Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho paid tribute to Ashley Young in an interview that was published on the club’s official website on Wednesday afternoon.
Indeed, Mourinho was keen to hail Young’s form during the 2017-18 campaign, and claimed that he wanted to see the England international make 50 appearances for the club next season.
United have been linked with a new left-back for some time, but Mourinho’s comments appear to suggest that Young will again be first choice in that position next season.
And to suggest that the United manager’s comments have not gone down well with the supporters would be a slight understatement.
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Some of the comments were pretty harsh when considering that Young has been impressive for long spells of this season, but a lot of United fans want a change, and have not welcomed Mourinho’s words on the 32-year-old.
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Young is again expected to be in the team that faces West Ham United on Thursday night, with United looking to return to winning ways following defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion.
A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:
Before Ramadan Sobhi even arrived in England two summers ago, he’d already developed a preceding reputation – one that seemed too good to be true.A promising return of 17 goals in 71 appearances across all competitions for Al Ahly had earned him the monikers ‘Egyptian Messi’ and ‘Ramadona’, so after signing for Stoke City instead of one of the Premier League’s top clubs in a £5million deal, the immediate assumption was one of such lofty comparisons being more to sell transfer rumours than give a genuine evaluation of the winger’s ability and potential.No doubt, one-and-a-half seasons into his Premier League career, Sobhi is still a gigantic chasm away from being anywhere near parity with two of the greatest talents South America has ever produced. He’s not even a guaranteed starter for a Stoke City side currently in the relegation zone and averaging just a shade more than one goal per match in the top flight.But two goals in two appearances against West Brom and Huddersfield last month highlighted the steady progress Sobhi has made over the last 18 months, especially by the standards of a 20-year-old undertaking a drastic transition from Middle Eastern to Premier League football while plying his trade with one of the division’s most turbulent sides. That’s perhaps why Jurgen Klopp has taken an interest in Sobhi, according to Sky Sports’ Peter O’Rourke.
There’s little doubt the Liverpool boss has an eye for a player ready to elevate his game to the next level. That’s exactly what Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Georginio Wijnaldum have done at Liverpool, and it’s exactly how he managed to develop a Borussia Dortmund team of young, emerging talents into back-to-back Bundesliga winners and Champions League finalists. Clearly, Klopp sees something worthwhile in Sobhi too.
Of course, it’s still very early days and any move for the 19-cap Egyptian is far more likely to come in the summer than by the end of the January transfer window, not least because the Potters find themselves in a relegation battle. But combined with his two goals, Sobhi boasts two statistical returns this season that particularly stand out as signs of real promise – the grit and determination to average 1.4 tackles per ninety minutes, alongside the natural flair to complete 2.1 dribbles in the same time frame.
Prolific dribblers are always exciting talents, simply because they can manipulate the ball so well and cause so much devastation when they reach top speed, but it’s the combination with industry when out of possession that will impress Klopp most.
Don’t expect immediate movement on this one, but don’t be surprised if we see Sobhi given a chance at Anfield in the near future either; with figures in the transfer market spiralling out of control, it makes far more sense for Liverpool to invest in the young winger early before his price-tag goes through the roof.
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I’ve stated before that Arsene Wenger is the king of compromise when it comes to the transfer market, and this summer is the perfect example.
At the end of last season, if you asked the average Arsenal fan what his or her side needed to acquire in the transfer window, they’d tell you a goalkeeper, a central defender, a holding midfielder and a striker. And if Arsene Wenger fulfilled all the wishes of the said supporter, bringing added quality in all departments mentioned, you’d suggest the Gunners would have a good chance of reasserting themselves in the Premier League title race.
But as the Frenchman spent the summer adamantly denying he needed any new players, never truly committing to the level required in his pursuits of David Villa, Gonzalo Higuain, Luis Suarez, and Luiz Gustavo, the impetus changed from improving the team that Wenger himself claimed were capable of claiming the Premier League title without changing a single member of personnel, to simply spending some money, on anybody, in any position, as long as the Gunners didn’t finish up with 20 year-old bosman signing Yaya Sanogo from Auxerre to show for a whole summer’s worth of opportunities to buy.
Granted, Wenger did come through for the fans in spectacular style with his club-record-fee-breaking £42million acquisition of Mesut Ozil from Real Madrid. The German international is one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe, claiming more assists than any other player throughout the continent for his previous four seasons combined. But will buying yet another light-weight attacking midfielder actually get the Gunners any closer to the title race? They’ve already got so many on the books that they’re being transformed into holding midfielders, to the detriment of Arsenal’s back four.
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And the fans’ price for getting their long-desired marquee signing is to accept Wenger’s other choice of squad additions without kicking up a fuss. Mathieu Flamini has been brought back to the Emirates after his contract expired with AC Milan, but when fans speculated as to what defensive midfielder could be signed at the start of the summer to sure up the middle of the park, I doubt the Frenchman was at the forefront of their thinking, or even considered as a viable option.
After leaving North London for bigger money in Italy, it’s safe to say Flamini’s career took a downward turn. During his five years in Milan, the 29 year old managed just 96 Serie A outings, and was hardly held in high regard. He missed almost the entire 2010/2011 campaign through injury, and last term made only 18 league appearances. It doesn’t suggest a player on top of his game, but convinced that his squad only requires bolstering, not improving, Wenger re-signed Flamini at no cost to serve as his only natural holding midfielder in the whole squad, unless you include captain sicknote Abou Diaby.
Perhaps I’ve been a bit unfair. The former France international, who hasn’t got close to the national set-up since his last outing in 2008, is a well-experienced professional, capable of playing in numerous positions, that will go some way to address the imbalance in Arsenal’s midfield if he’s used on a regular basis.
He doesn’t help the Gunners’ height issues, and he’s by no means improved the quality of the first team, but a useful player to have around none the less, even if there were far more talented and promising defensive midfielders out there this summer, such as Maroaune Fellaini, now with Manchester United, who was available for just £23million until mid August, or highly-rated Lyon captain Maxime Gonalons, or former PSV prodigy Kevin Strootman.
But if the re-hiring of European mercenary Flamini is understandable, the decision to bring Danish problem child Nicklas Bendtner back into the first team fold is certainly not. Earlier in the summer, the Gunners were apparently pursuing Luis Suarez and Gonzalo Higuain – two of the most prolific strikers in Europe – to bolster their attacking options, but now, Wenger is turning to a player that he’s been trying to get off the Emriates wage bill for the last two years.
Since declaring that he’d never play for Arsenal again in 2011, Bendtner has spent the last two campaigns of his career in exile, first joining Sunderland where he netted just eight goals in 30 appearances, and then Juventus, only to make nine Serie A outings in a whole season without claiming a single goal, despite the Italian club’s striking woes, and find himself banned from the Danish national team for six months after being arrested for drink-driving. Even before the 25 year old was farmed out, his Arsenal record of 22 goals in 99 Premier League appearances was hardly what you’d call Champions League material.
And it’s not as if the Ozil deal left the Gunners without funds for a new striker. If the much-documented £70million figure of Wenger’s summer war chest were true, capturing the German left £28million in the kitty to bring in a quality forward, or for that matter, a defender, a midfielder or a goalkeeper.
Carlos Tevez joined Juventus at the start of the transfer window for £10million, David Villa was available to Arsenal for just £2million before signing for Atletico Madrid according to Spanish journalist Guilleme Balague, and even more recently, Chelsea acquired Samuel Eto’o, one of Europe’s most talented and experienced front men, for a nominal fee as Anzhi held a firesale of their expensive foreign imports.
But missing out on these opportunities was Wenger’s own decision, stating after losing to Aston Villa, with less than two weeks until deadline day; “The transfer market starts for me now. From August 21 until September 2 you have 12 days, so a lot will happen. It starts now.”
Something did happen; he bought one of the most talented attacking midfielders under the age of 25 in Europe, and I have no doubt the Gunners will be a far better side now that they’ve made their first marquee signing in the best part of a decade. But it’s come at the expense of other parts of the first team that required improvement, and upon improvement, would have put Arsenal back in the title race rather than comfortably assuring them Champions League qualification, which is all Mesut Ozil will do.
The Gunners boss had a huge opportunity to capitalise this summer whilst the rest of the Premier League’s summit struggle with the teething pains of new management, and it’s been the greatest chance Arsenal have had to effectively awaken from their dormant state for some time. In his eternal stubbornness however, Wenger spent the transfer window insisting he didn’t even need to sign a new player to compete for the title, before bringing in a has-been midfielder who hasn’t been a first team regular for the best part of five years, and re-instating Nicklas Bendtner as his back-up centre-forward.
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Arsenal fans will be revelling in the satisfaction that their club has finally broken it’s big-spending duck by acquiring a player who can rival any other leading talent currently in the Premier League.
But if we look at the bigger picture, it’s still a great opportunity missed for the Gunners to rebuild, and the Emirates faithful should not be accepting two former players, both suffering all-time career lows, as the only other additions to a squad that could have competed this year if it was significantly improved in a few key departments – none of them being attacking midfield.
I mean, what’s going to come next from Arsene Wenger? A third stay for Sol Campbell, another free signing in the form of Arsenal academy product David Bentley, the re-acquiring of Alexander Hleb, or is Kanu going to come out of retirement once Bendtner’s found wanting? It seems more likely than another world class signing being made any time soon.
Should Arsenal fans be happy about Flamini and Bendtner returning to the Arsenal first team?
Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner has joined Juventus on a season long loan after being told he was surplus to requirements at the Emirates Stadium.
The Danish international spent last season on loan at Sunderland where he couldn’t convince the North East side to make the move permanent. Bendtner’s Arsenal career has never really taken off, with boastful comments in the press and underwhelming performances on the pitch causing him to be out of favour with Arsene Wenger.
The Gunners have signed two strikers already this summer and the move abroad may be the injection that the tall forwards career needs.
Juventus missed out on Dimitar Berbatov earlier today and so immediately turned their attention to Bendtner who will see out the season in Turin.
Juventus sporting director, Beppe Marotta told Sky Sport Italia: “He has talent and ability. Potentially a great player, one that has almost never been able to prove it.”
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Newcastle fans are all saying the same thing about the latest report on Kenedy, pleading with the club to sign the star Brazilian.
According to a report in Wednesday’s Daily Mail (via Chronicle Live), Chelsea are willing to part ways with the 22 year-old, but only for more than £20million.
Kenedy has been a big hit on Tyneside since his January loan move, and fans are so desperate to keep him they were even happy to simply extend the loan for another year.
The Brazilian reportedly loves Newcastle, and would be happy to stay if the two clubs can agree terms.
Since his January move up north, the 20 year-old has grabbed two goals and two assists, but it’s his tireless work rate and passion for the shirt that has really endeared him to the fans on Tyneside.
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Add in the Brazilian’s silky skill and fantastic delivery into the box, something which has been sorely lacking for the Magpies in the past, and it’s no surprise fans are practically begging the club to pull the trigger.
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With an asking price of more than £20m, things could be difficult for Newcastle, especially with Liverpool sniffing around.
While some fans are already assuming Mike Ashley won’t splash the cash, others are just hoping for the best. Some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…
Bojan Krkic made his return to the Stoke City first team last Saturday as he featured in their 2-0 friendly defeat against Brentford.
The 24-year-old former Barcelona playmaker has not featured for the Potters after he suffered a serious knee injury in January against Rochdale in the FA Cup.
The road to recovery and first team football at that point seemed a long, long away for the attacking midfielder. However, after successfully coming through rehabilitation he is back well ahead of schedule, which is a huge positive for Stoke ahead of the new season.
The diminutive Spaniard showed why he played for Barcelona on occasions last term, and upon his pre-season return he netted a classy, dipping volley. The youngster oozed quality and settled well to life in the Premier League, quickly establishing himself as a vital member of Mark Hughes’ team quicker than most would of expected.
Bojan proved a former Barca player could well do it on a cold, wet night in Stoke. However, the injury curtailed his first season in England, and what an impressive debut season it could’ve been for the midfielder. But now he will be like a new signing for Hughes ahead of the upcoming season.
When he played last season he made a real difference for Stoke. His guile, class and graceful style allowed him to drop into pockets of space in front of the opposition defences, where he could affect the game by creating chances with his vision and passing ability, or score goals through his good accurate shooting and his ability to dribble at opposing defenders and ghost past players.
That is what he will give Hughes’ men, which is a vital attribute to have in the Premier League and a player who can do such things is a vital commodity for any team lucky enought to find them. And in Bojan, Stoke certainly have their man.
He has the ability and quality to be one of the best creative midfielders in the Premier League, and now that he is fit after months of injury he will have the chance to show that. He has the quality and ability of a luxury player, however Bojan is no luxury.
I would expect to see the attacker to build on his good first half of last season and get even better over the course of the season, scoring goals and getting assists for Stoke as they look to improve under Hughes.
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He will quickly become the vital cog and member of Hughes’ side as the season progresses.
Wigan striker Arouna Kone has set his sights on a summer move to Everton, according to reports from Sky Sports.
The Ivorian has been linked with the Toffees, as well as both Liverpool and Swansea, over the course of the last few weeks, following the Latics’ relegation to the Championship.
And even though he only arrived at the DW Stadium a year ago, Kone is already keen to move on to avoid a season in the second tier.
Everton are said to be his first choice, with former chief Roberto Martinez now in charge at Goodison Park.
The Spaniard brought the 29-year-old to England and made him a key part of Wigan’s FA Cup winning squad.
As a result of their good relationship the front-man is keen for a reunion.
Everton have already made an enquiry, but it is thought that his employers are holding out for £6million, a sum which would activate a release clause in his contract.
Kone netted an impressive 11 Premier League goals in his debut campaign, but could not do enough to drag Wigan clear of the drop zone.
The striker has a wealth of experience, having played for clubs in Belgium, Holland, Spain and Germany.
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Is Arouna Kone to Everton a good deal for everybody involved?
But in Sean O’Driscoll’s first week of league games in charge of Nottingham Forest, he’s managed to retain the belief and posotivity of the fans. Emotions of football fans fluctuate at the best of times, but the thousands following Forest at the moment remain quietly optimistic.
It’s tradition for Forest to get off to a slow start. This is a new era, though. New owners, new manager, new team.
As they headed into the opening game against Bristol City at the City Ground, there was a different feel to the game, as if times were about to change, and so they did. Forest ran out 1-0 winners thanks to a goal from Adlene Guedioura on his 2nd debut for the club.
Tapping the shirt as he runs away in elation, Guedioura showed more passion in his celebration than many that represented the club last year did when they played.
Forest had got their first goal on an opening day for so many years, and coupled with that, their first win. A great start to the Al-Hasawi reign, leaving the supporters going home satisfied, and many staying behind to queue at the ticket office, buying for future games. The taste of a convincing victory, the positive atmosphere, and people were left wanting more.
What was the message from O’Driscoll and Fawaz Al-Hasawi?
“Forest will do better in future games”, says Fawaz Al-Hasawi.
“It’s a beginning”, remarks Sean O’Driscoll.
Nobody is getting carried away, and that will be the story for every game. Everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet, with the intention of striving for improvement in the next match. Anything beyond the next game is quickly dismissed in a calm but stern manner.
In the second game of the season, 2,200 Forest fans followed their team to Huddersfield, ready for a testing game from the team that had just gained promotion from League One and were bound to have momentum on their side.
Huddersfield Town were outplayed, and were taught a footballing lesson by a Forest side yet to gel. The much talked about Jordan Rhodes barely got a kick, as the away team left them chasing shadows for long periods. Simon Cox finished brilliantly to put Forest into the lead, and the game was there to be killed off.
It wasn’t, and Dan Harding’s silly mistake in the final minute meant Huddersfield had a penalty, which was put away by Rhodes.
Negativity from Forest fans perhaps, for chucking away 2 points?
Far from it. Despite the obvious initial disappointment, the Reds contingent were in a positive frame of mind. They had witnessed a Forest side who had yet to gel, dominate a Huddersfield team full of very capable Championship players. The new front line of Blackstock and Cox were showing promise, as was Simon Gillett, the free transfer who was receiving plenty of plaudits.
It was always going to be a tougher test against recently relegated Bolton. Their style of play and quality of players meant the Forest players had to be on their game.
They did not disappoint.
It finished 2-2, and it was a fair result at the Reebok. Not many teams will go to Bolton and pick up any points, but Forest did, and were well worthy. They went there and in the first half especially, proved to Bolton and the division they are to be taken seriously.
How did the respective managers of both teams react?
“Give credit to Bolton”, O’Driscoll kindly commented.
“That’s a game we should have won”, Owen Coyle sharply said.
Two totally different reactions. The unassuming Sean O’Driscoll showing respect to the opposition, whilst Owen Coyle’s reaction is one of a man under intense pressure, wanting to convince himself more than anyone his side did enough.
O’Driscoll is under no pressure, which will work in his sides favour this season. The only factor that has worked against O’Driscoll and Forest so far is that two of the games have been chosen for television coverage.
‘SOD’ is known for playing things down, but televised games get neutrals talking. Televised games get the media talking.
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Whilst outside appreciation is nice, it’s not needed.
Nottingham Forest fans are all smiling. That in itself is a very good achievement.
Nobody is sniping unnecessarily. Nobody is expecting. Everyone is just sitting back and watching, as it all takes shape.
Sky Sports, BBC, and any other media outlet: There’s one message… Everything is going just fine, and there’s nothing to see here. Turn around and televise the headline makers.
Who cares if The Football League Show only show 30 seconds of highlights, and it largely gets portrayed as the opposition dominating, when every Forest fan knows different.
The longer Forest go unnoticed this season, the better chance there is of success at the end of it.
Pat Cummins is rested from the entire tour, while Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell will join for the ODIs against England
Andrew McGlashan15-Jul-20241:23
Clarke: Some Australia players might walk away from T20Is
Perth Scorchers and Western Australia allrounder Cooper Connolly has been handed his first international call-up for Australia’s T20I squad to face Scotland and England, while Jake Fraser-McGurk has been included in both the T20I and ODI squad as the selectors start to glance towards the future.Australia will play three T20Is against Scotland and England from early September, and the squad reflects the start of the transition from the group that exited the recent T20 World Cup in the Super Eights. The ODI squad is more stable with an eye on next year’s Champions Trophy in Pakistan.Fraser-McGurk’s inclusion had been expected, and he now has the chance to establish himself as David Warner’s successor at the top of the order in both limited-overs formats. He has yet to make his T20I debut, but played two ODIs against West Indies last season.Related
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Connolly, the 20-year-old left hand batter, has only featured in 15 domestic T20s, but played a starring role in the BBL 2022-23 final to secure Scorchers the title. He strikes at 145.80 in T20s, and also provides a useful left-arm spin option. Connolly also made 90 on his Sheffield Shield debut, in the final, earlier this year.”We haven’t had that many bolters for a little while,” national selector George Bailey said. “He’s an exciting young talent. Hasn’t played a great many games yet, but we really like his versatility. His work through the middle order for the Scorchers has been really impressive. Handy left-arm spin as well which, as a secondary skill, is something we are really keen to keep exploring and see where that goes with his cricket.”Mitchell Marsh remains the T20I captain, and will also lead the ODI side in the absence of Pat Cummins, who is rested from the entire Scotland and England tour ahead of the home summer. Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell will also miss the T20Is before joining for the ODIs, while allrounder Matthew Short, who was a traveling reserve at the T20 World Cup, will remain at home for the birth of his first child before arriving for the five ODIs against England.Cummins is currently among the group of Australians taking part in the ongoing MLC, but Bailey said missing the Scotland and England tour had been in the planning for around 12 months with an eye on a condensed schedule that comes once the home summer begins.”He’s got a couple of things he wants to work on physically,” Bailey said. “He’s had a lot of cricket over the past period, and this is an opportunity to get on top of those and set him up for the next period of time; it’s more a management of that. The MLC opportunity came reasonably late, [and] as far as the plan went, it’s an extra 18 or 19 days that he’s up for, [so] it doesn’t fundamentally change the plan we had for him.”2:32
Bailey impressed with Connolly’s ‘versatility’
From those who featured in the T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies last month, Ashton Agar and Matthew Wade have been dropped from the T20I squad, while Warner has retired.In the T20I squad, Xavier Bartlett, Spencer Johnson and Nathan Ellis will be part of the pace attack alongside the experience of Josh Hazlewood. Allrounders Cameron Green and Aaron Hardie are included across both formats with the former likely to see far more opportunity. Josh Inglis will replace Wade with the gloves in T20Is.Alex Carey is back in the ODI squad as Inglis’ understudy, having lost his place in the XI during last year’s World Cup.The T20Is against Scotland, which replace the tour of Ireland which was cancelled by the hosts for financial reasons, take place on September 4, 6 and 7. Three T20Is against England follow on September 11, 13 and 15, followed by the five ODIs.
Australia T20I squad vs Scotland and England
Mitchell Marsh (capt), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Spencer Johnson, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa
Australia ODI squad vs England
Mitchell Marsh (capt), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis (wk), Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa
The fixture was significant for the return of two fast bowlers – Deepak Chahar for Chennai Super Kings and Mohsin Khan for Lucknow Super Giants
Sreshth Shah03-May-20232:06
Tait: Badoni has the temperament to take on international bowlers
Match abandonedRain had the final say in Lucknow, where MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings had taken the upper hand against the Super Giants after 19.2 action-packed overs of the first innings. CSK spinners ran through the home team’s line-up, but 23-year-old Ayush Badoni scored a counter-attacking fifty before the game was called off at 6.56 pm local time.The game had started 15 minutes late due to an afternoon shower, and the surface ended up assisting spin big time. Moeen Ali dismissed Kyle Mayers for the second time in the season, and Maheesh Theekshana accounted for Manan Vohra and Krunal Pandya off successive deliveries in the sixth over. Moeen held on to a tough caught-and-bowled chance to remove Karan Sharma, but the best wicket was Ravindra Jadeja bowling Marcus Stoinis with one that pitched outside the right-hander’s leg stump and spun sharply to hit off, leaving the batter dumbfounded.At 44 for 5 in the 10th over, the Super Giants were sinking but Badoni and Nicholas Pooran steadied the innings. They added 59 for the sixth wicket, but Pooran’s contribution was only 14, with Badoni taking charge. He smashed two sixes off Theekshana and reached fifty with another six off Deepak Chahar in the 19th over to give the Super Giants a fighting chance.Rain forced the players off the field in the 20th over of the first innings and did not ease up enough for play to resume, leaving both Super Kings and Super Giants with one point each from the contest. Both teams are on 11 points after ten games.The fixture was also significant for the return of two fast bowlers. Chahar was fit again for CSK after missing six games because of a hamstring injury and returned figures of 0 for 41 in four overs. Mohsin Khan was named in the Super Giants XI for the first time this season, after spending almost the entire year since the previous IPL recovering from injury, but did not get the chance to bowl because of the bad weather.