Thirteen years after leaving Everton for Old Trafford, Wayne Rooney could be about to return - but does Ronald Koeman really a need a player who seems to have his peak years behind him?Romelu Lukaku was always going to leave a big hole to fill at Everton but few would have predicted a combination of, say, Wayne Rooney and Olivier Giroud, perhaps to take over in the likely event of the Belgian striker’s departure.Reported overtures to Arsenal’s Giroud make perfect sense; he is a reliable goalscorer, proven in the Premier League, at 30 he will have a few good years left in him and he was no longer a regular starter under Arsène Wenger. Those imagining Everton would seek a...
The Manchester United manager’s tactics mirror those of boxing’s former world champion: get your retaliation in firstMike Tyson has an interesting new book out called Iron Ambition. In it he talks about his violent childhood, explores his relationship with his late coach, the great Cus D’Amato, and kicks the whole thing off with a passage about wandering around his old Brooklyn neighbourhood, marvelling at the gentrification, tourists and, above all, the sight of people taking selfies all over the place.Like many other grouchy middle-aged men Mike hasn’t, you sense, fully engaged with the selfie craze. “Imagine trying to do that with the people I was hanging out with in Times Square,” he writes. “‘Hey man, let’s take a selfie!’ Motherfuckers...
The Swede has gone from Benfica reserve to hot property in 18 months but his leadership and coolness under pressure marked him out from a young age and he and Eric Bailly should form a partnership reminiscent of Vidic and FerdinandWhen Luisão says that there have been times when he has mistaken Victor Lindelof for a player in his 30s, the gnarly Brazilian who has never held back in his role as the leader of Benfica’s defence is paying his young colleague the highest possible compliment. Although it could be mistaken for a dismissive observation about Lindelof’s cumbersome movement, instead it is Luisão’s way of expressing his admiration for a blossoming defender whose eerie composure explains why José Mourinho was...
Premier League sides have struggled to impose themselves in Europe in recent years because the domestic competition is seen as an obstacle to successNext season, assuming Liverpool can negotiate the play-off round, there will be five English clubs in the Champions League. That is a large number, though it does not necessarily follow that a greater representation will lead to a better chance of English success. Premier League sides have been struggling to impose themselves in Europe in recent years. From a position a decade ago when finals were being reached on a regular basis and Uefa had genuine concerns when two English clubs faced each other in Moscow in 2008, the strength of the Premier League now seems to...
The triumph over Ajax ensured qualification for the Champions League. So what should José Mourinho do to make United credible challengers next season?How the manager recruits in the transfer window will be key and the priority is a top-class goalscorer. Antoine Griezmann got 27 goals for Atlético Madrid this season. Everton’s Romelu Lukaku scored 25 in the Premier League. Ideally the manager would like both: Lukaku to be the spearhead in the mould of a Didier Drogba at Chelsea or Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Griezmann to play off him – or Marcus Rashford – as Mourinho has reservations about Jesse Lingard, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Anthony Martial. In midfield, Michael Carrick is 36 in July so support is required for Ander Herrera,...