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Manchester United had meetings yesterday but at the time of writing I have no substantial updates on what was discussed and what it means for how the club’s plans are shaping up.
It is a situation to follow hour by hour as it involves many people, they discuss various things after the bad start to the season. It includes the management, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who are all discussing together, so at the moment, as I write this, Man United have not yet made a firm decision and Erik ten Hag remains the coach.
It has also been reported that transfer plans for January may have come up at this meeting, but I understand that will be their topic in December, not now after just eight games for sure.
I’ve also been asked about a related story United and Ollie Watkins in 2023as it has been claimed that they decided against signing the Aston Villa striker, focusing instead on Ramus Hojlund. My information is that they had multiple options on the table, not just Watkins, but they consider Hojlund a great talent for the future with great potential, so their number one option in 2023 was always Hojlund.
Was it the right decision? Personally, I wouldn’t criticize Hojlund – he needs time, but he’s talented and a very good player, although it’s probably true that an experienced striker alongside him would have helped United.
Trent Alexander-Arnold remains on the roster at Real Madrid, while we’re also awaiting major updates on his potential new Liverpool contract, along with team-mates Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.
All three players are talking to Liverpool, discussing with Liverpool, so we’ll see how that negotiation goes. It is not just about the salary, but also about the length of the contract, and also about the project and the direction that Liverpool are going. All this will be discussed, so we will have to wait and see how it develops.
I still have a lot of questions about Alexander-Arnold in particular, and it remains that Real Madrid follow the situation. Real Madrid are very well informed, but they are not yet advanced in terms of any negotiations, because the player’s priority is to talk to Liverpool.
Elsewhere, there are positive updates as Jarell Quansah has signed a new contract and negotiations have also begun with Ibrahima Konate. He’s happy at Liverpool and Arne Slot is happy with him, so that looks positive, and Liverpool are willing to offer him a major contract on an improved salary, which is obviously something Konate will look at positively.
Under new manager Richard Hughes, Liverpool are determined to avoid situations like the Salah, Van Dijk and Alexander-Arnold contracts happening again – important players need to get their contracts out as soon as possible, so this is what will happen with Konate, then the deal being made for Quansah.
Salah’s situation being what it is, it’s no surprise we’re seeing a lot of it Liverpool transfer rumours on the new extremes. It’s true that they’re watching several players, but I still don’t have any concrete updates on specific targets, despite the links to Karim Adeyemi of Borussia Dortmund and West Ham’s Mohammed Kudus.
Juventus wanted Adeyemi last summer, but nothing concrete happened since Karim decided to stay at Dortmund. We’ll see what happens in the future, but at the moment I think it’s too early to talk about him and Liverpool.
Similarly, with Kudus and Liverpool there is currently nothing concrete to report. There will be 100 links a day on Liverpool with Salah out of contract, but Liverpool are not in discussions or planning a move yet, it is just a time when they are exploring the market and still talking to Salah about the contract. So nothing concrete about Kudus now, not an October/November issue for sure.
Finally, at Liverpool, I’ve been asked by some fans about how Arne Slot has made such a strong start after the huge challenge of replacing Jurgen Klopp. It’s certainly been a very good appointment: Slot has a good feeling with the players, but he’s also generally a very humble guy, and that was appreciated in the dressing room and also among the new managers.
Apart from that, of course he is very good tactically, this is not new, as at Feyenoord we could see that he was an excellent manager, but the way he has entered the world of Liverpool has been very appreciated. This was probably the secret of this excellent start.
Following the news that Paul Pogba had his drugs ban reduced from four years to eighteen months, he wanted to make it clear once again that it seems to be over between him and Juventus. I can confirm that both parties have decided to part ways, and formal negotiations will now follow to terminate their contract.
Pogba believes he needs a fresh start after this difficult spell, and Juventus also want to move on. They are focusing on different players, especially young players in this new project under new coach Thiago Motta, so it is over between Juve and Pogba, and his contract will be terminated, making him a free agent.
Pogba is still very ambitious: he wants to play, he wants to return to the French national team, so let’s see which club decides to give him a chance in the coming months.
It’s been a very strong start to the season for Chelsea and I think Enzo Maresca deserves credit after his arrival this summer at what wasn’t the easiest time. Mauricio Pochettino had also done well towards the end of last season, but the club decided to go in a different direction, although it now seems to have proved to be a smart call, even with an inexperienced name in his first job in the Premier League.
I am told that Maresca is having a very good impact on these players from a tactical point of view, and the results have also been clearly good. But the most important thing is the feeling he created with the players; Everyone is very happy with Maresca, how direct and clear he is, the fans also appreciate it and you can feel a different atmosphere at Stamford Bridge this season.
All credit to Maresca for the work he’s done so far – the start has been great, but this project is obviously long-term, so there may still be some ups and downs, but let’s give it time to continue your impressive work.
