I’ll leave you with Barney Ronay on the state of things at Manchester United. Thanks for reading. Cheerio!
We’ll be wrapping this blog up shortly. Thanks for joining us, and for your many excellent tales of players that got away. Enjoy your weekends, and be sure to keep it Guardian sport for all the football.
Time for one more preview:
England youth international Keanan Bennetts has fallen off the radar since leaving Spurs for Gladbach two years ago - but he scored the winner in today’s friendly against Freiburg:
Didn’t think this gif would make it out the archive😂 https://t.co/oN5cb9ASfR
— Keanan Bennetts (@kbennetts_11) January 10, 2020
No, it’s not a Bob Mortimer monologue - this really happened:
Regarding missed opportunities - Gillingham offered week long trials to two 16 year old Geordie lads - one they decided to offer an apprenticeship deal to and the other they called over mid-week and told him he could get a lift home the next day with the scout who was heading up north to look at another player. Hence Peter Bearsdley missed out on the dream of playing for Gillingham. At least the other player, Steve Bruce, worked out well for them.
Here’s today’s Fiver, featuring Tarlos Cevez, José Mourinho’s Amazon meltdown and a draconian five-a-side team:
Time for Peter Oh to get the weekend started: “Re: the Aston Villa manager putting on a brave face despite his striker shortage. It’s good to know that there is at least one Smith resisting panic on the streets of Birmingham.”
And while we’re on the subject of Villa strikers:
January 2009 and Aston Villa are 3rd in the Premier league. Martin O'Neil is searching for a striker to fire Villa into the champions league. He's offered the chance to sign a young Colombian from River Plate called Rademal Falcao for £5m. Naturally he scoffs at this and signs Emile Heskey instead. Villa end up 6th, Heskey ends up with a 1 in 10 goal average and the world misses out on a Falcao, Agbonlahor strike partnership.
Injury news: It’s more bad news for Bournemouth, whose injury crisis has deepened with the news that centre-back Chris Mepham faces 12 weeks on the sidelines. Mepham had impressed in recent weeks, but suffered a knee injury in the FA Cup win over Luton.
A look ahead to Chelsea v Burnley now. Sean Dyche’s side are flirting with relegation, but have been tricky opponents at Stamford Bridge before - and Chelsea have handed morale boosts to Bournemouth, West Ham and Southampton at home recently.
“At the end of the 2002 season, Liverpool had the opportunity to turn Nicolas Anelka’s successful loan period into something more permanent,” writes Toby Podmore.
“Instead, Houllier opted to sign the undoubted star of the World Cup, a pacy striker with a fantastic skill set and an eye for goal. His name was El-Hadji Diouf.”
Transfer alert! Young Arsenal playmaker Emile Smith Rowe has joined Huddersfield on loan until the end of the season.
🤔 What to expect from @emilesmithrowe...
— Huddersfield Town (@htafc) January 10, 2020
📹 Listen to his first interview with #htafc.#HTTV is sponsored by @absolute_ws.
An earlier moment of mirth from Jürgen Klopp’s presser, a harmless bit of fun that will in no way make Mourinho furious:
Jürgen Klopp asks reporters to Google which position José Mourinho played after being asked who was the better player pic.twitter.com/l8PqUljZi2
— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) January 10, 2020
December’s Premier League goal of the month? Take a bow, Son.
🤩 Son's sensational solo goal for @SpursOfficial is the @budfootball Goal of the Month for December 🤩#PLAwards pic.twitter.com/JWNtvGxNbU
— Premier League (@premierleague) January 10, 2020
Crystal Palace host Arsenal in Saturday’s early kick-off. Granit Xhaka looked set to leave the Gunners after remonstrating with home fans when the two teams met at the Emirates - but he’s expected to start at Selhurst Park. Christian Benteke is expected to start up front despite Cenk Tosun’s arrival, and rumours of a return to Aston Villa.
Wolves might be riding high these days, but they were deep in the doldrums back in the 80s, sliding all the way into Division Four. How different things might have been:
I remember Wolves coming close to signing Michel Platini. And apparently Alex Ferguson was unimpressed with an the opportunity to leave Aberdeen and take the reins at Molineux.
According to the article, Wolves have a bit of a track record, having missed out on Wayne Rooney, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Nicolas Anelka and more. At least these days, their transfer game is tight.
More team news! Manchester United take on Norwich, who are set to give Adam Idah a chance up front with Teemu Pukki injured. The Irish teenager banged in a hat-trick against Preston in the FA Cup.
Everton face Brighton tomorrow, with an air of farce still hanging over them after the FA Cup loss to Liverpool’s second string. Fans turned up at the training ground to confront players, only to find it was their day off.
Now Fabian Delph is in hot water for arguing with fans on social media, calling one “a gobshite” and another a “delusional little boy.” Unprofessional? Perhaps. But in my humble one, perhaps fans shouldn’t abuse players if they’d rather not get any back.
With Kane out until at least April, will Gareth Southgate try to tempt Jamie Vardy back out of retirement, or give Danny Ings another England chance? He was at the King Power on Wednesday night, so perhaps he’ll be back to see both strikers in action tomorrow:
Thanks, Dave. A couple of you asking if we might do a Joy of Six on transfers that got away. We might be due a part two, but Rob Smyth has it covered:
It’s time to hand the baton back to Niall McVeigh, who’ll guide you through to stumps.
Team news from Crystal Palace and Roy Hodgson has his options limited for the visit of Arsenal.
Captain Luka Milivojevic is serving a ban while Joel Ward (knee), Scott Dann, Victor Camarasa (both calf), Mamadou Sakho, Patrick Van Aanholt (both hamstring), Jeffrey Schlupp (hip), Andros Townsend (groin) and Christian Benteke (muscle) remain out.
Celtic’s Dick Rowe moment here? To be fair to Dick, he may have shunned the Beatles but signing up the Rolling Stones was a fairly smart move.
@davetindallgolf Celtic almost signed Didier Drogba when he was at Guingamp but was talked out of the move by Momo Sylla, who told him he wasn't good enough to break into the Celtic first team
— Tony Lee (@leemealonetony) January 10, 2020
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Even Aston Villa boss Dean Smith isn’t panicking despite not having a fit senior forward. Villa need a frontman for Sunday’s visit of Manchester City after Wesley suffered a season-ending knee injury on New Year’s Day but Jonathan Kodjia is likely to miss out through illness and Keinan Davis has a hamstring problem.
Here’s Smith’s TED Talk about the mechanics of the transfer window. “When you are after players, four things need to align, the selling clubs want to sell, the buying club wants to buy and have the funds and then the player and his agents. There are four boxes and we’re not any closer to doing that at the moment.”
Sean Dyche won’t panic and neither will Spurs boss Jose Mourinho. There’s a severe lack of panic amongst all the Premier League managers to be honest. What’s the matter with them?
Anyway, here’s Jose ruling out panic buys despite the recent injuries to Harry Kane and Moussa Sissoko...
“If the boss arrives with a solution that can help us to face these difficult months that we are going to have ahead of us then so be it, then welcome.
“But if we don’t find the right solution, the right opportunity, then we are going to wait for the next summer to try to make the right decisions for the evolution of the team.
“So let’s wait, calm, but in this moment my focus is total on the players that we have available. That’s the way it is.”
Always a contender for the Dick Rowe award is this classic by RuefulCountenance...
“Sheffield United were of course linked heavily with Diego Maradona in his Boca days, but the board baulked at the price.
“Our manager at the time, also set up a deal to get Ossie Ardilles, but I think what happened was his stock and fee rose after a good World Cup. Haslam instead acted as a middle man for Ardille’s move to Spurs. Bah.”
A bit more from Frank Lampard on the possible departure of Olivier Giroud.
“With Ollie the situation is, if it’s right for everybody, and first and foremost that’s us as the club, then we’ll look at whether he can leave the club. He’s been a great professional here, who has continued to train professionally without many opportunities. But I still have to make a decision for the football club, and nothing’s done yet. Everyone’s talking about it so I’m not going to beat around the bush.”
As for team news ahead of the visit of Burnley, Christian Pulisic is out with an adductor injury that will keep him out for a number of weeks. There is no sign of an imminent return for Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who continues rehabilitation from heel surgery.
The PA report that the Football Association is in discussions with the BBC and BT Sport about how to broadcast any FA Cup match which falls outside of the Saturday 3pm blackout period.
The FA has had to act after betting companies who had previously held exclusive UK streaming rights for ties not on television or kicking off at 3pm waived the right to exclusivity on Thursday.
The original deal was criticised for encouraging gambling, and how it jarred with an FA campaign promoting mental health awareness, but on Thursday the betting companies announced they were happy for a free platform to be found for these ties.
Here’s Jose Mourinho sounding particularly enthused about the forthcoming Tottenham documentary series on Amazon.
Jose Mourinho: "These guys (points to Amazon cameraman), these guys are 24 hours. Only when I go to the toilet they're not coming with me! Apart from that they're always with me....Only Amazon disturb me, not the cameras on matchday." https://t.co/FnXZI7p0ys
— Alasdair Gold (@AlasdairGold) January 10, 2020
Moussa Dembele to Chelsea? Frank Lampard is playing it down.
“He’s a player I know and a player the club know, but I’m surprised to see his name crop up so frequently in relation to us to be brutally honest. And I could say the same thing about a number of players this week. I don’t want to go cut and dried on anyone. But it’s not one we’re openly talking about.”
Asked if Chelsea are close to finalising any signings, Lampard adds: “No, not at the moment. But what is close? It’s January, and if it’s right we’ll look at it. Nothing’s imminent, we’re not going to have any big news today, or tomorrow.”
So expect him to be further harangued on Sunday then.
Here’s a good one... and with a picture too.
@DaveTindallgolf Mourinho almost signing to become Fenerbahçe manager back in '99 is epic. He comes to İstanbul to watch Fenerbahçe but the board consider him to be inexperienced & appoint Zdenek Zeman (a disaster). Here's him enjoying the customary post-kebab tea. What if... pic.twitter.com/ngjVcnrhW8
— The Øtüken Post (@OtukenPost) January 10, 2020
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Down the East Lancs road at Goodison (although most surely take the M62), we have another injury update. This time it’s Carlo Ancelotti on midfielder Andre Gomes, who looked set to be out for the season after a dislocation fracture to his right ankle in the draw against Tottenham in November.
No timeframe but Ancelotti says: “It is good news. He is doing well in his recovery. It is going fast so I hope as soon as possible he can be with us.”
Pep Guardiola has given injury updates on two of his key absentees.
On Aymeric Laporte: “He’s training every day and he feels good. That is good news but I don’t know when he’ll be ready to play games.”
Leroy Sane, absent since August’s Community Shield, has been linked with a move to Bayern Munich and Guardiola addressed that speculation too: “It’s a question for Leroy, his agents and the club. I’m not involved but he knows what we believe. I want him to come back fit. His knee looks really good. After that it’s not my business.”
A double tale of woe from below the line courtesy of TheGreatBaldo...
“During the Alex Miller horror show at Pittodrie, we were offered 2 Monaco unknown youngsters on loan - Thierry Henry and David Trezuguet...
“Miller declined and signed Mike Newell and Nigel Pepper instead. Newell’s only highlight in Aberdeen was being so drunk he got thrown out of a Louise Nurding (Redknapp) gig and then got his arm trapped in a letter box.
“As for Pepper, his highlight was being sent off less than 20 seconds after he came on as a sub vs Dundee United, he actually passed the player he replaced (Paul Bernard) on the way to the dressing room.”
Flashbleu puts forward this ‘one that got away’ tale.
“I recall Joe Royle parted company with Everton over his desire to bring a young Norwegian striker to the club. The club’s then chairman, Peter Johnson, used all his experience of selling hampers to tell the former striker that he knew nothing of strikers and Royle was forced out. The Norwegian striker , Tore André Flo, did quite well with Chelsea afterwards.”
Talking of which, have you tried our Norwegian footballers in 1998 quiz? A bit niche, admittedly.
A bit more from Sean Dyche, who says Burnley are thinking more about players coming in rather than going out.
“We’re certainly not in a position where we need to sell anyone. The club is in very good financial health, so there’s no demand on that.”
In terms of team news for the Stamford Bridge trip, Ashley Barnes and Johann Berg Gudmundsson are set to miss out with groin and hamstring injuries respectively. On the plus side, Chris Wood is likely to return after hamstring trouble.
Burnley have lost nine of their last 13 games and sit just four points above the relegation zone ahead of Saturday’s trip to Chelsea but boss Sean Dyche is not one to panic.
“It’s partly the understanding of the challenge, partly understanding who we are and partly the experience I’ve gathered.
“There’s lots of different things. I wouldn’t say ‘calm’ about everything, but I like to work on logic and realities, so that keeps me a little bit more level about what the challenge is, I think,” says Dyche, sounding more Spock than Lance Corporal Jones.
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Teddy Sheringham to Liverpool was one I recall but a personal favourite is Frank Worthington having his dream switch to Anfield scuppered due to a failed medical.
The title of his book, ‘One Hump Or Two’, hints at why (Frank’s blood pressure was off the scale due to recent activity).
Bizarrely, that book helps me out on quiz nights. One hump or two, of course, also refers to camels and, as Frank explains, the best way to remember your Bactrian from your Dromedary is to take the first letter of each, make it a capital and turn it on its side. Sideways B = Bactrian.
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Thanks Niall. Keep those ‘one that got away’ entries coming in. Plenty more who could contend for the Dick Rowe award I would imagine.
Time to hand over to my esteemed colleague, Dave Tindall, who will guide you through the next couple of hours. Dave ...
Here’s Roy Hodgson on new recruit Cenk Tosun:
“There was a serious interest in signing him, but Everton got his signature. We’re very pleased to have him with us, we know his qualities and what he can bring. But we also feel we could have had him much earlier.”
“We’re signing him to score goals for us, it’s an area we’ve been looking to improve for some time. He’s full of enthusiasm, because he’s not had game time at Everton.”
My favourite ‘one that got away’ so far sounds completely made up, but is apparently true. His loss.
@niallmcveigh I am sure Saint Mirren came close to signing Ronaldhino on a short term contract before he moved to Europe. Not sure he would have made the grade up here
— EddieMunsterOnTour (@Eddiemunsteron1) January 10, 2020
Another transfer line being rapidly reheated today is Bruno Fernandes to Manchester United. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer played a straight bat early on, in response to reports that he and Mike Phelan took a trip to Lisbon to watch the attacking midfielder. Portuguese press say United have opened talks, with Sporting wanting £60m large.
As I mentioned earlier, that seems like a good move for all concerned. Palace have needed a centre-forward for about 10 years, and Tosun needs game time with Euro 2020 coming up. What’s more, he’ll go from Everton bench-warmer to first-choice at a team higher in the table.
Cenk Tosun joins Crystal Palace on loan
That’s how we like it - a deal mooted earlier on today has quickly progressed, and is now confirmed before lunch. Cenk Tosun has joined Crystal Palace on loan until the end of the season.
Source? https://t.co/M1jpRBPHfN
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) January 10, 2020
@niallmcveigh I'm sure Rivaldo was close to signing for Bolton back when Big Sam was at the helm, but then signed for Olympiakos instead. Would have loved to see him in the Prem!
— Sam Jones (@samueldjones) January 10, 2020
You’re correct, Sam. Below the line, one for Everton to forget:
Gordon Lee casting an eye over a young Chester City Everton supporting player who initially played in midfield.
”He watched me - but mustn't have fancied me”*
I wonder what happened to Ian Rush?
Amid news that Harry Maguire could feature against Norwich, another potential defensive boost for Manchester United. Eric Bailly and Timothy Fosu-Mensah are on their way back, and will feature for the Under-23s this evening.
Two first-team Reds will continue their injury comebacks with an outing for our #MUAcademy U23s tonight — and you can watch the match live on #MUTV!
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 10, 2020
🆚 Newcastle
⏰ 19:00 GMT
🏟 @LSVStadium
🎥 MUTV (https://t.co/cZsiTbzR2c)
The first of our Premier League match previews has landed, with both Wolves and Newcastle bidding to end losing runs:
Coming up: Pep Guardiola at 1pm, José Mourinho at 1.30pm, and Frank Lampard also at half one. Will be interesting to see if Frank has any comment on Olivier Giroud. Sky are reporting that the striker has agreed personal terms with Inter as both clubs haggle over his transfer fee.
More of your ‘ones that got away’:
@niallmcveigh can't forget Eric Cantona and his trial at Sheff Weds. Competed in a indoor comp at Sheffield arena. Trevor Francis wasn't convinced, asked to extend the trail a week to "see him on grass". Eric disappeared to Leeds and won the league. pic.twitter.com/wxez9Ogmhj
— Tom Hible (@THible) January 10, 2020
@niallmcveigh 17 year-old Kaka almost made it to Turkey's Gaziantepspor, with the club chairman refusing to pay 1 million USD for the then youngster. Sami Hyppia & Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink went on trial with Samsunspor and were not liked by the manager, Gigi Multescu.
— The Øtüken Post (@OtukenPost) January 10, 2020
Bournemouth have slipped into the relegation zone after two wins in their last 16 games, and Eddie Howe is desperate to get the good times rolling at the Vitality Stadium again.
“This is a massive game for us. It is a key run coming up and we can’t wait any longer, we need points,” Howe said. “Teams used to fear coming here, it was a tight stadium with a really good atmosphere. I’m desperate to get that back.”
The Cherries take on Watford on Sunday, with Adam Smith, Lloyd Kelly and Nathan Aké all potentially in the frame to return.
ThisNameIsMine nominates Liverpool, who missed out on Michael Laudrup in 1983, and one Cristiano Ronaldo 20 years later.
“We had a wage scale and we weren’t paying the sort of salary he wanted,” Gerard Houllier said of Ronaldo. “I agreed with not breaking the wage structure. I thought it would cause problems in our dressing room.” Houllier signed Harry Kewell instead.
Props to Abhishek Mallik and VigoTheCarpathian, who point out that Blackburn also missed out on Roy Keane and Christophe Dugarry, along with Zidane and later Lewandowski. They also nearly got Sven-Goran Eriksson in as manager in the late 90s; it seems they could have gone the full Lazio.
Sticking with Palace, and Cenk Tosun is reportedly in South London for a medical ahead of a loan move to Crystal Palace. That could be a smart move for both parties.
Wolves, meanwhile, are chasing RB Leipzig forward Matheus Cunha, having agreed to let Patrick Cutrone return to Italy with Fiorentina. The Brazilian can play through the middle or out wide, and would slot nicely into Nuno Espírito Santo’s Portugal-heavy squad.
Some hot transfer news from my colleague, Will Unwin:
Olympiakos captain Omar Elabdellaoui has turned down the chance to join Turkish giants Galatasaray in order to focus on securing a move to the UK. The defender, who will be available for free in the summer, has attracted interest from a number of Premier League clubs, including Aston Villa and Crystal Palace, in addition to Scottish champions Celtic. Italian side Atalanta are also keeping a close eye on the defender, watching him in his most recent match.
Olympiakos want to keep Elabdellaoui, who came through the ranks at Manchester City and has previously enjoyed a loan spell at Hull, until the end of the season as they battle PAOK for the title and face Arsenal in the Europa League. It will be a busy few months for Norway captain Elabdellaoui who will lead the national team, including Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard, in the Euro 2020 playoffs.
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“West Ham almost signed Shevchenko; he played in a friendly away to Barnet,” writes Jack Ryan. An intriguing one this; Harry Redknapp has claimed the Ukrainian had a trial with the Hammers in the early 90s. Shevchenko, however, has denied it ever happened.
Before we get back into the Premier League grind, here’s a remarkable story from Ed Aarons and Alex Cizmic, on the footballers in limbo as they try to escape one of the world’s most oppressive regimes:
“Lewandowski actually came somewhat close to signing for Norwegian third-tier club Hødd (former club of Aston Villa keeper Ørjan Nyland) in 2007 after getting him recommended by the assistant coach’s friend,” writes Kristian Skaar. “The forward was interested in a trial, but the club wouldn’t pay for his plane ticket. Might have regretted that.”
Updated
More on Mat Ryan’s pledge to help wildlife hit by bushfires back in Australia:
Championship preview
In the lunchtime kick-off, third-placed Brentford face QPR in a West London derby, looking to muscle in on the automatic promotion party. It’s a big weekend for derbies, with leaders Leeds hosting Sheffield Wednesday, a basement battle between Barnsley and Huddersfield, and Preston visiting Blackburn.
West Brom go to Charlton for the second straight weekend after their FA Cup win there, while bottom club Luton might fancy their chances at home to free-falling Birmingham. Play-off chasers Millwall, Fulham and Forest visit Stoke, Hull and Reading respectively, but the biggest game of all comes on Sunday as Cardiff host Swansea.
The outrageously talented Trent Alexander-Arnold has been named the Premier League player of the month for December. Here’s Eni Aluko on why the flying full-back should win the PFA award this season:
“Apparently Newcastle were offered the chance to sign Zinedine Zidane from Bordeaux in 1996 for £1.2m,” writes Ben Blatch-Hanlon. “After watching him they turned him down, claiming he wasn’t good enough for the Premier League.”
Have you read the one about the goalless 32-year-old centre-forward who is one of the Premier League’s breakout stars? If not, do so now:
As pointed out by GatehouseAmi below the line, Burnley interviewed André Villas-Boas back in 2010, but gave the job to Brian Laws instead.
“He sent a very detailed and lengthy application for the job,” former Burnley chief executive Paul Fletcher wrote in his 2012 book. “His CV and PowerPoint presentation was amazing. Even by today’s standards there was some complicated stuff in it, with some things that I didn’t understand.”
“With hindsight, we might have appointed him, but at the time it would have been too big a risk. The language and jargon of football gets worse by the day. Villas-Boas uses a lot of it. Would Burnley players have ever understood him?”
“I have written a regular column for Norwich City’s matchday programme for 12 seasons featuring former players,” writes Steve. “This season I have been writing on Nearly Canaries - those that didn’t make the first team.”
“My list includes Oceania’s “player of the century”, Wynton Rufer, who signed a contract with Norwich in 1981 only to be refused a work permit. He went on to win the Uefa Cup with Werder Bremen.”
Klopp adds that aside from Rhian Brewster, he doesn’t expect too many of his young guns to head out on loan this month. “I don’t think there are other players who would benefit more from a loan than from being here,” he says.
Liverpool injury news: Xherdan Shaqiri is back in training, but both James Milner and Naby Keita are out of the trip to North London with ongoing muscle problems, while Fabinho will be back in the first-team picture next week.
Klopp is reminded that if his side beat Spurs, it will be the best ever start to an English top-flight season ever. “Let’s talk about it if we win,” Klopp hits back, while grappling with a bottle of water.
Updated
Jürgen Klopp tells us what he expects from Tottenham on Saturday. “Expecting an organised Spurs side putting some emphasis on defending for sure. They have players who can create at speed - Eriksen, Alli, Lucas, Son - and Aurier at full-back. We have to think about what [José Mourinho] did against us at United, but this is a different team, different players.”
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Brighton goalkeeper Mathew Ryan has pledged his support to Australian wildlife charities working amid the ongoing bushfires. The Aussie keeper will donate A$500 for every save made by a Premier League keeper this weekend:
Transfer news! Chelsea defender Marc Guehi is heading to Swansea on loan, linking up with his former England U17 manager, Steve Cooper, who has already picked up Rhian Brewster in this transfer window.
“The gaffer is a big part of the reason for coming here,” Guehi said. “You are coming to a place where you are unfamiliar with your surroundings, so to have that familiar face really helps in terms of getting down to work.”
Our first ‘one that got away’ is a manager, rather than a player - but a brutal one to take for Hamburg, currently in Germany’s second division. Speaking of Klopp, his Liverpool presser is coming right up.
The HSV had a look at Klopp when he was about to leave in Mainz. They rejected him because they felt he was often late (Klopp denied that), a smoker ( Klopp confirmed it), wore teared Jeans and gave flippant answers to the press. They hired Martin Jol instead :(
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Newcastle are five points above the relegation zone ahead of Saturday’s trip to Molineux, and Steve Bruce isn’t happy about the Premier League’s packed Christmas schedule, describing it as “ludicrous”. Bruce added that he would like to sign Lookman, but “we’ve been linked with 38 players this month, and he’s one of them. It’s still pretty far off”.
Across Manchester, a significant boost for City, with Leroy Sané back in training. The German winger has been on the sidelines since suffering a knee injury in the Community Shield.
Sané has been repeatedly linked with a move to Bayern Munich but has been missed by Pep Guardiola. Not as much as defensive linchpin Aymeric Laporte, perhaps - but the centre-back is also close to a first-team return.
Maguire may be fit for Norwich game
Some interesting news out of Old Trafford, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirming that Harry Maguire could feature against Norwich this weekend. The centre-back was expected to be out for some time, but OGS has denied there were ever fears of a long-term injury.
“Maybe you were thinking of Harry Kane?” Ole chirps, to zero laughs. Solskjaer also refuses to confirm or deny that club captain Ashley Young could be off to Internazionale, and informs us Jesse Lingard is not available. More here:
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More gossip in today’s Rumour Mill:
Some early transfer news: Spurs have reportedly held talks with Milan over Polish striker Krzysztof Piatek, Newcastle are hoping to sign Ademola Lookman on loan, and Norwich are closing in on Hertha Berlin playmaker Ondrej Duda.
In keeping with today’s key themes, I’d love to hear a) your team’s lesser-known rivalries, and b) the transfer targets that got away. Robert Lewandowski nearly joining Blackburn, that sort of thing. You can comment below, email me or tweet here.
There may be bad blood between Sheffield United and West Ham, but their two managers are going big on the mutual respect, like the school’s two hardest dads exchanging a nod at the gates.
David Moyes on Chris Wilder: “I quite enjoy seeing managers who have to earn their stripes, prove themselves in the lower leagues, and then they move up.”
Wilder on Moyes: “His record, from Preston to Everton, was incredible. For the vast majority of his career he’s been hugely successful and they’re definitely a different proposition with David Moyes in charge.”
More on that, and nine other things, here:
Preamble
The Premier League is back, and we’re all a little bloated from football’s festive excesses, particularly that double Cup chaser. But what better way to ease your indigestion than some choice Friday night beef?
Sheffield United welcome West Ham to Bramall Lane tonight for the first time since 2007, when Carlos Tevez helped the Hammers escape the drop at the Blades’ expense, leading to a long legal battle and a simmering mutual emnity between the two clubs.
There’s more where that came from on Saturday, too, with José Mourinho facing Liverpool, a club that a) overlooked him in favour of Rafa Benítez, b) forced him out of Old Trafford, and c) are surpassing his mid-naughts Chelsea side as the Premier League’s most efficient winning machine.
As for Southampton, the cackles of Jamie Vardy still haunt their dreams as they look to restore pride against Leicester, without reminding NINE everyone NIL of the score NINE-NIL! last time the two sides met.
Plus! Team news! Press conference soundbites! A Football League programme that can only be described as bumper! And more! So stick around, email me here, tweet @niallmcveigh or comment below the line.
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Zlatan turned down a trial at Arsenal. His loss. We would have respected his statue