The English Football Thread

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Salah’s flirting with Barca and what it means for his contract negotiations

https://theathletic.com/2259715/2020/12/20/mo-salah-liverpool-contract-barcelona/

Mohamed Salah is a reluctant talker, but that does not mean he is introverted. The last time he agreed to an interview with anyone in the British media, outside his club’s in-house operation, I was there.

He was only persuaded because he’d just broken the 40-goal barrier for Liverpool in his first season at Anfield. He was friendly enough and I liked that bit of spirit and spike about him, the sort of qualities you see in his play. Yet I quickly formed the impression that he was holding himself back, that he’d rather be elsewhere. After three minutes and 58 slightly awkward seconds, he was gone.

It cannot be easy being the most famous footballer to come from a country where there is totalitarian rule, as there is in Egypt. Your words matter. You have to be careful what you say. Especially when your hero and friend Mohamed Aboutrika lives in exile having been placed on a terrorist watchlist for what he has said (and supposedly done) in the past. Doubly when voters spoil ballots by using your name in elections where all of the forecasts are predictably in favour of the controlling party.

Salah expressed gratitude to his team-mates at the Football Writers’ Awards ceremony in May 2018 when he collected his winners’ trophy. In April 2019, he spoke to Time Magazine about women’s rights. That aside, he has told the world very little about himself since returning to England in 2017.

It was unusual for him, then, to grant Spanish sports paper AS a sit down in person and in front of a camera at a COVID-19-secure location on Merseyside in the middle of a pandemic, with the contents published yesterday. It was also unusual for him to be as candid as he was, posing later with an AS microphone in front of a Christmas tree.

There were two revelations, the first being that he was “very disappointed” to be overlooked for a captaincy role in this month’s Champions League dead rubber at Midtjylland, the second relating to a new contract being in Liverpool’s hands. Not so revealing was the description of Barcelona and Real Madrid as “top clubs”, though perhaps telling neither were described as “top teams”.

In journalism, securing an interview is the archetypal scoop. Salah appears to have gone off grid at a club where most things go to plan. Yet there tends to be an ulterior motive when a player talks so openly, particularly if he is usually so cautious.

The landscape and the surroundings of Salah’s future currently looks like this: the 28-year-old has two and a half years to run on his current deal, which is worth around £200,000 a week. His next contract might be the most lucrative of his career, but everything agreed after that will be on reduced terms. Barcelona, meanwhile, have presidential elections next month and there are men who will make big promises to ensure that soon they will be able to walk the corridors of power at the Camp Nou. Elsewhere, Real are desperate to sign Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain but financial restrictions might make that pursuit more challenging than it would have been in the past.

The Athletic understands that Jurgen Klopp and other key figures at Liverpool do not view Salah’s comments as a matter of frustration. It would have been understandable if Klopp’s decision to leave Salah on the bench against Crystal Palace on Saturday was his way of reminding him who is in charge, yet sources close to the manager suggest he’d decided before Liverpool’s victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night that he’d give his leading scorer an hour’s rest at Selhurst Park before introducing him for Sadio Mane.

Salah also emphatically suggested to AS that he was determined to break records at Anfield — “I repeat, every record”. The victory over Palace held historical significance, with Liverpool winning by a seven-goal margin away from home in the league for the first time in 106 top-flight years, with seven different players assisting the goals, the first time that’s happened in the Premier League. The result means Klopp has guided Liverpool to more wins than any other manager in the Premier League era, too.

Facts such as these reflect the variety of the threat posed by one of the most exciting Liverpool teams ever. This is a team that could allow Salah to realise his collective sporting ambitions as well as his personal ones. There is a temptation to think this might be the start of an exit strategy, but it is just as plausible that Salah wants to stay for a long time. Perhaps all he needs is an assurance that the club feel the same way, especially in the climate of COVID-19, which is expected to have caused north of £100 million in lost revenues.

Salah will be 31 at the end of his current contract, so sporting director Michael Edwards knows that he and Klopp have tough decisions ahead. Georginio Wijnaldum is likely to depart on a free transfer next summer and, at 30, he is one of the most influential players in Klopp’s starting XI. Perhaps it shows there is a willingness at Anfield to be bold when navigating such rocky waters.

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Rhythm-setting Firmino back among goals – now to sort out away form

https://theathletic.com/2258311/2020/12/17/liverpool-tottenham-firmino-klopp/

When Roberto Firmino finally reached the touchline after accepting the acclaim of Anfield after the final whistle, a close friend was waiting to greet him.

Alisson wrapped his arms about his fellow Brazil international and lifted him clean off the ground. Firmino’s megawatt smile could have lit the place up.

All late winners spark wild scenes of celebration but the identity of the goalscorer who propelled Liverpool back to the top of the Premier League at the expense of Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur added an extra layer of emotion.

Having powered home a thumping header from Andy Robertson’s corner, Firmino turned and raced towards the opposite end of the stadium with his arms outstretched. He wanted to share the moment with the jubilant 1,500 fans spread around the Kop.

It’s been a lean year for the former Hoffenheim attacker who has been so integral to Liverpool’s sustained resurgence under Jurgen Klopp. This was only his seventh goal for the club in 2020 and at times this season, his place in the team has looked under serious threat.

Diogo Jota’s flying start to his Liverpool career cranked up the pressure but with the Portugal international now sidelined until February by a knee injury, Firmino’s importance to Klopp is suddenly as great as ever. Talk of him being yesterday’s man proved premature.

With Jota out, Divock Origi largely ineffective and Takumi Minamino still trying to carve out a niche for himself, Liverpool are heavily reliant on Firmino to lead the line heading into 2021. That’s why the timing of his goal against Tottenham could prove so beneficial. Confidence should be coursing through his veins as the leaders enter a crucial period in their defence of the Premier League crown.

“I just hope that Bobby never doubts himself,” says Klopp. “In training, it doesn’t look like it but there’s always so much talk and it always feels like people are surprised, ‘Oh, Bobby scored’. He scores goals, important ones for us. Making the runs to open the gaps, people don’t see that and I understand that.”

It was typical Klopp. Publicly, he has always dismissed any scrutiny of Firmino’s output and talked up the all-round contribution of the man he regards as Liverpool’s “engine”.

Earlier this season he described Firmino as “a complete footballer” and in likening his team to an orchestra, he added: “Bobby plays like 12 instruments and is very important for our rhythm.”

But no matter how good your No 9 is at pressing to force mistakes and dropping off into space to link play and create openings for others, you also expect goals.

Wednesday was the first time since the league victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux in January that Firmino had bagged the winner. That was also the last occasion when he scored in an away fixture. He has graced 21 matches on Liverpool’s travels since.

How Klopp needs him to put that right, with three of their four matches over the festive period taking place away from Anfield against Crystal Palace, Newcastle United and Southampton. Those games should spark happy memories for Firmino. He rammed home the decisive goal at Selhurst Park on Liverpool’s previous visit 13 months ago. He also scored the killer second against Southampton at St Mary’s last season.

Firmino is not going to be a golden boot contender for Liverpool. Since bagging 27 goals in all competitions in the 2017-18 season, his return dropped to 16 in 2018-19 and then 12 in 2019-20. His role has evolved. He’s a selfless team man, a vital cog in Klopp’s wheel. However, given the openings with which he’s regularly presented, he should be contributing more in the final third. Last season, he chipped in with nine league goals and eight assists with a “big chance” conversion rate of 23 per cent, as defined by Opta. This time around, he’s got three goals, two assists and a big chance conversion rate of just 17 per cent.

It’s telling that only Andy Robertson and Georginio Wijnaldum have played more Premier League minutes for Liverpool this season. Klopp’s faith in Firmino is unwavering.

The Brazilian striker isn’t the only one who has struggled to hit the heights away from home of late. Remarkably, given the fact that they are three points clear at the top, Liverpool have won just one of their six away league games this season. In fact, include the six trips at the back end of last season either side of the lockdown and Liverpool have won just three from 12.

The away form hasn’t been a serious talking point so far because Liverpool have been immaculate at Anfield and their rivals have all been dropping points. However, it’s an area Klopp is desperate to address in the knowledge that it’s not sustainable over the course of the entire season if they are going to retain the title. It’s been nearly three months since the champions last collected three points on their travels.

There have been mitigating circumstances. The 7-2 debacle at Aston Villa was followed by the contentious draw at Goodison when Liverpool lost both Virgil van Dijk and Thiago Alcantara to injury and had a late winner ruled out. A hard-fought point away to Manchester City was then followed by draws at Brighton and Fulham when fatigue undoubtedly took its toll.

At Anfield on Wednesday night, Liverpool looked energised. There was an intensity to their work that was lacking at Craven Cottage.

Curtis Jones enhanced his blossoming reputation with a classy display in midfield and fellow teenager Rhys Williams rose to the challenge on his Premier League debut.

Tottenham had their chances after Son Heung-min’s equaliser cancelled out Mohamed Salah’s opener before the break but they didn’t take them.

For the most part, Liverpool were in the ascendancy and just when it looked like it would finish even Firmino’s perseverance ultimately paid off. Having twice been denied by Hugo Lloris in the first half, he made no mistake when Robertson’s delivery was inch-perfect.

Firmino spends a lot of his spare time reading the Bible and playing the piano at home. He doesn’t get easily agitated or concerned. But a weight will have been lifted off his shoulders by that late show. He was the most popular of heroes. Now he needs to kick on and spearhead the charge to sort out Liverpool’s away form — starting at Selhurst Park in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off that Klopp dreads.

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Foden and Jesus at their best can reignite City’s season

https://theathletic.com/2274004/2020/12/23/city-foden-jesus-guardiola/

All season at Manchester City the question has been the same: how do you inject spark back into a team that has lost it all?

They thought about signing Lionel Messi, and may try again. They eventually gave Pep Guardiola a contract, deciding against a managerial change. There is already talk of a move for Erling Braut Haaland next summer. The club is scrambling for ways to get this old team back to the level of its two Premier League titles, back to the level they used to share with Liverpool but have now almost willingly abandoned.

But watching City dismantle Arsenal last night in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup, you wondered whether the answers for City’s lost spark might be slightly closer to home.

This has not been the best season so far for Phil Foden or Gabriel Jesus, with both men finding themselves in and out of Guardiola’s plans and struggling for rhythm. It has been that sort of mood at City, a year of inconsistency and uncertainty. Players who looked integral to Guardiola’s plans in the past, like Bernardo Silva or Aymeric Laporte, have found themselves relegated to second choice or worse. John Stones, after barely playing a big match in two years, is suddenly now back in the picture.

That has been apparent from watching City play this season. A sense of staleness has descended over this team and the players look unable to produce the same intensity that they did during the two title-winning seasons in 2017-18 and 2018-19. This is Guardiola’s fifth season, the longest he has done at any club, and at times the manager and the players look slightly fed up with one another.

That might explain why the heart has gone out of some of the performances, such as the limp draws with Liverpool, Manchester United, West Brom, West Ham and Leeds, or those striking defeats to Leicester City and Tottenham. Some of the performances — especially the Manchester United and West Brom games — have looked totally unlike the style of football Guardiola has tried to deliver in the last four and a half years.

City have been fairly accused of being fragile or brittle or soft in the past, or however you want to put it. But this autumn is the first time in years that they could be accused of being dull.

Taken together, this is why last night’s big win at the Emirates was so impressive. Yes, they were playing against arguably the worst Arsenal team since they left Woolwich, but the City players did their jobs immaculately. Guardiola chose to play some of those with the most to prove — not the teenagers, but the guys who are good enough to be regulars but not consistent enough. There are plenty of empty spaces in City’s best XI for the second half of this season. This was the moment to stake a claim.

First there was Jesus. It is almost four years since he came to City and he does not always look like a convincingly better player than he was back then. He is capable of great moments in big games — like in both legs against Real Madrid in the Champions League last-16 last season — but has not developed the penalty box instincts that make Sergio Aguero, even now at 32 years old, by far the more reliable goalscorer. When City were knocked out by Lyon in the quarter-finals, Jesus looked lost.

This season it has felt as if Jesus was back to square one, even with Aguero’s own age starting to catch up with him. He has only scored two Premier League goals. But this was a much better performance. His movement was lively and dangerous, pulling off to the left and attacking that fragile channel between Cedric Soares and Shkodran Mustafi. It only took two minutes for Jesus to find a goal; starting a move, running inside Mustafi and heading Oleksandr Zinchenko’s cross into the net.

From there Jesus’ confidence was up, whether pressing from the run or cutting in from the left. When he dropped deep, picked up the ball and ran forwards, Arsenal could not stop him. Both Mohamed Elneny and Mustafi were booked for fouling him, giving two free-kicks that City wasted. It was not a perfect Jesus performance, and he should have scored from a good position in the box at the end of the first half, only to hit his shot straight at Runar Runarsson. Maybe Aguero would have taken that chance. But overall this felt like a good night for Jesus, a reminder of what he can do, and the pressing football he can help City to play up front.

Even more impressive than Jesus was Foden, the 20-year-old in whom so much faith is invested this year. That Jesus chance at the end of the first half was set up by Foden’s clever flick, and from that point on he ran the game. Playing close to a No 10 role in City’s flexible system, Foden was electric. When he ran onto Fernandinho’s pass from the left, he produced the game’s finest moment of quality, deftly lifting the ball over Runarsson on the run, and into the net. And when he crossed the ball for Laporte to head in from close range, it was a piece of technical quality and ball manipulation as good as anything you would see from Kevin De Bruyne.

Almost a complete performance, then, from a young attacking midfielder who can do everything he needs to in the game. His season so far has been quite good — 12 starts in all competitions — without becoming City’s most important player. He is clearly in that second band of players, along with Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez, whose trust from the manager is more contingent.

But if City are looking to turn their season around, start playing some of their old football again and maybe even win a trophy, it does not automatically follow that they need to spend hundreds of millions of pounds next month or in the summer. Jesus and Foden (to say nothing of Silva) are still two of the best young players in the game. If Guardiola can get them playing as well as they can — as well as this — then the second half of City’s season can be more exciting than the first. The fuel to reignite Manchester City is already in place, if only Guardiola can find a way to light it.

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Sensible Transfers: United scouting Caicedo, striker like Haaland a priority

https://theathletic.com/2278519/2020/12/23/sensible-transfers-united-scouting-caicedo-striker-like-haaland-a-priority/

Manchester United will look at the January window as a chance to augment Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s squad but the prospect of another signing in the transformative mould of Bruno Fernandes is remote.

Ed Woodward believes winter is a difficult time to do business and United are set to take a cautious approach to spending as the pandemic continues to grip. It may be a month of outgoings rather than incomings.

But if United are genuinely in the title race at the time trading opens, there is certain to be internal pressure to enhance Solskjaer’s options ready for a push on the second half of the season and beyond.

Amad Diallo is due to arrive once his visa process is finalised, with the indications all will go through smoothly. Although he could go straight into the first-team picture, the 18-year-old will first be assessed at Carrington.

“We’ll see how the squad looks and how he settles as soon as possible,” said Solskjaer, who added that United expect Diallo to have “a long career” at Old Trafford so “it’s important we find the right time” to introduce him.

Having an eye on the future is the reason for United scouting Moises Caicedo, a 19-year-old midfielder for Ecuadorian team Independiente del Valle. Nemanja Matic this year signed a new contract running to June 2023, but United are looking for long-term recruits in that position, as shown by their pursuit of Jude Bellingham. Caicedo could be that player.

First-hand reports have been filed by United staff in South America, and Caicedo’s profile fits with that of Diallo and Facundo Pellistri as a global teenage prospect. Talks have taken place and sources say a bid is expected, possibly as soon as next month.

Caicedo has enjoyed a breakthrough year for the Ecuador national team, featuring in four World Cup qualifying matches where he has registered three assists and a goal across three victories. He scored against a Uruguay side featuring Diego Godin and Rodrigo Bentancur by timing his run and applying a glancing header to Angel Mena’s cross.

For his club, Caicedo has made 25 appearances since debuting in October 2019 and claimed four goals, including a strike from 25 yards against Colombia’s Atletico Junior in the Copa Libertadores.

Antonio Valencia, United’s former captain, has been asked his opinion. He told the club he felt Caicedo had real potential and had been impressed watching his international appearances.

Going further, smarterscout’s data helps project how Caicedo might fare in the Premier League. Smarterscout is a site which gives detailed analytics on players all over the world, producing a score between 0-99, a bit like the player ratings in the FIFA video games but powered by real data and advanced analytics, to tell us the probability that a new player in the same position in the same league provides the same output.

The higher the number, the smaller the chance someone could do better. Some metrics can also be adjusted to Premier League standard, which is why Caicedo stands out in the below diagram.

His ball retention ability is very high even when filtered to relate to England’s top division. In his fledgling senior career, Caicedo has shown good appreciation of team-mates and an impressive ability to complete passes, even when attempting difficult balls through opponent lines.

His defending intensity catches the eye for the opposite reason; it is low considering his position on the pitch. The smarterscout model defines this as “the number of times a player is the most relevant defender out of possession”. By way of some explanation, Caicedo is often starting the play, rather than stopping it; he drops back into defence — like Matic — and plays forward. But an apparent absence of tackling is something to consider.

As for the here and now, a genuine right winger ready immediately for Solskjaer’s team is still being sought. Jadon Sancho remains the No 1 target, but a player of his standing will not be moving halfway through a season. The manner of last summer’s negotiations with Borussia Dortmund leaves some doubt about the prospect of a resolution at any stage, but United will speculate that as Sancho enters the final two years of his contract the €120 million (£110 million) asking price could come down.

United did have alternatives to Sancho during the last window, but Bayern Munich refused to part with Kingsley Coman and the cost associated with Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele was judged too great. United held talks over Ismaila Sarr and the Watford winger could come under consideration again. The 22-year-old has three goals and two assists in 16 Championship matches this campaign.

With the help of smarterscout, further options can be found for a suitable right winger for United. Napoli’s Hirving Lozano has been in good form since moving from PSV Eindhoven for €42 (£38) million in 2019, scoring 10 goals in 38 Serie A games. Although a little older than United might like at 25, he does come with lots of experience of international football with Mexico (41 caps, 11 goals) and European club competition.

He plays either left or right, and also through the middle, and his work ethic is shown on the diagram above through his numbers for carry and dribble volume and disrupting opposition moves. His expected goals (xG) from shot creation (how much the player’s actions contribute to creating scoring chances) and ball progression (how much the player’s actions increase the likelihood of his side scoring when in possession, compared to others in his position) are a little more moderate, especially considering comparison with Sancho, who is ruthlessly efficient around the opposition area. Coman’s diagram also shows a supreme contributor to ball progression.

Another priority position is centre-forward.

Edinson Cavani has shown he will provide an elite alternative to Anthony Martial of the “break your nose to score” type that Solskjaer wants. But Cavani will be 35 by the time his contract expires in 2022. Odion Ighalo, last winter’s emergency signing, will go back to Shanghai Shenhua when his loan expires on January 31. There are no plans to extend his stay.

As previously reported, Erling Haaland tops Solskjaer’s list — indeed he has been trying to get United to sign his Norwegian compatriot since they were at Molde together — but the involvement of agent Mino Raiola complicates matters. The friction from previous negotiations on Haaland still lingers.

As a different option, Dominic Calvert-Lewin has admirers at Old Trafford. Based on measures such as attacking output, aerial duels in open play, receiving in the box and shooting, Calvert-Lewin comes out as comparable to Haaland when put into smarterscouts’s database and his actual scoring record is becoming very impressive. Alongside Son Heung-min, Calvert-Lewin has the most non-penalty goals in the Premier League this season with 11.

Further to that, his all-round game is improving in ways that Solskjaer would find appealing. He has the 10th most touches in the box of any Premier League player this season (70), is third for aerials won (65), second for shots on target (24) and third for headed shots on target (7) — all numbers higher than anyone at United.

But while Calvert-Lewin may fit United’s requirements, the chances of doing a deal appear slim to none. Carlo Ancelotti has placed huge faith in the 23-year-old and sources say a sale would do irreparable damage to the relationship between manager and board.

So it is not that Calvert-Lewin, having this year signed a new contract until 2025, would challenge the £75 million fee Everton got from United for Romelu Lukaku, it is that Goodison Park executives would not countenance any offers at all at this stage.

So alternatives may be needed. When using smarterscout’s search for similar players, the only other player from Europe’s top five leagues from 2019-20 to this campaign is Eintracht Frankfurt’s Andre Silva. The 25-year-old has scored 24 goals in 48 games in his past two seasons at the club and, as the diagram below illustrates, has very good ratings for the crucial aspects in the box.

His xG from shot creation is excellent, and his shot volume very good. Link-up play and ball retention ability — crucial for hold-up play — come out favourably, although his aerial duels quantity is perhaps low considering his 6ft 1in height. Haaland’s graphic makes for an interesting comparison.

Silva has 16 goals in 37 games for Portugal and, although he signed permanently for Frankfurt from AC Milan this year, his contract only runs to 2023 so the cost could be manageable. He cost Milan €38 million (£35 million) from Porto in 2017.

Centre-back is another area under discussion at United but, as reported by David Ornstein, the club have very recently cooled interest in Dayot Upamecano. United have long scouted the 22-year-old but reports have not been universal in guiding them to the point of bidding, leaving the path clear for Bayern Munich.

United highly rate Axel Tuanzebe, 23, and Teden Mengi, 18, and Solskjaer has shown his appreciation for the partnership of Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof in his selections.

Searches for signings in that position should, however, include Ibrahima Konate, who is Upamecano’s team-mate at RB Leipzig. The 21-year-old is physically imposing — and his defending impact is suitably high — and he matches that with an ability to drive forwards with the ball. He ranks well for receptions in the box compared to others in his position too; essentially, he finds a way to win the ball at set pieces. (The numbers relate to 2018-19 when Konate last played significant minutes.)

Going the other way, United are working on exits for Sergio Romero and Marcos Rojo, most likely on loan, and will listen to offers for Jesse Lingard and Phil Jones. Lingard has interest from Roma, while Newcastle have looked at Jones.

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Two years of Solskjaer survey results: Fans still split, tactics a concern

https://theathletic.com/2268355/2020/12/22/solskjaer-manchester-united-survey/

On December 22, 2018 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took charge of his first match as Manchester United’s caretaker manager.

While initially appointed on an interim contract, a record of 14 wins, two draws and three losses (along with a certain victory over Paris Saint-Germain) turned Solskjaer from the short-term solution into the commander of the club’s future.

Two years on, how do United fans feel about Solskjaer? And does the perception match the numbers behind the manager’s tenure?

The Athletic asked for your thoughts in a fan survey, and now, two years on from that 5-1 victory over Cardiff City, these are your thoughts on Ole’s work at the wheel…

Supporters were split on whether Solskjaer has done an average or good job as United manager. But then United have become a strange entity under the Norwegian, equally capable of long winning runs and moments of high farce.

Solskjaer’s all-time record makes him arguably the best United manager of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.

Arguably is the keyword though, as there are some quibbles to his record: the third-placed finish Solskjaer achieved last season was attained with 66 points, only two more than David Moyes and Ryan Giggs achieved in 2013-14. United have only won more than three games in a row twice since Solskjaer took over as interim manager in December 2018. Yet, while United have played so many Europa League games under the Norwegian, his United side are victorious more times than they are not.

Solskjaer oversaw 14 wins, two draws and three losses in his 19 games as interim manager and the dreaded “Brexit ratio” appears when fans were asked if it was the right decision to give him the job permanently.

At the time of the appointment, this writer attempted to weigh up the pros and cons of sticking by Solskjaer. In the end, we decided a three-year contract meant that even if he couldn’t turn United into title challengers, he would have a good chance of creating the foundations for his successor.

A year and a bit later, and Solskjaer has indeed created good foundations for United to again become Premier League and Champions League contenders. His challenge still remains whether he himself is the person to carry out the next stage of the transformation, or whether someone else should be brought in.

Interesting.

United never scored more than four goals in a game during Jose Mourinho’s 144 matches in charge. Solskjaer did it with his first game and has just repeated the trick before his second anniversary. And yet the overwhelming answer as to whether they play good or bad football in our survey was a shrug.

At the time of writing, United are:

David Silva dazzling in Real Sociedad team flying high at the top of La Liga 

https://theathletic.co.uk/2170561/2020/11/03/david-silva-real-sociedad/

 

As such, United fans are torn as to whether Solskjaer will win a trophy this season. The League Cup presents a good opportunity if his team can get past Everton, although there is a chance United will (most likely) have to defeat either Manchester City or Tottenham Hotspur to secure the trophy. Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho have both won the League Cup on three occasions but Solskjaer has masterminded victories over both men in the past two years. If United do make it through to the League Cup semi-finals, pay attention to the starting XI Solskjaer names for United’s FA Cup game shortly after to see how he wishes to approach that competition.

Solskjaer’s approach to the Europa League will be of interest in 2021. Real Sociedad are one of the hardest teams for United to face at this point in the competition, and with a packed fixture list and a top-four place still to play for, the United manager may prefer to use the competition to give some of his fringe players more playing time and a chance to impress rather than try to win the whole thing.

United fans said they would prefer it if Solskjaer took the Europa League seriously and tried to win the competition. It is a sentiment frequently carried by Andy Mitten on The Athletic’s Talk of the Devils podcast.

David Moyes remains the only other post-Ferguson United manager not to win a major trophy for United (we’re not counting the Community Shield — sorry, Pep), and the club have not won a trophy since the 2017 Europa League final. While Solskjaer reached three semi-finals in 2019-20, securing silverware would help further convince a sometimes divided fanbase that he is the right man for the team to make the jump to the next level necessary for a title charge.

The majority of United fans give “slim to good” odds of Solskjaer being triumphant as United manager.

United’s level of wealth puts them among Europe’s superpowers and they have created a squad that, while possessing obvious flaws, has enough cumulative talent within to be around the top 30 in Europe. Possibly top 20 if you squint hard enough. Trophies are more likely to come than they are not if Solskjaer can tighten the tactical and logistical plan to go along with his strategic one.

Daniel James, Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Bruno Fernandes, Odion Ighalo, Donny van de Beek, Alex Telles, Edinson Cavani and Facundo Pellistri are not a bad selection of players for any football manager to have brought in.

A bad taste may still linger following the failed pursuit of Jadon Sancho, and United still need to strengthen in defensive midfield, at right wing and possibly centre-back, but the players Solskjaer has brought to the club have improved the squad and brought the team to a more cohesive whole. A lot of that is down to the superhuman levels of Fernandes in attacking midfield, but the performances of Maguire and Wan Bissaka did improve a noticeably shaky defence last season to create something a little baffling but often effective.

One can quibble over the amount of money spent (Solskjaer has spent around £16 million more than Frank Lampard at Chelsea on transfers, for example), but the Norwegian has shown he has an eye for a player. So much so, in fact, that there is a school of thought suggesting he “move upstairs” and become a director of football rather than leave the club outright.

Is it churlish to be impressed with the improvement of a Brazilian midfielder purchased for £52 million who once garnered the attention of Guardiola? Perhaps, but Solskjaer’s work with Fred has been of particular interest in the last two years.

At one point decried as an expensive bust, Fred’s play saw improved markedly from January 2020 when he was paired with Scott McTominay to create Solskjaer’s now preferred “McFred” midfield pivot for big games. The Brazilian is said to stay behind after training sessions to work on his passing and finishing skills with Michael Carrick and, while he may not be the player to “unlock Pogba” as many believed he would be at the start of the 2018-19 season, he might very well outlast the Frenchman at the club.

Elsewhere, let’s have a look at players with the most goals and assists in Solskjaer’s two years.

The 43 goals Marcus Rashford has scored under Solskjaer is the most of any United player under a single manager since Ferguson. Prior to Solskjaer’s arrival, a few commentators stated Rashford would perhaps need to seek a loan to further his career. Now the striker is approaching the cusp of “world-class”.

When a replacement was sought for Mourinho, United were said to be looking for someone “steeped in the traditions of the club”.

While your mileage may vary on Solskjaer’s constant references to the past, you cannot dispute he “gets it”.

That United fans also brought up his personality as his second-most likeable trait speaks to the special place the manager holds in the esteem of many around the club. Here is a man who helped secure a Treble for United as a player and as a manager often looks to the past in an effort to inspire the future.

Fans often speak of how he is a “nice guy” and someone “they want to see do well”. Solskjaer can be an engaging presence during press conferences, unafraid to crack jokes, sometimes at his own expense. He will always have a certain cache to fall back on, even when times are hard.

That fans rank Solskjaer’s tactics as his lowest trait, behind “Don’t Know” and “I do not like Solskjaer” also speaks to the sometimes confusing two years and fractured fanbase within the club. Doubters remain concerning Solskjaer’s tactical nous and he still has work to do to bring them onside.

It is Solskjaer’s tactics that are the main area of concern for United fans. They can be a baffling team, often decried as being light on tactics or naive, yet they are currently sitting in a Champions League place. The Athletic would like to call them consistent in their approach, if not in result, and Solskjaer’s Plan A of scoring quick on the transition suits his squad well.

That United fans are next concerned by Solskjaer’s support in the transfer market also suggests a certain fear. United are well placed in the league and in cup competitions (albeit the Europa rather than Champions League) when the January transfer window opens. Whether the club will be aggressive in player trading to help Solskjaer secure a top-four finish and/or silverware remains to be seen.

We’d like to start by looking at the nearly one in five who asked for Solskjaer to step aside. That is unlikely to occur, and unless there is a sustained run of poor form, Solskjaer is also unlikely to be removed before the season’s end.

Solskjaer is two years into his United tenure and, at this point, looks more likely to reach the end of his three-year contract in 2022 than he is not. More than anything, United fans want their club to be a success again, and Solskjaer has done a lot of good work over the past two years to get close to that point.

Every so often under his guidance, United “click” in a way not seen since the days of Ferguson. Sometimes the aura and the mystique is back; sometimes United concede in the first 10 minutes of a match and you wonder what the point is.

On balance, Solskjaer has just about had a good two years as United manager. His next challenge is removing that “just about” and proving he’s been the right man for the club to make the next great leap with all along.

*Please note, we closed this reader survey on December 18, before the 6-2 victory over Leeds United. All stats presented in this piece include that result, however.

[Vesper 30,232]

Sensible Transfers: Southampton want Williams and will let Obafemi and Valery go

https://theathletic.com/2263974/2020/12/24/southampton-january-transfers/

Southampton’s transfer priorities are straightforward: bring in another full back to support Kyle Walker-Peters and Ryan Bertrand.

As extensively reported by The Athletic, they targeted Manchester United’s Brandon Williams during the summer window and he remains their top target for this position.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer blocked the move in September, even though Williams asked the Old Trafford manager to let him move to St Mary’s on loan. After being promised more game time, the 20-year-old stayed put.

Ironically, the defender made his first Premier League appearance of the season when he came on in the 84th minute against Southampton at St Mary’s. Other than that, Williams has been limited to Carabao Cup ties, under-23s appearances and just over an hour’s worth of action in United’s failed Champions League conquest.

Despite the lack of game time, Southampton remain interested in signing the talented youngster on loan to provide cover for Walker-Peters and Bertrand.

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How would Williams fit in?

Many will be questioning why the defender would want to leave the comfort of Old Trafford’s bench to become a squad player at Southampton.

For starters, there are currently three players — Luke Shaw, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Alex Telles — ahead of him in the pecking order. At St Mary’s, he would be next in line behind Bertrand and Walker-Peters.

Hasenhuttl often says how he prefers working with younger, “open-minded” players who show the desire to commit themselves to his system. Having done extensive research on Williams, the club’s hierarchy think he is capable of doing a job on the south coast.

Although Walker-Peters and Bertrand are fundamental to the club’s success this year, having someone else come in and challenge the duo will only benefit Southampton.

And Williams will know that — should a loan deal be completed — he’ll be given a fair shot to come and dislodge either player.

The full-back’s ability to play on both the right and left side of the defence is also a key factor in Southampton’s pursuit.

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Are Southampton looking to strengthen elsewhere on the pitch?

At this moment in time, the answer is no. Of course, it only takes an injury or two for this approach to be tested. But, at the moment, Hasenhuttl is happy with what he has at his disposal.

The addition of Theo Walcott added strength to an already well-stocked department. If you look at the four attacking positions as a whole, it is clear there is enough support.

Danny Ings, Che Adams, Shane Long, Dan N’Lundulu, Nathan Tella, Moussa Djenepo, Nathan Redmond, Stuart Armstrong and Walcott are all competing for just four positions.

Central midfielder Ibrahima Diallo joined in October to compete with James Ward-Prowse and Oriol Romeu for a spot in the starting XI. The 21-year-old has been limited to appearances off the bench but is said to have Hasenhuttl’s trust if called upon to play from the start.

Will Smallbone is also another option for Southampton’s manager in midfield, although his season has so far been hampered by an injury.

Full-backs aside, Hasenhuttl is confident with the alternatives at his disposal in central defence. Jannik Vestergaard has been a revelation this season, and Jan Bednarek recently signed a new four-and-a-half-year deal.

Beyond those two, Mohammed Salisu, who is yet to make his debut for the club, and Jack Stephens are waiting in the wings.

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Will there be any departures?

The Athletic can reveal that Southampton are open to offers for striker Michael Obafemi and defender Yan Valery.

Neither player has been able to make any kind of impact in the first team this season. Obafemi came on as a substitute in the games against Brentford and Burnley but hasn’t featured since.

Valery, on the other hand, is yet to make a single appearance for the senior side. His action has been limited to playing for Dave Horseman’s B team.

As it stands, The Athletic is led to believe that either player could be allowed to leave permanently — but only if it’s a deal that suits all parties.

Should Obafemi head out on loan, the view behind the scenes is that it will help boost N’Lundulu’s and Tella’s development. Hasenhuttl has been vocal in his criticism of the young striker, often citing a “lack of professionalism” as a factor in his apparent struggles to hold down a place in the matchday squad.

The 20-year-old Ireland international only signed a new three-year contract in 2019 and clearly has a lot of potential. Because of this, a loan move would appear to be a sensible resolution.

If he isn’t going to be part of Hasenhuttl’s plans for the 2020-21 campaign, then it’s important for his development that he can get valuable minutes at another club.

Valery’s situation is more nuanced than Obafemi’s. The young Frenchman was once held up as the academy’s poster boy. He was a regular starter when Hasenhuttl took charge of the club in December 2018.

A bout of glandular fever at the end of 2019 put a halt to his progress, and he has struggled to regain his position in the starting XI ever since.

The fact Southampton are looking at Williams probably highlights best what Hasenhuttl thinks of the 21-year-old’s future at the club. He still has two and a half-years to run on the four-year deal he signed in 2019.

[Vesper 30,232]

Mourinho won’t comment on individuals – unless it’s Dele Alli

https://theathletic.com/2279851/2020/12/24/dele-alli-mourinho-tottenham/

Sometimes Jose Mourinho speaks in riddles, sometimes he tells it straight. There was no doubting what he thought of Dele Alli’s role in Stoke City’s equaliser in Wednesday evening’s League Cup quarter-final.

Mourinho was furious with Dele’s attempted flick inside the Stoke half when Spurs were 1-0 up. That lost Spurs the ball, Stoke sent it forward, setting up the counter-attack which saw Jordan Thompson convert Jacob Brown’s cross to draw it level. He told Dele what he thought at the time and hooked him soon after. And then in the post-match press conference, Mourinho told the world how he really felt.

“For me, a player that plays in that position is a player that has to link, and has to create,” Mourinho said. “And not to create problems for his own team.

“In that situation there, an objective counter-attack would probably end with a goal or with an action. It ended with a counter-attack, behind our defenders, of course we were imbalanced because when you are in possession you have the full-backs wide, you have one midfielder in a different line. They caught us in the counter-attack and they transformed the result of the game, that was totally in our hands. So yes, I was upset.“

Mourinho has generally been gentle with his players in public recently, even after the defeats by Liverpool and Leicester City last week. He defended Steven Bergwijn after his miss at Anfield by saying, “In here, we lose, we win, we draw all together”. Nor did Mourinho go too hard on Serge Aurier after he gifted that needless penalty away last Sunday, a bad mistake, but not one that earned him the full Mourinho treatment in public.

To find an example where Mourinho was this critical, you have to go back to October, when he was not happy with the Europa League performance when they lost badly at Antwerp. He said that his “future choices are going to be very easy” given how the fringe players did. But that night, Mourinho was given the chance to criticise Dele in particular and he turned it down, insisting he did “not want to analyse individually”. But this time he was happy enough to try his hand at some individual analysis.

The frustrating thing for Dele is that up until that point he had played well. This was only his fifth start of the season, and since the opening-day defeat by Everton, the other three have all been in the Europa League. But he buzzed around well, providing more dangerous movement around and beyond Harry Kane than Gareth Bale or Lucas Moura did. He could have scored late in the first half, running onto Kane’s through ball but shooting straight at Andy Lonergan, and soon after had a good 20-yard effort fly just wide.

But all those good moments will now be weighed against this one bad one when it comes to Dele’s future chances of getting into the team. When asked afterwards which of his players took their chance against Stoke City, Mourinho said “some yes, some no”, without going into more details. “The most important thing for me is not the individual performance, it is the collective performance and the result. We always say the team above individualities and the team won.”

Obviously the win was important in itself, setting up a cup semi-final with Brentford next month and a chance for the first trophy since Juande Ramos was Tottenham manager. But the fact is that the individual performance of these fringe players on nights like this is important, whether Mourinho wants to talk about it or not. Tottenham have plenty of games coming up. Wolves, Fulham and Leeds United in the league within seven days, an FA Cup trip to Marine, league games with Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea not too far away, before the Europa League resumes when Spurs face Wolfsberger of Austria in the last 32.

And one thing that has been very clear from watching Spurs in the last week or so is that they cannot rely on Kane and Son Heung-min to do everything for them. (Even though here they needed Kane to play all 90 minutes, he put in another big shift, slamming in the goal that ended the game at 3-1 and still running the channels and chasing down opponents in the final minute.)

But for the sake of Kane and Son’s legs, Spurs need more from the support cast. Mourinho was not happy with Dele afterwards, and Bale’s evening did not end well either. He was the man who put Spurs ahead, meeting Harry Winks’ cross with a clever header to make it 1-0 but he did not convince away from that, still looking rusty at times, and at half-time he told Mourinho that he felt a problem in his calf and could not continue. More than two months after Bale’s second debut he has not managed a strong run of games and it may be a while until we see that.

Moura did not have his best game either but it feels as if he has more credit in the bank with Mourinho right now than Bale or Dele do, having already started 11 games for Spurs this season and contributed five goals. He came off at the same time Dele did, but you would expect to see Lucas again in a Spurs shirt before you see Dele.

Then there was Winks, frustrated by his lack of chances so far this season, but diligent and effective again here. His incisive cross from deep made Bale’s opening goal, and he gave Spurs stability and control in midfield throughout. So much so that Sky Sports named him man of the match, and Mourinho afterwards commented on Instagram that the award was “deserved”. Sometimes it is about the individual performance, it just depends on the individual.

[MoroccanBlue 5,385]

On 12/19/2020 at 9:06 AM, Atomiswave said:

Pool are def suspect, but I wouldnt bet on us taking any, imo every 2 weeks all players should be tested, anything else and its an invitation to cheat.

It really is easier than you expect. Some of the more common ones allow players to take their body beyond their natural limits.

Fernandinho being the prime example. The amount of games he played and the amount of ground he covered in 2017-2019 as a 33/34 year old, was unimaginable. It's also the very reason why he's declined so rapidly after that. His body completely deteriorated from the overuse. 

I know Dani Alves was another player that was highly rumored to be on PEDs

[Atomiswave 6,118]

18 minutes ago, MoroccanBlue said:

It really is easier than you expect. Some of the more common ones allow players to take their body beyond their natural limits.

Fernandinho being the prime example. The amount of games he played and the amount of ground he covered in 2017-2019 as a 33/34 year old, was unimaginable. It's also the very reason why he's declined so rapidly after that. His body completely deteriorated from the overuse. 

I know Dani Alves was another player that was highly rumored to be on PEDs

Exactly why I said if its up to me I would test every bloody player every 2 weeks....thoroughly

[MoroccanBlue 5,385]

3 minutes ago, Atomiswave said:

Exactly why I said if its up to me I would test every bloody player every 2 weeks....thoroughly

That's precisely my point. If one player is on it, its more likely all of them rather than no other player playing at the top level, are on something. 

[Vesper 30,232]

21 minutes ago, MoroccanBlue said:

It really is easier than you expect. Some of the more common ones allow players to take their body beyond their natural limits.

Fernandinho being the prime example. The amount of games he played and the amount of ground he covered in 2017-2019 as a 33/34 year old, was unimaginable. It's also the very reason why he's declined so rapidly after that. His body completely deteriorated from the overuse. 

 

I do not think Fernandinho was necessarily juicing. He simply extended by a several years his physical peak.

Do you think Thiago Silva, Zlatan, CR7, Totti, Maldini etc all juiced?

I do not.

[Atomiswave 6,118]

6 minutes ago, MoroccanBlue said:

That's precisely my point. If one player is on it, its more likely all of them rather than no other player playing at the top level, are on something. 

I dont know about all of them but I do believe many are, I dont trust pep and klopp at all in this regard.

[Atomiswave 6,118]

I didnt watch the udt game last night but found this on another forum....just more corruption in front of us.

- Bruno and Baiey knocked out Richarlison falling unsconcious on the ground and send him out directly to scan his head

- Cavani wins the ball with his hand of god in front of the goal and wins a corner

- MGuire rugby pins down a player in the box and gets away with it as ussual

[Vesper 30,232]

Oriol Romeu, master of yellow cards, avoider of reds

https://theathletic.com/2272624/2020/12/21/oriol-romeu-yellow-cards-southampton/

Oriol Romeu could soon become a record breaker.

Maybe not the sort he wants but a record breaker nonetheless. The Southampton midfielder has received the second-highest amount of yellow cards (53) in the Premier League without being sent off, which is just nine shy of former defender Luke Young’s haul of 62.

Romeu picked up his fifth yellow card of the 2020-21 campaign during the 0-1 defeat to Manchester City on Saturday afternoon, meaning he’ll be suspended for the Boxing Day trip to Fulham.

But for the Spaniard to have been booked 53 times without being sent down the tunnel early proves he knows how to toe the line once the referee dips his hand into his pocket.

Before we delve into the statistics, it’s worth noting that Romeu has made more challenges than anyone to date in the Premier League this season. The 29-year-old has 51 tackles to his name, which is eight more than his closest rival, Brighton’s Yves Bissouma.

To try to make sense of Romeu’s yellows, The Athletic has explored how the midfielder tackles, when he tends to get booked and whether current manager Ralph Hasenhuttl is asking him to do anything differently when bringing down an opposition player.

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Swansea City vs Southampton — February 2016

If you look at the graphic below, you’ll notice how Romeu is quite high up the pitch when he makes this tackle during Southampton’s game against Swansea.

But you can see the importance of this tackle as it prevents a counter-attack, which is a consistent theme of Romeu’s yellow card offences. In this instance, the midfielder actually gets to the ball but his trailing leg follows through. You can see why making this tackle was crucial, given how Swansea had two players in advanced positions.

Watford vs Southampton — January 2018

This example below, from Southampton’s match with Watford in January 2018, is more akin to the area Romeu regularly gets booked in, around the centre circle.

The Watford player nipped the ball past the Spaniard on this occasion, with the 29-year-old’s left leg tripping him. But look at the options and free space available to the opposition if Romeu didn’t commit the foul.

Everton vs Southampton — August 2018

From the sample of clips watched by The Athletic, this bookable offence against Everton in August 2018 was the most needless yellow card — and one that is certainly out of character. The Everton man was boxed in with nowhere to go, facing away from goal. Romeu’s team-mates also had the other players covered as you can see from the yellow circles.

West Ham v Southampton — April 2019

The below example from Southampton’s match against West Ham highlights where he tends to foul most under Hasenhuttl’s management. Like the others, Everton aside, the Spaniard knows the importance of cancelling out a counter-attack, especially when his team are sprinting back towards their goal. The West Ham player shaped to play a pass over the top as detailed in the graphic, only to be met by a late sliding tackle.

Southampton vs Tottenham — September 2020

This yellow card irked Hasenhuttl. In fact, you could quite comfortably say the Southampton boss was reeling. It was inside the opening five minutes and left Romeu walking a tightrope against a Tottenham team that shredded the home side’s high line. The midfielder failed to control a pass from Kyle Walker-Peters, which gave ex-Southampton captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg the chance to win back possession and spring a counter.

As a sign of his anger, Hasenhuttl took Romeu off at half-time to teach either teach him a lesson or to prevent getting a man sent off. However, look at Hojbjerg’s options in the next screen grab. He has Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min starting their runs towards goal at the moment the midfielder brings down his former team-mate.

Just look at the free space in behind for Tottenham’s attackers. Whether Hojbjerg would have played the perfect pass is unknown, but it’s clear Romeu had to do something about it.

Chelsea vs Southampton — October 2020

As it so often is with Romeu’s fouls, the timing of this one against Chelsea was crucial. Hasenhuttl’s team were still chasing the game when the Stamford Bridge outfit went in search of their fourth goal. There were four Chelsea players looking to receive the ball with a bit of open space in front of them, only for the midfielder to say, ‘Not on my watch, fellas’.

These are only six examples of Romeu being booked out of a possible 53. But as the majority would go on to show, these tackles tend to take place to disrupt the opposition’s counter-attack. Think of Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona team and how often they made those fouls in the middle of the pitch. Now remember where Romeu came through the youth ranks. If executed properly, it’s a useful and important tool to have in your arsenal.

As the next table will show, there has been a significant drop off in terms of how often Romeu is booked. And it also displays when the former Barcelona player receives his yellow cards.

Before Hasenhuttl took charge in December 2018, and excluding his three yellow cards for Chelsea, Romeu was carded 32 times for Southampton. 40.63 per cent of those (13) came between the 46th – 70th minute. From the 71st minute to full-time, he was booked on nine occasions, which makes up 28.13 per cent.

This means that just over 68 per cent of his bookable fouls came in the second half. There were 10 yellow cards during the first half of a match. Three of these came in the first 25 minutes, with the referee going into his pocket to book the Spaniard seven times from the 26th minute to half time.

Breakdown of Oriol Romeu's yellow cards

Ever since Hasenhuttl has been in the dugout, there has been an even split— in terms of which half he was booked in — of the 18 yellow cards received by Romeu.

He’s been booked four times in the opening 25 minutes, which equates to 22.22 per cent.

27.78 per cent of those (five) have been issued from the 26th minute to half-time.

He’s only been booked twice under the Austrian’s management from the 46th-70th minute, 11.11 per cent.

The majority (seven) have been awarded from the 71st minute to full time — the equivalent of 38.89 per cent.

Overall, over half (33) of his yellow cards have come in the second half of matches. So, what does that tell us?

Well, there could be several reasons for this. There’s an argument to suggest it has everything to do with fatigue. Perhaps Romeu’s energy levels have sapped and, knowing he won’t be able to make a legitimate foul, he opts to stop the player in their tracks and bring them down. You could also argue that the scoreline could be a factor. Southampton could either be defending a lead or trying to stop the opposition going further ahead.

But what 53 yellow cards without a single red really tells us is that Romeu is astute in knowing when and how to tackle. Yes, he’ll be suspended at least once a season for ill-discipline but he stops attacks at crucial times, and that is an art worth mastering.

[Vesper 30,232]

9 minutes ago, Atomiswave said:

I didnt watch the udt game last night but found this on another forum....just more corruption in front of us.

- Bruno and Baiey knocked out Richarlison falling unsconcious on the ground and send him out directly to scan his head

- Cavani wins the ball with his hand of god in front of the goal and wins a corner

- MGuire rugby pins down a player in the box and gets away with it as ussual

Everton vs Manchester United Full Match – Carabao Cup | 23 December 2020

https://eplfootballmatch.com/everton-vs-manchester-united-full-match-carabao-cup-23-december-2020/

[Vesper 30,232]

Sensible Transfers: Spurs may add defender or midfielder, Dele future uncertain

https://theathletic.com/2265392/2020/12/23/tottenham-transfers-alli-dele-skriniar/

As their generally strong start to the season indicates, Tottenham Hotspur’s squad is one that requires some small tweaks rather than any major surgery.

A very effective summer transfer window saw them address the need for a defensive midfielder, back-up striker and stronger full-back options, as well as the considerable bonus of bringing Gareth Bale back on loan. It leaves their squad largely well balanced, with a lot of competition for places.

But if you were to look at the team and try to identify possible improvements to give them a leg-up in the title race, there are a couple of areas that could be strengthened. In an ideal world, Mourinho would look to bring in a No 8 who could combine Moussa Sissoko’s physical attributes with better distribution. Though such a player would not come cheap.

Defensively, Spurs may also look to bolster their centre-back options, though since they have four central defenders (plus Japhet Tanganga, who Mourinho currently sees as a full-back), it would probably be contingent on Davinson Sanchez moving on, which at this point is not seen as likely.

In goal, at full-back and mostly through the midfield and up front the squad looks pretty strong, so it’s not expected to be a busy window for Tottenham. Especially given the hugely uncertain economic climate. Any incomings will likely have to be counter-balanced by sales as otherwise, the squad will feel too bloated. Remember, Mourinho said that he had “too many players” in mid-September.

Likewise, Mourinho would not want to weaken his squad with sales unless he knew a replacement was coming in. Except for Paulo Gazzaniga and Danny Rose, both of whom are available for transfer, pretty much everyone in the squad has featured so far and if they stayed would be expected to play a part in what promises to be a busy second half of the season.

So, let’s look at how Spurs play to get a sense of where those improvements could come from. And why names such as RB Leipzig’s Marcel Sabitzer and RB Salzburg’s Enock Mwepu have been suggested as sensible options for Spurs to go after.

Spurs generally like to sit deep, soak up pressure, and counter at pace, with Tanguy Ndombele and Harry Kane picking the ball up in midfield areas and then feeding the rapid Steven Bergwijn and Son Heung-min.

The efficacy of the system is dependent on Spurs being able to get the ball to Kane, and if not having other midfielders who can pick up the slack. The slight issue Spurs have is that if Kane is blocked off, as happened against Crystal Palace and Chelsea, the likes of Sissoko aren’t good enough passers to move Spurs up the pitch. This can leave them a little hemmed in.

As Mourinho explained after the draw at Crystal Palace earlier this month: “I want to admit that they couldn’t (go for the second goal). I want to admit that they didn’t have that capacity. Some of my… let’s say, build-up players, they lost a lot of passes in the first phase of the build-up. In the second half, we were not very accurate so I want to admit that if we didn’t, it’s because we couldn’t.”

Spurs already have Giovani Lo Celso who can do this job very well, which he showed in setting up the goal at Liverpool, and supplement Ndombele, who is also an excellent passer, but selecting the Argentinian over Sissoko could leave Spurs a bit short defensively.

Bringing in someone like Sabitzer (above) would be a dream signing. The Leipzig captain scored twice against Tottenham in last season’s 3-0 Champions League defeat and, having previously played out wide, has been repurposed as a No 8 by Julian Nagelsmann. He can even play as a No 6, and comparisons have been made in Germany between him and the former national team captain Bastian Schweinsteiger.

Is he realistic? In January, probably not. But come the summer when Sabitzer, 26, will have only a year left on his contract, he could be available for around £30 million or less.

Another option is the Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Yves Bissouma, who has also been linked with Arsenal. Bissouma has the capabilities to play box to box, and scored a couple of tidy goals at the end of last season and start of this, but has generally played as a No 6 of late. He has matured since joining Brighton in 2018 and has a better passing range than Sissoko, while being similarly effective off the ball. Brighton, though, would probably demand close to £40 million.

A cheaper and more realistic option would be Mwepu, Salzburg’s 22-year-old midfielder, who has impressed this season with his ability to cover space and stop opposition transitions. He also offers a lot going forward, and scored a spectacular solo goal earlier this month against LASK (who had drawn with Spurs in the Europa League 10 days earlier).

If Spurs wanted a more attacking option then, erm, Christian Eriksen is available. He was actually offered back to Spurs by Inter Milan in October, but they declined. It is not thought to be a realistic option in January either. As well as the obvious reluctance to bring a player back who only left a year ago, the low taxation rate for high earners in Italy means Spurs would have to pay a huge amount just to match what Eriksen currently brings in at Inter.

In any case, a deal for a midfielder would likely require Spurs to lose one from their ranks. Mourinho said recently that there’s “no way” Harry Winks would leave on loan in January, even though the midfielder is concerned at his lack of game time ahead of next summer’s Euros. Meanwhile sources have told The Athletic they expect Dele Alli to be on the move next month, though as of yet nothing has been decided. It could also change if Dele impresses or Spurs suffer injuries in the coming weeks.

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Another important element of the way Spurs play is their low defensive block. The lack of pace in the centre-back pairing of Eric Dier and Toby Alderweireld means that Spurs can’t defend high up the pitch. Dier and Alderweireld sit deep and are often joined by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Sissoko in a defensive six.

A pacier option would offer Spurs the alternative of playing higher up the pitch in certain matches. Sanchez offers that option in theory, but he is badly out of form and often hasn’t even made the bench for Premier League matches. Joe Rodon is quick but with just one Premier League start to his name, is still lacking experience.

A player Spurs made enquiries over in the summer was Milan Skriniar. Technical performance director Steve Hitchen even flew to Milan to meet with Inter representatives, but a deal could not be struck. Inter’s asking price was too high at the time, and now they are reluctant to sell Skriniar given he is a regular starter. They are keen to trim the wage bill, but it’s players such as Eriksen, Radja Nainggolan and Ivan Perisic that they are trying to shift.

Spurs have not given up on Skriniar but a deal in January will be difficult, and the summer is thought to be more realistic.

At the younger end, one centre-back who’s been making Europe’s scouts sit up and take notice is Lille’s Dutch defender Sven Botman. The 20-year-old joined from Ajax in the summer having never played for the first team. Left-footed, and physically imposing at 6ft 4in, Botman has effectively replaced Gabriel, who joined Arsenal in the summer. Already some at the club think he has a higher ceiling than the Brazilian — a feeling strengthened by the way he marked Zlatan Ibrahimovic out of the game in Lille’s 3-0 win over AC Milan at San Siro last month.

Good in the air and a solid one-on-one defender, Botman looks like a very exciting prospect, while his left-footedness would offer something different from the current Spurs centre-backs. As The Atheltic’s Tom Worville explained in September, having a left-footed central defender is very important in enabling teams to play out from the back, and would offer Tottenham an important additional option.

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Should Dele leave on loan, Mourinho may want another attacker in the squad — especially if it looks like Bale won’t become a regular starter.

Given the way Spurs like to attack through their wide forwards, and with Kane, Ndombele and Lo Celso offering enough creativity between the lines, it would make more sense to try to bring in another winger.

Raphinha at Leeds United would be a superb addition, but they wouldn’t sell in January. Further afield, the young Brazilian Gabriel Veron at Palmeiras is a very exciting option. The explosive 18-year-old has plenty of admirers in Europe already, and when he does decide to move there will be a scramble for his signature.

Sabitzer meanwhile, if he were to join, can also play higher up the pitch so would offer another attacking option.

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It’s commonly said in recruitment circles that a busy January transfer window for a club is a sign not of strength but of weakness. An indicator that they have got their signings wrong previously.

So in that respect, it’s encouraging that Spurs are not expecting to do a great deal next month. But after such an unexpectedly busy summer, we shouldn’t rule out chairman Daniel Levy pulling off another surprise deal. He also signed off the £25.4 million deal for Bergwijn last year and brought in Lucas Moura in January 2018.

Comparisons have also been made with January 2012, when Spurs looked capable of pushing for the title with a couple of big additions, but instead ended up signing Ryan Nelsen and Louis Saha on free transfers.

Spurs have a much stronger squad now than they did then, but if anyone’s capable of convincing Levy to make one or two more additions to take Spurs to the next level, it’s Mourinho.

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Bergwijn can be Spurs’ agent of chaos amid Mourinho’s precision approach

https://theathletic.com/2276140/2020/12/22/bergwijn-spurs-mourinho/

When Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur break into space, they’re very good. They raid quickly and vertically and passes are released to the right players, generally at just the right time. That’s a Mourinho hallmark.

He trains situations rather than skills. His methodology is based on encouraging players to think and act instinctively, and — regardless of recent setbacks — this season has provided good reason to believe in many of those ideas.

Unfortunately, Sunday’s defeat to Leicester City laid bare the weaknesses that Mourinho is yet to conquer. Not issues that he’s incapable of curing, but ones that sides with certain chemistry are able to exploit. And Leicester are among those teams. And they saw Spurs coming from a mile away.

If there’s an advantage to watching games inside a sterile vacuum, it’s the privilege of being able to eavesdrop — to listen in on the chatter between the players.

Almost from the first minute, Kasper Schmeichel was barking his instructions up the field, urging his defensive line not to drift too high. Then, whenever Spurs reclaimed the ball in their own half and looked to snap forward, Schmeichel could be heard directing his team-mates towards Harry Kane.

They listened.

Any time Kane touched the ball in that type of position, the challenges knifed in on him. Some of that attention was a little robust — one Marc Albrighton challenge was seemingly deemed too ridiculous for a red card — but, nevertheless, Leicester did a fine job of clogging up the junctions through which many of Spurs’ best moves run.

It left Kane, his team-mates and his head coach where they didn’t want to be: one, and then two goals down, and with a whole forest of defenders standing between them and a recovery.

A lot of things have to go right for Tottenham to score goals in that situation. At the least, all the passes have to be perfectly accurate and all the touches have to be absolutely precise.

Because their front-foot attacking football doesn’t have much built-in structure, there’s rarely any sense of building pressure or of an opponent being overwhelmed. Not in the way that, say, Pep Guardiola’s teams used to, or Antonio Conte’s Chelsea once did. Spurs are nothing like that.

Watching them attack a low or even medium block is like that wildlife video in which the lizard runs past all the snakes. In the football version, the lizard is the ball, the snakes are the opposition and the pervading sense of doom is the fear that the move can die at any moment. It’s the same kind of dynamic, though. It’s a read-and-react performance which can result in an unlikely, ultimate triumph, but which dances with disaster at every moment.

Everything comes with an asterisk this season. There are too many games, not enough fans, too few days of rest. It’s plainly weird in a way that makes serious analysis a little bit redundant.

Nevertheless, while remembering that results can turn quickly and sides can shoot up the table, these are legitimate fears about Tottenham’s potency which — of course — prompt questions about what they can do to become a more balanced side. There’s no one solution, no silver bullet.

Spurs need to get better in a few different areas, and they’ll keep stepping on Leicester-type landmines until they do. In the interim, though, the further involvement of Steven Bergwijn would be a partial remedy for this attacking problem.

Unusually for a forward player of his abilities, Bergwijn’s value lies more in what he does without the ball.

Against West Ham, he made that flaring run for the first goal, which left Son Heung-min isolated against Fabian Balbuena on the other side of the pitch. Then, against Manchester City, it was his drift infield that cleared the path for Giovani Lo Celso to run through and double the lead. Most recently, in the North London derby, his fade across the Arsenal box split the covering centre-halves, allowing Kane and Son to criss-cross in on goal.

Last Wednesday night, his evening ended unpleasantly. Typically, actually, in the way that it often does when footballers are anything less than perfect on the pitch. Having dared to spurn a couple of chances in the 2-1 loss to Liverpool at Anfield, his social media accounts were invaded by an army of keyboard punchers.

The result was another athlete having to seal themselves away from the public and a distraction from what had actually been a wholly productive performance and another little trademark.  Yes, it was Lo Celso’s pass that had put Son through and clear to score that unlikely equaliser, but it was the quick shift of position from Bergwijn that had drawn the attentions of Curtis Jones and Rhys Williams and created a fatal schism in the home defence.

It’s one of those things that once you start looking for, you can’t help but notice time and again — even in moves which aren’t ultimately successful and, as a result, are quickly forgotten.

Maybe it’s a product of Mourinho’s coaching, or perhaps it’s just one of those hidden attributes that Bergwijn has. Whatever the case, it describes his potential importance to this Tottenham side.

It’s not value confined just to the counter-attack, where the ability to drag, pull, distract and displace defenders carries such obvious threat. But in the more stable passages of the game, too, when Spurs are constructing their intricate phases.

In that situation, Bergwijn is a tool that can be used to broaden the margin for error — his movement can be the butterfly effect occurring in a defence’s periphery, fluttering in a way that might draw a centre-half out, a full-back in-field, or persuade a midfielder to enter no-man’s land.

In other words: to be a little agent of chaos.

It’s worth recognising also that many of these changes of position occur suddenly and without much warning.

Had the story been about something other than social media hostility last week, it might have been noted how quickly the Dutchman made it to top speed prior to sending that shot against the post. He reaches flat-out very quickly and, because of his compact gait and low centre of gravity, just with a quick blur of motion rather than any major tell.

That kind of thing panics defenders; it provides another threat to the order and discipline that Tottenham are coming to fear. Even in theory, that doesn’t take away the need for Spurs to be precise. Nor does it alleviate some of the concerns about Mourinho’s attacking approach and its modern suitability.

But it does make it easier; having Bergwijn in the side provides a comfort that — at this stage of its evolution — this team probably shouldn’t be without.

Kane can’t provide the same thing. Not in a subtle, unexpected way, because he’s a primary focus for any defence already. Son can’t either, for all the same reasons.

Lucas Moura needs possession to be of influence, so too does 2020’s version of Gareth Bale. Further back, Lo Celso and Tanguy Ndombele are gifted technicians and dynamic carriers, but — again — the ball is their primary weapon and any time they touch it they attract the full attention of everyone in the stadium.

But Bergwijn is different. He exists in an unusual way on a pitch — in the margins, in the game’s half-light, doing what isn’t quite as easy to prepare for.

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How can Arsenal be fixed?

https://theathletic.com/2275915/2020/12/22/fixing-arsenal-transfers-arteta/

It’s complicated. Arsenal’s slide down the Premier League table does not have one single cause. But that means there are many possible solutions. From short to long-term, from transfers to tactics, our writers suggest some ideas that could help turn things around for manager Mikel Arteta…

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Ask for help

If the plan is to back Mikel Arteta, then this is the time to seriously consider what kind of practical backing he actually has. The key club management roles currently occupied by Arteta, Edu and Vinai Venkatesham have all gone to people who have not been in this position before. When things go awry it’s reasonable to think that an injection of been-around-the-block wisdom could be very helpful. Notably, Arteta’s coaching staff is also formed from people without a track record in succeeding in the Premier League so technical and management oversight and back-up, which could come in various different ways, is a pragmatic measure worth pursuing.

Take David O’Leary. Arsenal record appearance holder and a former Premier League manager, he is very well connected in football circles and attends many games as a club representative in the directors’ box. He was linked with a return to the boardroom a while ago. That was blocked by club officials who have since departed. Why not get him on the board for some football experience right now?

Take Ralf Rangnick. As a manager and technical director he has been influential on a generation of coaches that includes Jurgen Klopp and Julian Nagelsmann. His understanding of the big picture of a club concept relating to a financial position is well known. He also happens to have a long-term soft spot for Arsenal. Why not consult someone like him?

Talk to people. Listen. Don’t just sit on your hands and hope things will just get better. There are people out there, available, who can help. Arsenal are not particularly minded to change the structure too much at the moment, and prefer the idea of a more slimline model than the too-many-cooks situation they changed recently. They are more likely to go for a less high-profile person to assist Edu if there is a tweak to the technical department.

OK, this one is fanciful, maybe, but how about just picking up the phone to Arsene Wenger? Unlikely, maybe, but nobody knows more about pulling Arsenal back from difficult situations than he does. Some choice advice, if nothing else, has to be better than nothing.

It does not feel like this is a situation that can be left alone, unchanged, with the figures currently charged with looking after Arsenal. The problems are urgent and if the slump continues it requires proper, experienced assistance, in the short term at least.

Amy Lawrence

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Trust the youngsters

In the Premier League, Arsenal aren’t going anywhere fast.

Without a league win since November 1 (Manchester United away), Mikel Arteta’s side have looked lost for weeks. This has somewhat been addressed with the switch to the more fluid 3-4-3 system but nevertheless senior players are having little impact on games on too many occasions.

Despite some encouraging flashes at Goodison Park, Willian has been far too predictable in his time at Arsenal. Positioned out wide, there is little movement off the ball so that when he does receive it, he’s either forced into a cross or a backwards pass.

Arteta trialled Alexandre Lacazette as a No 10 but he doesn’t have the physical attributes to match his technical skills to truly excel there.

The argument as to whether youngsters can offer much more is understandable, yet Bukayo Saka is proof they can if given the chance.

Although four years older at 23, Ainsley Maitland-Niles has been a noticeable upgrade from Hector Bellerin at right wing-back since returning to Premier League action. His one-on-one defending, drive in attack and better suitability to the 3-4-3 system have all played their part.

This isn’t to say each player would have as strong an impact.

Just four points off the relegation zone in December, however, with some of these players possessing the exact qualities senior players lack — Emile Smith Rowe’s spatial awareness, use of body and passing ability between the lines, for instance — Arteta would have nothing to lose by trusting the players of the future, now.

Reiss Nelson and Joe Willock also fit into this category having impressed consistently in Europe. Willock has been offered Premier League chances in a different role, but using him as he was in the Europa League would be more beneficial.

Art de Roche

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Buy better, slim the squad

It’s important that January marks the start of a new era for Arsenal and will also be the first true chance to judge the club’s technical director Edu.

Many of their current problems stem back to poor work in the transfer market, with the blame shared by multiple people over a long period of time.

But now there’s no doubt who is in charge of rebuilding the first-team squad and little excuse for mistakes of the past rearing their head again.

Arsenal’s recruitment plans were initially focused on the summer, with a creative attacking midfielder and right-sided centre-back wanted. Yet the crisis at hand may require immediate action and attempts will be made to fill the creativity void.

The trouble is the winter window is difficult at the best of times, let alone during a pandemic, and any acquisition will need to hit the ground running. Although Dominik Szoboszlai was considered before he joined RB Leipzig, the Gunners do have other options.

Arguably the bigger challenge is to shift those deemed surplus to requirements or in need of game time. Arsenal will again try to move out Mesut Ozil and Sokratis Papastathopoulos, while the likes of William Saliba and Emile Smith Rowe could go on loan.

Manager Mikel Arteta is working with a bloated group, meaning numerous players are left out every game and that has inevitably led to splits in the camp.

Historic failings around arrivals, departures and harmony simply cannot be repeated if Arsenal are to fix this mess and create a brighter future. Senior officials expect the process to take two or three years and that is why it must begin here.

David Ornstein

 

Changing spaces 

In order for Arsenal to improve, they need to start scoring more goals. To score more goals, they need to create more chances. To create more chances, they need to start appreciating the space available on the field a little more.

Arteta’s directive is clear: cross. His side have attempted the third most crosses in open play in the league (15.9 per game) which are directly leading to attempts on goal 1.6 times per game. Creating a chance once every 10 crosses is about league average, indicating that this isn’t an overly efficient strategy.

All of that focus on crossing, though, is coming at the cost of utilising the space right outside the area. Subjectively, Arsenal rarely look to create chances here, yet looking at the numbers for this season highlights that they actually create more chances from this zone compared to the fruits of their crossing attempts. Only good enough for 16th in the league, they are creating 1.9 chances per game.

Getting the ball into this area more often could help stretch opposition defences, making crossing situations more threatening than they are currently. Equally, it could play to the strengths of the likes of Alexandre Lacazette, Eddie Nketiah and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, a trio who are all more used to relying on cute inside passes than whipped passes into the area to get their goals.

Tom Worville

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Stick to a style 

An incoming manager has a choice. One option is to set out a style of play on day one, gradually ascertaining which players are capable or incapable of realising that blueprint. Alternatively, he can devise a tailored system that simply makes the best of what they have available.

Right now, Arsenal are falling between two stools. The tension between short and long-term goals has led to a muddled approach. Arteta’s team looks neither like a prototype for some grand vision, nor like they are set up to maximise the talent they have available. Since Arsene Wenger left, Arsenal have been a team in search of a tactical identity. Mikel Arteta must now commit to a style.

If the goal is improving results this season, Arteta may have to lean into the counter-attacking ability that resides in his squad. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Nicolas Pepe and Willian are all substantial investments whose strength is in exploiting transitions. Youngsters like Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Joe Willock share those capabilities, and Arsenal’s slow build-up play is not going to provide them the space they require to thrive. It is said that it’s easier to sack a manager than the players. Ultimately Arteta’s job is to maximise the talent already on the books.

Alternatively, Arteta must communicate and commit to a coherent long-term plan. Supporters will be more patient if they can see tactical foundations being laid. Right now, Arsenal are neither one thing nor the other.

James McNicholas

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More goals from midfield

For all the attention on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s lack of goals, and the absence of any creativity from midfield, you rarely hear any recognition of the fact that midfielders are actually allowed to contribute goals themselves.

You wouldn’t know it from Arsenal’s statistics last season and this. In 2019-20, Joe Willock, Lucas Torreira, Mesut Ozil and Granit Xhaka and Bukayo Saka (let’s call him a midfielder for now) all managed a single Premier League goal. That’s it.

This season, things are even worse. Saka’s header at home against Sheffield United is the only goal Arsenal’s midfielders have registered all season. Willian has got into some decent positions, but Xhaka, Mohamed Elneny and Dani Ceballos simply don’t offer any kind of goal threat whatsoever. Thomas Partey is a fine midfielder, but never managed more than three goals in any of his five league campaigns with Atletico Madrid.

Goalscoring is far more about getting yourself into the right positions than it is about being a ruthless finisher, and the reality is that Arsenal’s midfielders just don’t find themselves in zones where they might end up scoring. Ceballos’ total xG figure for this campaign is 0.2 from the equivalent of nine league matches. Last year, it was 0.5 from the equivalent of 19. While he’s never been prolific at club level, he was often a goal threat for Spain’s under-21 side, and he doesn’t occupy a deep enough position that he should be this irrelevant in terms of goalscoring.

Arteta clearly wants to guard against opposition breaks through the middle and keep midfielders in cautious positions, but if Arsenal are so determined to attack down the flanks before playing balls into the box, a midfielder making late runs is vital. Arsenal often cross with three flat-footed attackers waiting in the middle, and the reality is that many goals that originate from crosses aren’t “pure” goals, they’re about a player collecting a half-clearance or a second ball, or a flick-on, and turning home.

As assistant manager at Manchester City, perhaps the thing Arteta was given most credit for was working with Raheem Sterling on his goalscoring, spending hours on the training ground perfecting the art of popping up in the right place at the right time, and finishing calmly. Sterling is a wide forward rather than a midfielder, of course, but there’s no reason Arteta can’t apply his expertise to a different role on the pitch.

Midfielders come in different shapes and sizes and play different roles. But Manchester United’s notionally defensive midfielder Scott McTominay scored more goals in the opening three minutes on Sunday than Arsenal’s midfielders have managed, collectively, all season. That must change.

Michael Cox

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The nuclear option

Instinct screams patience. There is quality in this Arsenal squad and it will surely tell in the end, thrusting them from this nosedive and back on to the springboard of upper mid-table. Thomas Partey will impose himself once fit. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will rediscover his scoring touch. Kieran Tierney is such a talent, while Gabriel will help implement some kind of defensive discipline. Theirs is a decent spine and the squad’s bright young things add a dash of youthful energy and enterprise.

That is the optimistic outlook, anyway.

The real question is whether Mikel Arteta is the right man to guide the group back into some kind of ascendancy. All the noises from within the club indicate faith is retained in the head coach turned manager who was only appointed a year ago. That this is not the time to rip it up and start again in the dugout, not least because the hierarchy have already instigated so many changes up and down Arsenal’s structure in recent times. There is a logic to that. But it is also fair to ask whether Arteta boasts the credentials to hoist this team out of their tailspin.

His was an exciting if risky appointment. Yes, that FA Cup win was impressive, but this is his first managerial role. He is a rookie, surrounded by similar inexperience across virtually all the significant roles at the club, who now finds himself in an exceptionally difficult situation: overseeing an imbalanced and bloated squad, with its inevitable associated grumblings, whose confidence has clearly flatlined in the most peculiar of seasons.

Of late, as this team’s form has disintegrated after what had briefly been considered a significant win at Old Trafford, he has worn that haunted look of a manager flummoxed by his side’s predicament. A figure who has lost control. Is there enough evidence he boasts the leadership skills and strength of character to wrest it back at an ailing elite club? If his team continue to drift, their results dismal, would there not be a logic to the hierarchy looking to a more experienced candidate to shape this club’s immediate future? Someone who could fall back on first-hand knowledge to instigate a revival.

There are candidates out there, for all that selling Arsenal in its current state might be tricky. Any interest in Mauricio Pochettino would be intriguing given local politics. Leicester might be wary of a move for Brendan Rodgers, but could he be tempted? There is always the possibility Rafa Benitez might be prised away from the Chinese Super League.

All this may feel brutal and, indeed, kneejerk given an exceptional Premier League season still has 24 games to play, but interest in any of the above can hardly be considered outlandish. At present, Arteta’s Arsenal are far too easy to outwit and outdo. If that is maintained then long-term vision might have to give way to short-term pragmatism. For all the pledges of fidelity and desire to avoid further upheaval, a board’s focus inevitably fixes on one thing to instigate an upturn.

Dominic Fifield

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Sensible Transfers: King could strengthen Villa’s attack but Edouard too pricey

https://theathletic.com/2265513/2020/12/22/aston-villa-sensible-transfers/

The most refreshing aspect for Aston Villa is that in the January transfer window there will be no need to rush into signing players.

Yes, some areas need addressing. Attacking targets have already been discussed and Villa may decide to sign a forward capable of playing either down the middle or out wide.

But injury-permitting — and let’s not forget this is around the period last season when things started to unravel — the club are planning for a quiet month and may only add one piece to the jigsaw. If that’s the case, the hope is that their careful and considered planning brings a similar amount of success as in the last window.

Except for Bertrand Traore, who is still very much finding his feet in claret and blue, the summer signings of Emiliano Martinez, Matty Cash, Ollie Watkins and Ross Barkley (loan) have significantly improved the team that finished the last campaign. A hit-rate of four in five is a very good ratio, and in time, Traore might get up to speed, too.

It’s why, unlike last season, there is no need to top up the squad just to bump up the numbers.

When Villa lost three of their top players — Tom Heaton, Wesley Moraes and John McGinn — to long-term injuries around the Christmas period last season, goalkeeper Pepe Reina and midfield flop Danny Drinkwater were signed on loan as replacements. Striker Mbwana Samatta also cost £9.5 million, largely because the likes of Olivier Giroud and Islam Slimani turned Villa down so there weren’t many other options available. They were moves into which Villa were forced because of the situation they found themselves in.

In this window, though, Villa are likely to be acting proactively should they feel an addition is needed. Funds will also be made available if head coach Dean Smith needs to fill a gap caused by a long-term injury.

Josh King, the Bournemouth forward who can play centrally or out wide, is likely to be considered again. He was checked out in the last window but ended up staying at the Championship club. Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard was a target but Villa are not expected to spend the sort of money that would be required to sign him. AC Milan are also understood to be interested in the 22-year-old who starred last season but has struggled to recapture his form for the struggling Scottish side.

Milot Rashica of Werder Bremen was another player of interest but a lot would have to change to get that potential move going again. The Kosovan is also injured and likely to miss the majority of next month, which would make a pursuit even more complex.

Whispers of another move for Tammy Abraham have also died down for now as the England striker is a big part of the Chelsea set-up, and deemed too expensive anyway, following a £90 million spend on recruits in the last window.

If Villa do decide to invest, it will be interesting to see whether they stick with the approach of recruiting from England as three of the four permanent summer signings —  Martinez, Cash and Watkins — all arrived on the back of successful seasons in the Premier League and the Championship.

There’s certainly room for additional foreign influence and flavour to mix up what is a largely English (and Scottish) starting line-up.

New sporting director, Johan Lange, may assist in such activity. He is likely to offer up some alternative targets on the continent as he gets stuck into his first winter window at the club.

Lange has been working closely with the scouting department since joining in the summer and will continue to suggest players to boss Dean Smith before a collective decision is made on which targets to focus on. Villa expect to be more active next summer, though.

The Athletic would recommend Lille attacker Jonathan Bamba, a right-footed 24-year-old attacker who has destroyed opponents from his left-wing position this season. A closer-to-home alternative is Manchester United’s Dan James, the winger wanted by Leeds United.

Of course, neither is to replace Jack Grealish but they would add a specialist left-sided player to the squad to help increase in-game options.

As the team who averages more crosses per game than any other in the Premier League this season, it would also be useful to have a striker with a history of scoring headed goals. Wesley’s return to full fitness will help after a year out injured.

Salomon Rondon, the 31-year-old former Premier League striker, now at Chinese Super League club Dalian Professional would also be worth consideration. The move would go against the patterns of recruiting for the long-term future, but it would also generate a short-term gain and not disrupt the bigger picture.

Aside from requiring another attacker, Villa are relatively well-stocked elsewhere and Smith is happy with his squad, the way they are improving as players and, most importantly, gelling as a group.

The owners are also pleased that plenty of players have grown in value, too. The focus now is to build a strong match-day squad. Villa have a core group of 13 players they can rely on, but not much else in reserve.

Wesley’s return from injury and Jacob Ramsey’s emergence as a genuine contender for minutes may save the club a stack of money in the future, but there are still a few areas that need amending. Aside from moving on forgotten man, Lovre Kalinic, the goalkeeping department is as strong as it has ever been. You can read more about Villa’s goalkeepers in detail here.

Central defence is also well-stocked, but new full-backs in 2021 are required to keep Cash and Matt Targett on their toes. Neil Taylor and Ahmed Elmohamady are out of contract at the end of this season and there are currently no discussions to extend their deals.

Both players are also on the wrong side of 30 and Villa are likely to rebuild without them, even if they have been useful options this season.

The club will also listen to offers for Frederic Guilbert, the French right-back whom they were unable to move on in the last window. Guilbert made it clear that he wanted to stick around but Villa were looking to cash in.

As for replacements, long-term target Rico Henry, the left-back at Brentford, could come into consideration again if West Bromwich Albion don’t get to him first.

In midfield, Conor Hourihane and Marvelous Nakamba are the senior back-up options behind Barkley, Douglas Luiz and McGinn. There are no issues to suggest that Villa need to do anything in this department in January, although moving on Henri Lansbury, who was not named in the 25-man squad and is also out of contract in the summer, would be beneficial.

So the only question that really remains is just how ambitious are Villa and which level of player will they target next?

Do they look again to the Championship for value and consider another high-profile loan? Or are they now at the stage to really start flexing their financial muscles by bringing in top-performing players from other top-flight clubs?

With super-rich owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens in charge, it’s going to be exciting to watch.

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Oki, watching the entire Manure v Everton match

Cavani just slammed Mina to the ground by the throat

NO CALL

outrageous

it is still nil nil early in the 2nd half

I will keep posting shit as I see it