78
Potential: 86
Andreas Pereira
Age: 21
Club: Valencia CF
Position: LM
Nationality: Brazil
Rating: 77
Potential: 86
Diogo Jota
Age: 20
Club: Wolverhampton Wanderers
Position: LW
Nationality: Portugal
Rating: 77
Potential: 86
Douglas Luiz
Age: 19
Club: Girona FC
Position: CM
Nationality: Brazil
Rating: 73
Potential: 86
Han Kwang Song
Age: 18
Club: Perugia
Position: ST
Nationality: North Korea
Rating: 67
Potential: 86
Oyarzabal
Age: 20
Club: Real Sociedad
Position: LW
Nationality: Spain
Rating: 79
Potential: 86
Pablo Fornals
Age: 20
Club: Villarreal CF
Position: CAM
Nationality: Spain
Rating: 77
Potential: 86
Renato Sanches
Age: 20
Club: Swansea City
Position: CM
Nationality: Portugal
Rating: 76
Potential: 86
Rúben Neves
Age: 20
Club: Wolverhampton Wanderers
Position: CDM
Nationality: Portugal
Rating: 77
Potential: 86
Marcus Edwards
Age: 18
Club: Tottenham Hotspur
Position: RM
Nationality: England
Rating: 65
Potential: 87
Ismaila Sarr
Age: 19
Club: Stade Rennais
Position: LM
Nationality: Senegal
Rating: 73
Potential: 87
Amath Ndiaye Diedhiou
Age: 21
Club: Getafe CF
Position: ST
Nationality: Senegal
Rating: 74
Potential: 87
Federico Chiesa
Age: 19
Club: Fiorentina
Position: RM
Nationality: Italy
Rating: 75
Potential: 87
Viktor Kovalenko
Age: 21
Club: Shakhtar Donetsk
Position: CAM
Nationality: Ukraine
Rating: 75
Potential: 87
Issa Diop
Age: 21
Club: Toulouse FC
Position: CB
Nationality: France
Rating: 76
Potential: 87
Jakub Jankto
Age: 21
Club: Udinese
Position: CM
Nationality: Czech Republic
Rating: 76
Potential: 87
Lucas Hernández
Age: 21
Club: Atlético de Madrid
Position: CB
Nationality: Czech Republic
Rating: 76
Potential: 87
Patrik Schick
Age: 21
Club: Roma
Position: ST
Nationality: Czech Republic
Rating: 77
Potential: 87
Amadou Diawara
Age: 20
Club: Napoli
Position: CDM
Nationality: Guinea
Rating: 77
Potential: 87
Lucas Tousart
Age: 20
Club: Olympique Lyonnais
Position: CDM
Nationality: France
Rating: 78
Potential: 87
Mahmoud Dahoud
Age: 21
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Position: CM
Nationality: Germany
Rating: 79
Potential: 87
Julian Weigl
Age: 21
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Position: CDM
Nationality: Germany
Rating: 81
Potential: 87
Timo Werner
Age: 21
Club: RB Leipzig
Position: ST
Nationality: Germany
Rating: 82
Potential: 87
Alenà
Age: 19
Club: FC Barcelona
Position: CM
Nationality: Spain
Rating: 71
Potential: 87
Grimaldo
Age: 21
Club: SL Benfica
Position: LB
Nationality: Spain
Rating: 80
Potential: 87
Lautaro Martínez
Age: 20
Club: Racing Club de Avellaneda
Position: ST
Nationality: Argentina
Rating: 72
Potential: 88
Kai Havertz
Age: 18
Club: Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Position: RM
Nationality: Argentina
Rating: 73
Potential: 88
Alex Meret
Age: 20
Club: Spal
Position: GK
Nationality: Argentina
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
David Moyes has been praised by powers above at Manchester United for his handling of the club’s summer transfer activities.
He supposedly had two aims, keeping Wayne Rooney and signing a midfielder, which have both been fulfilled, the latter one by the capture of Marouane Fellaini.
With Moyes therefore starting the season with the squad he wanted, one would have been forgiven for presuming the Scot had plans on how to make use of all the resources at his disposal.
However, Shinji Kagawa has made just two competitive appearance for the Red Devils so far this season, playing 70 minutes in the Champions League and appearing in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday.
The mystery behind why the 24-year-old is not playing is made even more baffling by the fact that Borussia Dortmund were not allowed to re-sign their former charge, who they wanted to link back up with.
Kagawa might not have had an awe-inspiring first season at Old Trafford, but the £17million signing was hampered by injury and when he did appear his talent was undoubted.
Moyes insists the reason Kagawa has not been getting game time is due to his international schedule.
He said: “There are quite a lot of players who have not featured yet.
“But if you look at it most of them were late back from international duty after the Confederations Cup, then they were away for a friendly international and a long-haul flight, then they were away again for another international.
“If you look at the reasons why people haven’t played it is more to do with them not being available for that to happen.”
Could there be more to it though? Is there more to it?
It could certainly be said that, if considering Kagawa’s best position, there seems not the space for him in United’s side at the moment.
When he helped Dortmund to back-to-back titles, the Jap was a vital component of the German side, slotting in the hole behind Robert Lewandowski.
Of course, due to Robin van Persie’s arrival at Old Trafford, that position in United’s team has been filled more often than not by Rooney.
The England forward still holds that position down ahead of Kagawa despite having to wear a headband for protection from a cut.
Indeed, when Kagawa featured for United against Bayer Leverkusen and Liverpool, he appeared on the left, where it was clear, from the amount of times he drifted inside, he was not completely comfortable.
Perhaps it is not a positional issue and more that Moyes is not overly keen on Kagawa as a player.
He might have denied Dortmund access to Kagawa in the summer, but maybe since then he has not found Kagawa to be the player he thought or wanted.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Equally, perhaps there is a personal issue.
Kagawa was quoted saying “please ask David Moyes why I’m not in the side” when asked why he was not playing, although he has since said that he was misquoted and the evidence suggests he was.
Whatever the case, Man Utd fans, who have been unhappy not to see Kagawa feature in the Premier League, will have been happy when they heard that Kagawa was willing to fight for his place.
“Tough times are continuing, but all I can do is to work hard,” he said at the beginning of this month.
Whether Kagawa’s hard work will be enough to see him become a regular player under Moyes though, remains to be seen.
For most professional footballers, playing for one of the world’s greatest football clubs would be considered a huge honour. Yet spending four years at Manchester United and winning two league titles all under the stewardship of one of the greatest managers of all time clearly means very little if you are Dimitar Berbatov.
Having spent pretty much all of last season warming up the Old Trafford bench, Berbatov has finally been given a glorious opportunity to play first team football again having completed a £5m move to Fulham. Yet his reputation as a sulky brat has once again got the better of him. Rather than express his delight at signing for one of the Premier League’s most up-and-coming teams, he has decided to focus on being shunned by Sir Alex Ferguson and the negative treatment he received by his former employees.
But can anyone really blame Fergie for overlooking him for over a year? Is it any surprise that he fell further down the pecking order as one of Old Trafford’s main strikers? Not really.
Firstly, when you spend over £30 million on a striker you expect goals and lots of them. Berbatov’s record at Manchester United reads just over a goal every three games. Not a poor record by any means, but when you compare that to Robin Van Persie, who scored approximately one goal every other game at Arsenal and cost Manchester United £6 million less than Berbatov, it comes as no surprise that he was overlooked.
Secondly, for £30 million you want a striker who is consistent. Berbatov was by no means a flop at Manchester United, but he never came close to justifying his price tag.
On one day, he would be unstoppable, just as he proved when he scored five goals in a 7-1 win over Blackburn in November 2010, but the next, he would be completely ineffectual. It was becoming more obvious that Fergie was only really using him against weak opposition, but when it came to the big clashes, Fergie deemed that there were other players more suited for the occasion. This was proven in May 2011 when Berbatov was completely left out of the squad for the Champions League final against Barcelona.
Thirdly, you want a striker who is adaptable to change. Sir Alex was looking to play a faster and more direct style of football last season, a style that Berbatov openly admitted wasn’t his. If this is the case, what did Berbatov expect other than complete neglect? What was he hoping for, that Fergie would build the team around him?! And if he knew that this was happening, why did he choose to sit on the bench for an entire season instead of looking for a new club?
Fourthly, look at Berbatov’s age. He’s not by any means close to retiring, but at 31, he is not in the prime of his career either. When you compare him to the striker’s that Ferguson has at his disposal and the pace and ability they have, it’s no wonder he kept finding himself going down the pecking order.
Finally, look at his attitude. On the pitch, regardless of who he has played for, he has developed this lazy mentality of standing in the six yard box waiting for somebody to provide a decent cross. His desire to help out his team-mates has never really been there, but in his eyes, it didn’t matter because this was justified by his goalscoring record. Unfortunately for him, this has certainly never been Fergie’s style and quite frankly, no striker who has ever been considered as ‘world-class’ has adopted a similar attitude.
His attitude off the pitch speaks for itself. He has always had this negative attitude, even when he was at Spurs. When it was clear that he was about to leave to join Manchester United, Spurs put in a complaint against the Red Devils, which culminated in Berbatov sulking and being dropped for the start of the 07/08 season.
His recent outburst against Sir Alex Ferguson is typical of Berbatov. Rather than look back at his time at Old Trafford with positivity and pride and focus on the exciting prospect of starting with a new club, he uses the move as an opportunity to criticise Fergie for ignoring him for a year. Quite frankly, it’s an insult to both Fulham AND Manchester United.
Yes, one could argue that Ferguson’s treatment of Berbatov was a little disrespectful. But that’s modern football for you. A decent manager puts the needs of the team first, not the individual. If you don’t want to adapt, move on. Berbatov’s ignorance and his failure to accept this has been his downfall and he has nobody to blame but himself.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Personally, I believe that this transfer is the perfect opportunity for Berbatov to rejuvenate his career. He needs Fulham and I think Fulham need him. At least at Craven Cottage, he has a considerably better chance of playing regular first team football. And as far as the club is concerned, he is a more than adequate candidate to fill the goalscoring void left by Clint Dempsey.
I just hope that as the season progresses, Berbatov realises this and eventually he will look back with pride and remember that he once scored goals for one of the greatest clubs in the world.
News that Arsenal have a transfer ‘war chest’ is usually one of the staples of the football headlines come the end of the club season.
But after the departure of Arsene Wenger and a new direction for the club, it looks as though things might well be different this time. In terms of the headlines, it certainly is.
A decade ago, a headline proclaiming that the Arsenal board is ready to hand their manager £50m would certainly be seen as a huge chunk of cash. But this year the reports are that the Gunners are limiting their spending to a number that – in the modern world – seems pitifully small for a top six club. Indeed, if they want to compete next season, you get the feeling they’ll need to spend a bit more than that to bring in a solid defensive midfielder, a centre back and perhaps even a goalkeeper.
But if the fact that £50m has now become a small number shows that the game has changed, then perhaps the headlines also show that Arsenal are changing.
Over the last few years, talk of massive transfer kitties may well have sold season tickets to long-suffering Gooners who were undecided about renewing, but the more important consequence of that strategy was really only to drive up the price for the top class talent the club were purportedly chasing; Arsene Wenger simply wouldn’t part with cash to meet the inflated figure.
This time, and given how much the Gunners have been burned in recent years, you wonder if Arsenal have planted reports about limiting their new manager to a certain figure in order to ward off inflation in the transfer market: six times bitten, seventh time shy.
Then again, there is an element of trust when it comes to allowing a new manager to spend money. Sure, Sven Mislintat and Raul Sanllehi are now in place and have a theoretical control over transfers, but Arsenal has been the personal fiefdom of Arsene Wenger for so long that it might take a while for the machine to run smoothly. And even in the most slick, modern football clubs, it’s important that the manager gets to have a say (perhaps the final one) in whether a player ultimately joins or not. In the end, it’s the manager you see getting the sack for poor performances, not the scouts and the “heads of football relations”.
The likelihood is that Arsenal will have to spend some money this summer not just to ensure their their squad is capable of getting back into the Champions League after a two-year absence, but to overhaul the playing staff to fit the needs of a new manager.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
If they don’t want to suffer inflated prices and European clubs playing hardball over the sale of their best players, the Gunners might need a better strategy than leaking to the press that they have no money. If, on the other hand, they don’t want to spend much at all, then will things really be any different next season?
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has admitted that the Blues have had an offer for Everton defender John Stones rejected, as per The Daily Mail.
The Premier League champions have star players all over the pitch and as such are not widely expected to do too much business this summer.
The departure of Petr Cech has been nullified by the signing of Asmir Begovic, whir young Brazilian forward Kenedy has also been added to Mourinho’s contingent.
However, it appears that the West London club are thinking about the future and a time when they no longer have John Terry, as a bid for Stones has been placed.
Mourinho has stated that he wants to add a young centre-half to his squad this summer and is well within his right to lodge an offer for the England international defender.
“We made a bid, we can make it, it’s an open market until September 1,” the Blues boss stared.
“We didn’t make an offer on September 2 or in March or two days before we play against Everton. We are making the bid in the period we have to make it, which is the open market.
“So until September 1, every single one of our players can get a bid and we can make bids for other players. While they say we don’t accept this bid, until September 1 we can improve the bid: £1 more, £10 more. We can improve it.
“If one day manager Roberto Martinez or the chairman comes and says: “He’s not for sale, we don’t accept any bid,” then game over. So during this process, it’s clear: we don’t deny we made a bid. It means we are trying to buy.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
“We have three [central defenders]. Two are more than 30 years old. We would like to have two under 25, which would give us the next 10 years, but it’s not urgent, it is not something we are desperate for it, because we have three centre-halves, plus Branislav Ivanovic, so we have four.”
With Mourinho’s comments suggesting that Chelsea are ready to offer an increased figure to try and capture Stones, the Toffees could have a job on their hands holding onto the starlet this summer.
Manchester City and Chelsea are ready to do battle for the signing of Paris St Germain forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic, according to the Daily Star.
The Swedish striker has reportedly fallen out with new manager Laurent Blanc over the recent signing of Edison Cavani, and is looking to leave after just one season at the Parc de Princes.
The news has alerted both City and Chelsea, two of the only clubs in Europe perhaps capable of matching the Swedish forward’s wage demands.
The 31-year-old is thought to earn more than £11million a year, something he is unlikely to get offered at either club – although they will provide closer to that figure than most.
Both City and Chelsea have turned their attentions to the Swede after missing out on Cavani themselves, as well as Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski, who is set to see out the final year of his contract at the German club.
Chelsea appear the more likely to make an offer at present, with the news emerging that City are close to completing deals for two new forwards, in the form of Stevan Jovetic from Fiorentina, and Alvaro Negredo from Sevilla.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Jose Mourinho’s number one striking target is thought to be Wayne Rooney, but a bid for Ibrahimovic may well be launched to get things moving.
Everton assistant manager Steve Round expects new signing Kevin Mirallas to keep improving as the season continues following a man-of-the-match performance in a 5-0 Capital One Cup victory over Leyton Orient last night.
Belgian international Mirallas converted two and provided two assists on his full debut for the Merseyside club in what proved to be a one-sided affair over League One Orient. Mirallas, 24, joined Everton in the summer from Greek side Olympiakos for £5 million and has impressed the Goodison Park faithful with a string of exciting displays from the bench.
Round told the club’s official website that he was impressed by Mirallas’ performance: “Kevin gave us an example of what he’s about with his speed, movement and finishing. He showed why he was one of the top goal scorers in Greece.”
The Toffees’ assistant boss believes that once Mirallas reaches full fitness, there will be even more to come from the wing-forward: “He tired quite badly in the second half but we expected that. He missed quite a chunk of pre-season with a knee injury. He’s not really up to speed yet but he is getting there.”
The 5-0 victory for Everton continued what has been an excellent start for a club who are notoriously slow starters. Everton currently lie in 3rd place in the Premier League after victories at home to Manchester United and away at Aston Villa.
Round believes the key to Everton’s early success this time around has been their ability to keep most of the squad fit; a luxury they haven’t enjoyed in previous seasons: “The players all want to play; they’re fit, injury free and enjoying playing with each other. Because of that we are getting some real flow and cohesion.”
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.