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Who’s to blame for Manchester United’s woes?
It’s now just one win from the last seven Premier League games for Manchester United after yesterday’s 2-2 draw away to Bournemouth. It’s another disappointing result, and Erik ten Hag clearly didn’t seem happy as he walked out of his press conference after the game when asked about potentially guiding Man United to their lowest finish in the Premier League era.
There will always be a big debate in situations like this – is it the manager’s responsibility, or the players, or a bit of both? It would take hours to discuss this in details… there are many factors. The manager has responsibilities, players of course too, but we shouldn’t forget also that United have had an incredible number of injuries this season, this is a factor too.
It’s been a poor season for United, in my opinion the biggest problem was when they ended up finishing fourth in that Champions League group. You can’t do it if you’re Man United.
Lucas Paqueta and Jamal Musiala linked with Man City – what’s the truth?
Lucas Paqueta will be one to watch for the summer transfer window – we can confirm that his contract at West Ham, which runs until 2027 with the option of a further season, will this summer have a release clause of £85m. Let’s see who’s going to attack that release clause, because West Ham have no intention to negotiate, it will have to be the payment of that clause if Paqueta is to be sold.
Manchester City still have an interest in Paqueta, he’s a player they appreciate, while the Brazilian midfielder would obviously also be super keen on the move. Paqueta was already keen on joining City last summer, but the crucial story is the betting allegations against him.
City are waiting to see what happens with that story as they like the player, so let’s see what materialises there and how it affects a potential saga this summer.
I’m also aware that there have been reports of Man City being in a strong position for Jamal Musiala this summer, but I’m told that at the moment there’s zero concrete into any Musiala story or deal. Bayern will push to extend his contract, there will be talks, they will make an important proposal and we will see how discussions will go. Until that moment, nothing will be serious.
Of course top clubs are interested in Musiala, that’s absolutely normal, but no one has started concrete talks yet as it depends on Bayern.
Lewis Hall to leave Chelsea for permanent Newcastle transfer
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, which is now confirmed, Lewis Hall is a Newcastle player. He is joining on a permanent transfer from Chelsea as all the conditions for his loan to be made permanent have been met.
Newcastle will pay £28m to Chelsea for Hall – this will be an important amount of money for Chelsea as they look to ensure they respect the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules. This is crucial for Chelsea and so to get this money from Newcastle is important for them.
This is just the beginning from Chelsea as they will also try to sell some other players in the next months. We’ll see soon about names, in the next weeks we should be more clear on the strategy and on the future of some key names like Conor Gallagher and Trevoh Chalobah.
Three names to watch for the Bayern Munich job
The manager market continues to be important and I wanted to update you on the Bayern Munich job. From what I’m hearing, the situation as of today is that Julian Nagelsmann is a strong candidate to return to the club, while Bayern also had some direct contacts with Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi.
Still, for now the expectation is that Nagelsmann is the front-runner for the job. Some contacts have taken place to explore the situation, but he also has a proposal from the German national team to continue until the World Cup, so let’s see what he will decide to do, but the idea as of today for the Bayern board is that Nagelsmann is a stronger candidate than De Zerbi, even if the Italian is still on the list.
Another name that could also be one to watch is Ralf Rangnick. The Austria manager, former interim manager at Manchester United, is a legend of German football and he’s also a candidate for the Bayern job. He’s denied that in public, but the reality is that some contacts took place to explore the situation, so Rangnick and De Zerbi remain options even if Nagelsmann is the front-runner.
In other news…
Ronald Araujo – There’s no updates or developments on Ronald Araujo’s future yet. Barcelona are fully focused on the pitch now, but then they will discuss many contracts including Araujo, Pedri, Cubarsi and more. Many clubs appreciate Araujo but Barca will offer him a new deal, that’s been the expectation at the club for a long time.
Goncalo Inacio – Sporting Lisbon defender Goncalo Inacio is being linked with Liverpool again and it’s been the case for years now – it’s already 2-3 years of these rumours. Liverpool have been scouting him multiple times but at the moment there are no talks or contacts, it’s just the same scouting activity that other clubs are doing for Inacio, who is one of the most talented centre-backs around.
Charlie Patino – At the moment, there are no talks between Charlie Patino and Arsenal over a new deal. So it’s a possibility for the young midfielder to leave the club in the summer, but I’m told that final decision will be made at the end of the season when there will be talks with the player’s representatives. Let’s see how that conversation will go.