Jase

When United are already sitting deeper. lol

All Werner's fault really.

I wonder if United decided to press high up after seeing that front 3 of ours when the team news came out because the game hasn't taken the pattern that we were all probably expecting. Giroud has no pace to beat any backline. Ziyech and Mount prefer to come onto the ball. No one makes run off the ball to just push them, to worry them about a ball over the top.

Am laughing at the irony of it, TBH. 😂

Jokes aside, you wonder when will Tuchel rest him. Otherwise, he'll just get burnt out like last season.

Tuchel has DEFINITELY read TC recently!

Would be very surprised if Tuchel changes to a back 4 in a MUST NOT LOSE game.

It's Burnley...

Guessing part of the reason why Werner is on the bench is because United are likely to defend deep, which means not much space and all. Might well be back at Liverpool. My one concern is that the team doesn't have any runners off the ball. Everyone likes/prefers the ball to be played to their feet. No one other than Giroud looks likely to get into the box. As for Chilwell, he better not make us look like idiots!

Tuchel has been reading TC. 🤣

Looks like Giroud will start for starters...

Looks like surprises are on the way...

Fluke hat trick? That's unnecessary!

If we look at the short term, then yes, they haven't been great but they were bought for the long term. So I don't know, maybe we should wait a little longer than just 1 season to judge them? The problem with buying players that a manager specifically wants is that what happens when the club change manager? What if Player A was bought by Manager A but when the club change to Manager B and doesn't fancy Player A, then what? Then there's also the point about not every manager's targets/signings are great either. Imagine if we had followed through Conte's targets last time and bought some actual poor players that he wanted. Let's face it, most of the big clubs these days have some sort of transfer committee/sporting director/director of football overseeing transfers. For better or for worse, ours are no different.

Like it'll matter...

And they have just lost Barnes to injury...

Yeah but was that a one off or not? Because he has only 1 goal this season and rarely looked like scoring compared to last season.

LOL

But is Haller a top striker in general though? He did score 15 goals in the Bundesliga in 2018/19 but apart from that, the only times he's scored more than 10 league goals in a season were in the Eredivisie.

Seems like Arteta has given up on the league going by that lineup he put out...

Think he said it because on the context of everything that has happened and the challenges faced in the league. See more of his quotes in my last post above.

Erling Haaland promises to be the transfer story of the summer and today’s Premier League clash between Chelsea and Manchester United may well be a prelude to a battle, which could also involve Manchester City, for one of the hottest young strikers of recent years. It is nine years ago since Chelsea last beat all of their top-four rivals, as well as some of Europe’s biggest clubs, to land Eden Hazard, and they have since lost out to United for striker Romelu Lukaku and City for central defender John Stones. United and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s interest in signing Haaland last January was well documented, but what is not as well known is that former Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard also wanted to sign him last year and made contact with the player’s entourage before he joined Borussia Dortmund from Molde. Haaland’s agent, Mino Raiola, last week claimed that there were now as many as 10 of Europe’s top clubs interested in trying to force Dortmund into a sale. Here, we examine the elements that will determine who comes out on top and which club, out of Chelsea, United and City, hold an advantage in each category. The agent Raiola was key to Haaland joining Borussia Dortmund in January last year, when both United and Chelsea had shown an interest in the player, and it appears the Italian will again have a big influence on his next destination. That could be bad news for Chelsea, with sources unable to recall a single player that the Blues have signed through Raiola, who took Lukaku to United instead of Stamford Bridge in 2017. Other than the huge fees he demands, Chelsea have been reluctant to work with Raiola because of the continuing influence he traditionally has over his clients and the interference that can bring, as United have found with Paul Pogba. Former manager Jose Mourinho had been interested in signing Pogba for Chelsea, but, along with other reservations, Raiola’s presence was a turn-off for the London club. City manager Pep Guardiola is also said to have fallen out with Raiola in the past over Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and he is not a manager who would stand for an agent making public statements about his players. Not one of the Premier League trio have a clear advantage in terms of their relationship with Raiola, but, for all the public rows over Pogba, United have done the most deals with him and were prepared to offer more in terms of agents’ fees than Chelsea for Lukaku. Both Chelsea and City will be relying on other factors convincing Haaland to instruct Raiola where he wants to go, rather than the other way round. Advantage Manchester United, but Raiola will be willing to talk to whichever clubs are willing to put up the money. The manager Sir Alex Ferguson used to be United’s jewel in the crown in terms of convincing players to move to Old Trafford, while Mourinho famously charmed Cesc Fabregas into joining Chelsea, despite his association with Arsenal, and Antonio Conte made an 11th-hour phone call to N’Golo Kante to talk him out of joining the Gunners in favour of moving to West London. United manager Solskjaer this week reiterated his relationship with Haaland, having managed him at Molde and revealed the pair remain in touch. But City clearly have the X-factor when it comes to the pulling power of each club’s manager and it is hard to imagine any attacking player turning down the opportunity to work under Guardiola if the Spaniard made it clear that he really wanted them. Chelsea’s latest head coach Thomas Tuchel seems on less sure footing than his rivals, given how recently he was appointed, although his experience of working with Kylian Mbappe and Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain would surely be taken into consideration. And history shows that it is not always the most famous managers, or those who have forged the closest relationship with the player, who come out on top. Both Ferguson and former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had spoken personally with Hazard before Chelsea made their pitch to the Belgian. Roberto Di Matteo was interim manager at the time and did not involve himself heavily in the pursuit of Hazard, so the responsibility fell to former technical director Michael Emenalo. It was after telling Hazard that he could become a club legend at Chelsea, rather than just one of a number of great players to have appeared for United and Arsenal, that Emenalo swung the odds back in the favour of the Blues. Advantage Manchester City. Pep’s pulling power must be second to none in world football right now. But how badly does he want Haaland? The Owner(s) Ask a footballer to name the owners of Manchester City and Manchester United and there is every chance they will not be able to provide an answer. Ask anybody who the owner of Chelsea is and barely anybody will pause for thought before naming Roman Abramovich. As a source told Telegraph Sport this week, when Abramovich really wants a player, he generally gets him. He may no longer watch the team from inside Stamford Bridge, but Abramovich can still involve himself in transfer deals when he so wishes, or give a directive over a player that he really wants – as was the case with Kai Havertz last summer. Given the chance, there are not many people involved in football who would not relish the opportunity to speak to Abramovich, either on the telephone or in person, or, even better, receive an exclusive invitation on to his new £430 million yacht which this week made headlines. Abramovich personally involved himself in the signing of Hazard in 2012 and, while United and City’s owners can certainly put up the cash, the Russian billionaire retains an aura and a reputation that makes people stop what they are doing and rip up their plans. Chelsea are acutely aware of the fact that Abramovich can effectively clinch a deal that he has a strong personal interest in and technical performance adviser Petr Cech, together with director Marina Granovskaia, may well have that card up their sleeves to play if the need arises. Advantage Chelsea. Roman Abramovich usually gets what Roman Abramovich wants. If he really wants Haaland and he’s willing to work with Raiola, then United and City will find him difficult to beat. Verdict Can Raiola and Abramovich finally find a way to work together or will both men hold a grudge and refuse to give an inch? The answer to that question may well determine Haaland’s destiny, although Chelsea and United must hope that Guardiola does not decide that the 20-year-old is the man to replace Sergio Aguero, especially given his father Alf-Inge’s City background.