Mourinho is apparently a happy manager and can be delighted with Lukaku’s start but expect frustration if at least one more signing is not made swiftlyTottenham Hotspur are “big favourites” for the Premier League while Manchester United have only a fighting chance and are inferior to Real Madrid and Barcelona. Related: José Mourinho: Manchester United are not at Real Madrid or Barcelona’s level Continue reading...
Mauricio Pochettino has bucked the trend by not adding to his Tottenham squad but the rest of the top clubs have plenty of spending left in them yetAs well as this summer being remembered for the transfer window in which just about every Premier League club tried to break their own spending record, there is a good chance it will eventually be remembered for something else. To wit: the summer when no one apart from Real Madrid knew whether they had broken a transfer record or not.Take the case of Manchester United’s Romelu Lukaku, the £90m man, as the back pages have it. When Everton sold him the price was stated at £75m plus add-ons, which might have more or...
There has been much talk about strikers this summer but apart from Kylian Mbappé, exciting and emerging names are not exactly flooding the marketAccording to just about every manager interviewed on the subject, not to mention the accumulated wisdom of more than 100 years of professional football, the hardest task in the game is putting the ball into the back of the net. It often looks deceptively easy, a tap over the line here, a well-timed header there, but at the highest level you are up against organised defences and highly-trained goalkeepers. Opportunities do not normally come along that often in a game, and frequently most of the team will have been involved in some way in creating the space...
The striker is leaving for Everton as a record scorer and multiple trophy winner but a large constituency of fans will not mourn his departureThe oddity of Wayne Rooney’s glittering 13-year Manchester United career is that he departs for Everton to only muted applause. Despite a record that features a glut of trophies and personal achievements a strong sense of “Ta-ra Wayne, it’s about time” prevails among supporters.This can be traced to the perception Rooney never adopted the fitness regime required to reach the heights of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi and the disquiet he caused when twice in three years nearly exiting the club. Related: Wayne Rooney and Everton are well placed for a fruitful and warm reunion |...
Who will be the next big-name signing? How strong is the bond between José Mourinho and Ed Woodward? As United embark upon a gruelling pre-season tour of the US, here’s what will shape the club’s upcoming campaignFor £75m (plus £15m add-ons) José Mourinho acquires a proven prolific Premier League goal scorer in the Belgian and throws the gauntlet down to Manchester United’s home-grown starlet: can the 19-year-old Marcus Rashford continue his upward trajectory despite Lukaku starting as the first choice No9? Rashford has played most of his 71 senior appearances as a wide forward yet his natural position is in central attack. There may be a clue here regarding how he can prosper. When coming through the Old Trafford youth...