José Mourinho could have Portuguese problem, Nathaniel Clyne might make return and will Arsenal rest their best?Poor José Mourinho! Once he was king but now he cannot even claim to be the Premier’s League best Portuguese manager. Carlos Carvalhal certainly has a stronger case for that accolade at the moment. It is hard to imagine that any other manager could have turned Swansea around as impressively as he has done since taking over in late December, when the Welsh club seemed doomed. Now they are out of the relegation zone and within reach of survival. Even Mourinho must admire the solidity that Carvalhal has introduced to Swansea, who will not give up chances easily at Old Trafford. Paul Pogba performed...
Footballers have a reputation for treating mid-season breaks as a jolly but, handled responsibly, they can galvanise a squad for the challenges aheadThese past few days have been full of talk of “who’s on the plane, in the departure lounge and on the beach” with regard to players involved in international friendlies and hopeful of going to the World Cup finals this summer, but the same period is crucial to those involved in the bottom half of the Premier League and the promotion-chasing hopefuls in the Championship.Most if not all of the clubs in the top half of the Premier League will be left with only a handful of players who are not on international duty but at Brighton and some other...
Álvaro Morata needs to play regularly, rusty Manolo Gabbiadini can solve Southampton’s problems, and Stoke are in big trouble Related: Chelsea’s Morata tries to run his way into Antonio Conte’s good books | Barney Ronay Related: Mohamed Salah will get even better before the season is out, says Jürgen Klopp Continue reading...
Chris Hughton spent £40m on eight players in the summer – for a promoted team to build a competitive top-flight squad for that money looks almost like witchcraftIt takes Neymar just under six weeks to earn £3m. This season the Chinese side Meixian Techand reportedly gave their players a £3m bonus each, just for winning promotion. The payoff that Claudio Ranieri received after being sacked by Leicester was also £3m.These days £3m does not get you much. Unless you are Brighton that is. For their £3m they got Pascal Gross, the player who has registered the most assists of anyone playing for a club outside the top six this season. Related: Sam Clucas: ‘One fan wrote, If he plays above...
Alex Iwobi is drifting, Pellegrino is on dangerous ground and Manchester United produced a classic performanceIt always feels unfair to single out a young player, not least one who seems with each performance these days to become a one-man Arsenal social media event, a living banter-meme. Just check out Alex Iwobi on Twitter the next time Arsenal are playing – and hope he never makes the mistake of searching his own name. But watching him against Watford it was tempting to wonder about stalled progress, and a comfort zone at the wrong moment in his career. He has been more productive since Christmas, has made an effort to make more decisive forward runs. But he remains a strange footballer, a...