Kai Havertz at Arsenal and Mason Mount at Manchester United are yet to fit in – but this is not a simple issue of personnelAfew years ago, the future seemed a world in which football teams would comprise 11 midfielders. Then it became 11 full-backs, at which it became apparent that nobody quite knew the difference any more. Then Pep Guardiola found his inner Tony Pulis and started fielding four centre-backs and it turned out that, while the present may be very much possession-driven, the future may not. The composition of the midfield is suddenly up for debate again.The most common setup among the Premier League’s elite remains 4-3-3 – even the 4-2-3-1 with which Manchester City have started the...
The goalkeeper will have to accept a wage cut or move on with André Onana the No 1 target to replace himThe key to the buy-to-sell transfer market challenge that Erik ten Hag faces is located in the Manchester United manager’s loss of confidence in David de Gea. Illustrated, the conundrum would depict the Dutchman as a juggler keeping aloft his ability to sign André Onana (or another goalkeeper) and a centre-forward only by offloading Harry Maguire, Fred, Anthony Elanga and, maybe, even more peripheral squad members.Why? Because Ten Hag’s budget is about £120m, of which £55m has been spent on Mason Mount, meaning Maguire, Elanga and Fred are the prime candidates to be sold to raise the requisite cash....
The first all-Manchester FA Cup final is framed by City’s pursuit of total supremacy and opponents’ quest to avenge humiliationIt was a small and inconsequential moment but one that said plenty about a mood and a rivalry. Manchester City were 6-2 up in the Premier League derby against United at the Etihad Stadium last October and we were into the 89th minute.Previously, after Phil Foden had made it 6-1 on 73 minutes to join Erling Haaland as the scorer of a hat-trick, the City fans had joked that they wanted 10. Or maybe they were not joking. Now, shortly after the United substitute Anthony Martial had pulled one back, City built in midfield only for João Cancelo to play a...
Erik ten Hag’s side have been in a slump since defeat to Sevilla in the Europa League and it has put their hopes of Champions League qualification in jeopardyManchester United’s priority this season is Champions League qualification. February’s Carabao Cup triumph sprinkled winners’ stardust on the club after a six-year wait and Erik ten Hag’s side can add the FA Cup by beating Manchester City in next month’s final. But each would be exchanged for the top‑four finish which is viewed, as Ten Hag has said, as a must. Yet since being 2-0 ahead at home to Sevilla on 13 April in their Europa League quarter-final first leg, United’s form has flatlined. That game ended 2-2 and only two of...
Erik ten Hag wants a new striker this summer and the French forward will need to do more to secure his place at the clubDid Manchester United’s late capitulation begin when Erik ten Hag took off Anthony Martial on 63 minutes? This may be a simplification, particularly as Bruno Fernandes also accompanied him, but until then those in red were coasting at 2-0 up with the forward providing a star turn.Twelve minutes in and United were given a glimmer of what they have missed from an enigmatic Frenchman bedevilled by injury: the sight of him dropping deep and bursting past defenders, a dazzling dribble splaying Sevilla and creating an opening for Antony. Continue reading...