Category: Sport

Erik ten Hag has had a memorable transfer window so far, but Thursday will determine whether it has been truly successful.

The Manchester United boss has managed to bring in a defensive midfielder that was so needed, albeit Casemiro was not his first choice. Tyrell Malacia’s acquisition looks clever, as does the free signing of Christian Eriksen.

Lisandro Martinez may not have been the centre-half fans were expecting at Old Trafford but he has gone down a hit with fans, some of whom are glad to see Harry Maguire benched in favour of the Argentine.

Antony’s imminent arrival will be determined in time given his plus-£80m fee but it pleased supporters to see a new attacking threat within their ranks. Martin Dubravka is also a solid short-term back-up option for David de Gea.

However three issues remain, one of which is pivotal.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s future

Ten Hag insists that Cristiano Ronaldo has not told him personally he wishes to leave the club, despite submitting a transfer request earlier this summer. The unsettled superstar signed a two-year deal last August and scored 24 goals in his homecoming campaign.

But United’s low chances of silverware this season and a squad-wide 25 per cent salary cut prompted by their failure to qualify for this term’s Champions League has left Ronaldo unhappy. The issue has been that there seems to be few options open to him away from Old Trafford.

Ten Hag says Ronaldo is still in his plans, albeit hasn’t started the striker in United’s last two matches. An exit isn’t totally off the table, though, with Napoli interested in a move, but the odds are reduced.

Ten Hag must decide whether to risk keeping a discontented icon around a squad whose confidence is fragile or offload him, which then creates the immediate task of finding a replacement with little time remaining. This decision is what could define Ten Hag’s window.

Competition for Dalot

There is an evident shortfall in quality at right-back with Aaron Wan-Bissaka struggling to get in the team over Diogo Dalot. The Manchester Evening News understands that United have held talks with Barcelona regarding a loan deal for Sergino Dest as a result.

An acquisition would mean United are pretty well stacked in all areas of the pitch, aside from the ongoing debate about centre-forwards if Ronaldo does end up leaving. Getting a quality right-back in before the deadline seems important amid a hectic schedule around the World Cup.

Loan spells for youngsters

Alvaro Fernandez and Hannibal Mejbri are two academy products who have already secured season-long loans elsewhere, and Ten Hag must decide what next steps are best for other youngsters in the squad.

Amad Diallo and Tahith Chong seem set for loans while James Garner is to be offloaded. Zidane Iqbal and Charlie Savage had excellent pre-seasons but are unlikely to get enough first team football at United in order to sustain their growth.

Ten Hag must decipher whether it is better for them to be around the senior squad or get more minutes elsewhere, with decisions over Shola Shoretire and Alejandro Garnacho also needing to be made.

Not only did Timo Werner score a first-half hattrick whilst Chelsea slumped to a damaging 2-1 defeat to Southampton. Summer target Anthony Gordon scored his second goal in two games, and Wilfried Zaha provided Crystal Palace with a moment of magic that Thomas Tuchel was in dire need of on the south coast.

It was a night that summed up the club’s past problems, its current ones and areas that promise to halt or reverse any progress being made right now. There is now less than 48 hours for the transfer work to be completed, and at the end of that. Maybe with a thankful eye for Tuchel, the window will be shut, and the work that has been done will be what he has to work with.

The next time after September 1 that Tuchel gets to enter the market again properly will be after a World Cup, a drastically different market in its own way. The defeat only piled on the pressure and questions, ones likely to be made even more intense as the window draws to a close.

This summer itself hasn’t been the root cause of Tuchel’s problems, they come from long-term management failure within the club, though a lack of central midfield options does come under that umbrella which falls at Tuchel’s door. It also won’t be solved by big-money signings either. Although a midfielder looks blatantly obvious, ridding the squad of extra players is still important. If Chelsea wants to sign Zaha, fostering a better team atmosphere should also elevate itself up that list.

The Palace forward scored his fourth goal in as many games, though the Eagles were later pegged back by Leeds, and gave a frank assessment of what he has at Selhurst Park. The Ivorian said, “It feels like a family here at Palace.” For Chelsea, there is no such feeling right now. There are still players that want out. Now they are being relied upon to play and start matches. Some first team members are having contracts terminated or training away from the main group. Others are still unsure where they will be come to the window’s end.

It’s not the atmosphere that would prize Zaha away from Palace, yet his impact could revitalise a team on and off the pitch. The 29-year-old has the technical skills and capacity to bring energy and forward thinking to an attack that is greatly missing it. He is versatile across the front line and would be a good option if the deal could be completed, though.

For now, though, even if it isn’t in order to get Zaha, Chelsea have to make Cobham and Stamford Bridge a family place once more if they are to work through a tough period.

Chelsea’s midfield took another damaging hit against Southampton. Not only did the makeshift pivot of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, not a natural six, and Jorginho lose control of the game after going ahead, Tuchel was then left with injury concerns to attend to as well.

Loftus-Cheek left the field at halftime and didn’t return to action with heavy bandaging and ice seen on his knee during the second 45. Tuchel then used Mateo Kovacic in his place despite not being fit enough for more than 20 minutes. He would play all of the second period. Meanwhile, Jorginho struggled to impact the game positively for Chelsea, being overran and technically limited.

As Tuchel left the eager faces of Carney Chukwuemeka and Billy Gilmour, drafted in to sit on the bench, on the sidelines for the entirety and then said he had no more midfielders, the stance was clear. He wants players he can trust readily, and though Gilmour and Chukwuemeka have done nothing to suggest they can’t be trusted, Tuchel is heavily reliant on experience to get himself through this period.

Now it looks like the Scottish youngster is close to leaving Stamford Bridge permanently. Brighton would like to sign him, and although that doesn’t immediately eliminate one of Tuchel’s options, Gilmour was only an extremely unlikely precaution. It does show the muddle that the manager is in.

In Gilmour, he has a talented player with Premier League experience and examples of world-class performances -albeit a small sample size – but no indication that he would ever be used this season. The 21-year-old is a more natural fit to the double-pivot than Loftus-Cheek or Conor Gallagher, and although he doesn’t have the stature of an out-and-out defensive midfielder, he does have the energy to cover the pitch in a way Jorginho can’t. Tuchel’s first answer was understandably to use Kovacic, but when you consider that he would rather risk a key player in dire times than even offer Gilmour a glimpse, it shows his priority.

Even later in the second half, when Chelsea attacked, Hakim Ziyech, who is wantaway from the club too, was played in a deeper role in front of Kovacic before Gilmour could even ask if warming up was worth it. This is without mentioning Ethan Ampadu, who is also a capable player in the middle of the park. Instead, almost all of Chelsea’s hopes for a new midfielder this window have rested on Frenkie de Jong.

The Dutchman has been at the centre of transfer and public speculation with his treatment from Barcelona and interest from Todd Boehly and Manchester United, but nothing appears close heading into the late stages of the window. Unless he was to seriously push for a move away, De Jong wouldn’t be Tuchel’s answer.

In a similar vein, the 25-year-old remained coy on his return to Spain after journeying to London this week. After stirring up the fanbase, when a video of him boarding a plane to the capital emerged, it was revealed that he was attending Donny van de Beek’s wedding. Now, on his way back to Spain and there was no let-up of questions over his future. De Jong marched past the reporters with a stern face, ignoring all transfer talk.

Even though nobody expects him to turn around and say that he has just signed a contract at Chelsea, the situation felt comically hopeful and sums up Tuchel’s midfield plight. There are players available to him, albeit not ones he has much knowledge of, but they may well be the last options left come September 2. If they are, then performances from the current batch need to improve and injury records need to be put right, or the German must start to take more of a risk when it comes to those he deems ‘available’.

Thomas Tuchel’s 2022/2023 Premier League campaign started the hard way as he is struggling to win matches despite his huge summer signings. The German tactician who signed Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly, Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling, and Brighton’s Marc Cucurella to strengthen his defense and attack is still conceding more goals than ever.

The head keeps repeating 2 errors in all his matches this season, contributing to most of his team’s losses and bad performance. These errors could lead to his sack this season if he did not correct them and this article states those errors and how he can correct them.

1. Playing his players out of position:

This is one of his errors that needs to be rectified. Thomas Tuchel keeps using his players in the wrong position, bringing negative results to the team. A clear example is using Reece James as a center back whereas his natural position is a wing back and most times using Kai Havertz as a winger or false striker.

Playing his players out of position should be correct as their natural position brings out the best in them. The head coach should correct this error else could lead to his sack if the team keeps performing badly.

2. Featuring Kai Havertz despite his poor form:

Kai Havertz has featured in Chelsea’s five matches this season without any positive contributions. The German international is yet to record a goal or assist this season. Thomas Tuchel Keeps playing him when he has other exceptional players that could replace him. The likes of Broja could be used to replace him as the young lad is being denied playing time

Chelsea lost 2-1 to Southampton during their game today. Raheem Sterling scored the opening goal but the Saints came back and got a win.

Tuchel started the game with Kai Havertz who was not able to score. He also missed a clear chance during the game.

Armando Broja came in at the 64th minute of the game. He made a very big impact as well. He is more direct and also have the experience on how to score goals.

This young striker played so well during his loan spell at Southampton. I think Chelsea might really get back to winning ways if Tuchel features Broja in his next game.

Broja positions so well and also opens up for the midfielders to give him ball. He is a better player who can really lead Chelsea’s front line so well.

LeeWilmotFL: “Will anyone sign on deadline day? Auba? Zaha? Neymar now? What’s the latest?”

Bobby says: “Hi Lee, thanks for the question – and what a question it is. We’ll go one-by-one.

“Chelsea remain hopeful of signing Auba. There are, however, some obstacles before a deal can be reached. Auba wants a guaranteed three-year contract whereas Chelsea have floated the idea of two years plus an additional 12 months if all works out well. Chelsea and Barca are yet to agree on a fee, also, but that is seen as very doable.

“Zaha – there is long-term interest from Chelsea. However, a source close to Crystal Palace told us how strong a relationship he has with chairman Steve Parish and he would not push for a move away. At this stage, it looks unlikely.

“The Neymar links are re-emerging on social media. There’s definitely some interest there from Chelsea, but right now, if I was put on the spot, I’d say that it was very unlikely that a deal of that magnitude can be struck in such little time.”

jdo: “From the outside it all seems a little less stable at Chelsea after the takeover. Do you think Tuchel has more power now because of that? They seem to want to sign players for him like Aubameyang that wouldn’t usually suit their criteria.”

Bobby says: “We know Tuchel has more power in the transfer market this summer. For instance, the pursuit of Auba is down to him, not necessarily the club’s board, like we’ve seen in the past.

“Having Todd Boehly as the interim sporting director is not ideal and I think the variety of targets this summer can be put down to the lack of experience in that department.

“You’re right, Auba is someone we usually wouldn’t see Chelsea go for, but I think the major revamp of the whole club this summer means it has been an unusual one.”

Davidhersey20: “What’s happening with the fofana Medical?”

Bobby says: “Hi David, thanks for the question. As far as I’m aware Fofana is still out in the United States completing his medical at Chelsea. Everything was completed last week. Should be no issues – fingers crossed – and he could be in the squad for this weekend.”

jds2022: “Do you know what’s happening with Billy Gilmour this season? Presumably he’s going to be heading out on loan?”

Bobby says: “It’s an interesting one with Gilmour. Brighton are interested in Gilmour and Chelsea are open to loaning him out. The Blues do not want to sell him, though, with a loan deal looking more likely.”

williamadjei: “Do you think Gordon is still likely to happen and also are Chelsea close to signing Arsen Zakharyan?”

Bobby says: “Right now, I’d say Gordon looks rather unlikely. Everton don’t want to budge and they have every right not to. There were reports suggesting they want him to sign a new contract where he’d be one of the club’s top earners, so that shows exactly how highly they rate him. Auba looks more likely than Gordon right now. As far as Zakharyan is concerned, I personally haven’t heard anything but all of the info has come from good sources!”

Arsenal could be on course to teach Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel and interim sporting director Todd Boehly a key transfer lesson amid midfield worries.

The Blues have been very busy in the transfer market, just like their north London compatriots, and both sides could be very active in the last 48 hours of the transfer window. Once Wesley Fofana is announced, it is understood that two attackers are being targeted by Boehly as the final pieces of the puzzle. Wilfried Zaha, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and even potentially Neymar could be on the agenda in that regard.

Meanwhile, at London Colney, Edu and the higher-ups at Arsenal are planning potential late swoops for two players- a defensive midfielder and potentially a winger. The former of the positions has already been confirmed by David Ornstein and others. football.london understands that Mohamed Elneny has suffered a hamstring injury. He is set to be assessed in the next 24 hours to confirm the severity. The Gunners want this confirmed before making any big transfer decisions.

With it likely being confirmed that the Egyptian will be sidelined for some time amid positive news on Oleksandr Zinchenko and Thomas Party pre-Aston Villa, this will be the likes of Youri Tielemans and others back on the table.

In addition to this, moves for Pedro Neto and Cody Gakpo could be pursued as a need for a new wide player has been amplified following Nicolas Pepe’s loan exit to OCG Nice. If a move for a midfielder and winger were to come off, all the holes in the Gunners squad will be filled.

This won’t be the same story in SW6. Even if the two aforementioned attackers were signed on top of Fofana, questions will remain over the midfield situation, with Tuchel already realising the mistake he has made in that regard.

“It is, and it’s normally the area I would love to have a headache about who plays and who is on the bench. This is normally the area where I thought we would have five players that could all play for us and have Carney [Chukwuemeka] on top as an option as a young player,” Tuchel said before Southampton. “The headache before the season was whether we had too many players there, but it comes to the fifth game, and maybe we only have two left with experience in this position and Kova from the bench because he is not ready to play full matches at Premier League level as he only had a week after training after his injury.

“It’s a strange situation and a situation we don’t like. I don’t know why we are in this situation, actually. It’s like this, and we will have something to think about [over the team selection], or maybe not because it’s so obvious who we have left.”

Frenkie de Jong to Chelsea remains the most viable option on the table if the Dutchman, who is currently in London for a break, was to make an unexpected late U-turn on his stance. Alternatively, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Idrissa Gueye were reportedly two options that were under consideration, but neither are set to materialise before the Thursday deadline. Coupled with this, Billy Gilmour’s potential permanent transfer exit to Brighton could really fuel further headaches for Tuchel.

Mateo Kovacic’s and N’Golo Kante’s unreliability to stay fit really puts pressure on Jorginho, Conor Gallagher, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and potential Carney Chukwuemeka to stand up in the face of adversity. This could have all been avoided, though, if midfield was moved up the priority list earlier in the transfer window. Arsenal are set to fill that position whilst Chelsea, as it stands, will just trust what they have in-house.

Watch Armstrong first goal in 23 appearances for Southampton against Chelsea Download Video

Edouard Mendy – Had to gather the ball more often than Chelsea would have liked at St Mary’s. Vision blocked as he tried to save Rome Lavia’s strike and couldn’t keep it out despite getting a palm to the ball. 6.

Cesar Azpilicueta – decided to give away a corner when perhaps he didn’t need to, and his clearance for the resulting kick went to Romeo Lavia, who finished with a fierce strike. 4.

Thiago Silva – A more physical outing from the Brazilian than we often expect and even took it upon himself to carry the ball upfield as Chelsea struggled. 6.

Kalidou Koulibaly – A more secure display than what he offered versus Leeds on his return to the team. He was very good in one vs one situations. 6.

Marc Cucurella – Produced a vital clearance early in the second half to add to a solid performance. The Spaniard was unafraid to step up for a physical battle against the Saints’ forward line. 6.

Jorginho – The Italian remains vulnerable to teams attacking at pace, and tonight was no different. 5.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek – A quieter time on the pitch than what he managed against Leicester and was substituted at half-time. He appeared to have to straping on his knee when he re-emerged in the dugout. 5.

Hakim Ziyech – The Moroccan makes it very easy to admire his cross-field passing and showed some impressive flashes on his first start of the season. He grew quieter and quieter as the game went on, however. 5.

Mason Mount – The England international moments showed some glimpses of his best form in the opening half and provided the assists for Raheem Sterling’s goal but once again struggled to sustain an influence on the game. 5.

Raheem Sterling – Once again, there were occasions where it seemed Sterling should possibly do better, but he continued to find the right position and opened the scoring at St Mary’s for his third of the season. He could not get involved enough in the second period. 6.

Kai Havertz – The German forward had some clever touches and flicks but did not provide a regular enough threat as Chelsea struggled to find their way to Southampton’s goal. 5.

Substitutes

Mateo Kovacic – Produced some excellent passes from the base of midfield when Chelsea changed shape but was perhaps not incisive enough, often enough. 6.

Armando Broja – Started very quickly when he arrived on the pitch after the hour mark and brought the energy that Chelsea had missed. 6.

Christian Pulisic – Provided some energy from wing-back and looked to cross the ball from out wide but often struggled to bring the quality necessary to help Chelsea come back from a goal down. 6.

Ben Chilwell – took his place on the left flank and was fine on the ball when required. 5.

Chelsea have lost their second away game of the season against Southampton at St Mary’s, with another poor performance.

Our record for the season is now played 5, won 2, drawn 1, lost two.

It’s not relegation form, but it’s not Champions League form either.

We don’t Thomas Tuchel is close to being sacked, but there’s no doubt that unless that win percentage improves, he won’t last the season.

We simply don’t know how trigger happy Todd Boehly is as an owner, and we think that he will do everything to give him manager a chance. But there were some big mistakes made, in the lineup and in the game.

Picking Hakim Ziyech – who is literally in negotiations to leave the club – was a bizarre decision.

The manager’s changes in recent games where we’ve gone behind have also tended to make things more than better, with the team losing all shape as players are thrown on and moved around all over the pitch.

Wilfried Zaha insists his focus hasn’t been negatively impacted by renewed speculation that Arsenal and Chelsea are readying bids for him ahead of transfer deadline day.

The Ivory Coast international has begun the new season in sensational form, scoring four goals in as many games, including a stunning effort in last night’s 1-1 draw against Brentford.

Arsenal have been linked with the 29-year-old on many occasions in the past and the former Manchester United winger would have moved to the Emirates in the summer of 2019 had Unai Emery not been overruled.

Mikel Arteta’s predecessor wanted to sign Zaha after watching him destroy Arsenal’s top four hopes with a sensational individual display in a 3-2 Palace victory at the Emirates, but the club’s board at the time opted to spend £72million on Nicolas Pepe instead.

Zaha’s international teammate struggled to live up to his billing over the course of three erratic years in north London and last week joined Nice on a season long loan deal.

Pepe’s departure has intensified Arsenal’s search for a new winger and with a deal for Pedro Neto looking increasingly unlikely, Zaha has again been mooted as a possible target.

Chelsea, similarly, are looking to strengthen a forward line that again lacked potency during last night’s disappointing defeat at Southampton during which Hakim Ziyech and late substitute Christian Pulisic looked particularly out of sorts.

STOP THAT, WILF! 😱

Wilfried Zaha's opener against Brentford was simply amazing 🤩 pic.twitter.com/G3v6zOaONf

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) August 30, 2022

Addressing his future after Brentford denied Palace a victory with a late equaliser, Zaha said: ‘It’s not been difficult at all (to remain focused).

‘I’ve just been focused on Palace and every game. So it’s not been difficult at all. I go into training, I get on with it and I enjoy it. So I’ve been focused.

‘It’s massive, we’ve got a massive understanding everyone literally understands me. It’s different, it’s hard to explain but it feels like a family here. That’s the understanding we have.’

A bittersweet night, glad to get another goal but wish we could have got the 3 points for you all. pic.twitter.com/nijHspcnlI

— Wilfried Zaha (@wilfriedzaha) August 30, 2022

Despite his own superb individual form, Palace have been unable to capitalise fully on Zaha’s contributions and were denied a second win of the season by Yoane Wissa’s 88th minute header.

A frustated Zaha added: ‘I’m lost for words man. Listen, one lapse in concentration it just ruins all the hard work. We literally just had to keep it tight.

‘It’s like as soon as we went in the lead we just started to defend. I don’t see why we do that. If we just continue pressing on I feel like we could’ve got a second and it just ends the game. We just killed ourselves in the end.

‘I feel like our problem right now that in due time we’ll fix is just last minute goals it just throws away the whole performance.

‘Today was by far not a best performance but a game like that I feel we should be getting all three points.’