Sky Sports have sent their top pundits some advice ahead of the verdict on Manchester City's 115 FFP charges being announced.
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Article continues below
Article continues below
Verdict on Man City charges due soon
Sky Sports pundits handed advice
Broadcaster wants to avoid controversy
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WHAT HAPPENED?
Manchester City are expecting a verdict from the independent commission shortly over the club's alleged breaches of more than 115 rules relating to Financial Fair Play. Ahead of the verdict, broadcaster Sky Sports has issued advice to its top pundits including Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher and Roy Keane about how to discuss the subject on air, according to the .
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
The pundits have been sent a factfile of the case and warned against "jumping to conclusions on air and on social media" and to ensure they "stick to the facts." The broadcaster is eager to avoid any controversy on the topic and wants to be seen to be "accurate, fair and balanced in its reporting." Staff have also been reminded that both sides could claim victory and that any potential punishments may be subject to an appeal.
TELL ME MORE
The saga has already drawn plenty of headlines and prompted much speculation about potential punishments if City are found guilty. Pep Guardiola's side are believed to be confident they will avoid tough sanctions, while speculation persists that the club could be hit with a fine, a hefty points penalty or even relegation from the Premier League.
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WHAT NEXT FOR MAN CITY
A final verdict has long been expected in March, meaning fans may not have too much longer to wait to discover the outcome. In the meantime, Manchester City are back in action after the international break against Bournemouth in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
Ipswich Town are struggling to accrue points so far this season, sitting 18th in the Premier League after 12 games played.
However, the Tractor Boys have been putting in some good performances, beating Tottenham 2-1 before the international break, and putting up a fight against the likes of Aston Villa and Brighton.
Kieran McKenna’s side drew 1-1 with Manchester United during Ruben Amorim’s first gam, generating a higher xG in the match, and creating three big chances, compared to the two big chances United managed.
The star of the show happened to be Omari Hutchinson…
Omari Hutchinson's dazzling performance
Ipswich’s goal came from Hutchinson on the day, who fired home his first Premier League goal into the top left corner, but it wasn’t just his goal that impressed during the performance.
Hutchinson, having spent last season on loan with Ipswich in the Championship, joined on a permanent basis from Chelsea this summer, for a fee of around £20m but perhaps saved his best performance for the visit of the Red Devils.
Against Manchester United, the attacker impressively won seven of his 14 ground duels, made one key pass, completed one long ball, and succeeded with two of his four dribble attempts.
The youngster was a constant threat, playing as the number ten, drifting either side to collect the ball and run at the United backline.
But, despite the former Arsenal academy gem being the goalscorer, there was another performance against ManUnited that stood out, and it was at the other end of the pitch.
Dara O'Shea's performance in numbers
Dara O’Shea was signed from Burnley over the summer, joining for a fee of around £15m. The 25-year-old has made ten appearances since joining the club, contributing to one clean sheet so far.
The Tractor Boys haven’t been amazing defensively but this was a fine performance from the Irishman. Indeed, the defender was given an 8/10 rating for his performance against Manchester United by the East Anglian Times, after winning 100% of his duels in the game and putting in some crucial blocks and tackles.
O’Shea vs Man Utd performance
Stat
O’Shea
Minutes
90
Touches
76
Accurate Passes
50/62
Long Balls
3/6
Ground Duels Won
5/5
Aerial Duels Won
5/5
Clearances
5
Blocks
1
Interceptions
2
Tackles
4
Stats taken from Sofascore
O’Shea won five out of five ground duels, and perhaps even more impressively, won five out five aerial duels, putting in a dominant performance at the back for Ipswich, playing a relatively faultless game after conceding just two minutes into the clash.
The 6 foot 1 defender isn’t the tallest, but has a knack for winning aerial duels, averaging 3.30 per 90, with a 61.5% win rate.
But the Irish defender gets stuck in with ground duels too, making four tackles in the game, and reading play well to ensure he arrived on time to make timely challenges to stop United attacks. O’Shea has averaged 2.50 tackles + interceptions this season, showing his defensive qualities for the Tractor Boys.
Ipswich has managed to assemble a pretty strong defensive unit on paper after coming up from the Championship, with Leif Davis continuing at left-back, Axel Tuanzebe continuing at right-back, and the new centre-back pairing of O’Shea and Jacob Greaves being assembled.
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Are Liverpool the best team in Europe right now? You’d have to stake a compelling case indeed to convince Anfield’s roaring fanbase otherwise, with Real Madrid added to the growing collection of stunning victories under Arne Slot’s wing.
It might be the biggest yet. Certainly, the most euphoric and awe-inspiring. Los Blancos were made to look distinctly average on Wednesday evening, reduced to mere flashes of the imperious quality that the Champions League has tasted with such regularity over the past decade. More.
The narrative was rewritten with this one. Over the past 15 years, Liverpool have lost seven matches against Real Madrid. Sure, they once drew, but that was only after the Spaniards had assumed control with a 3-1 win in the first leg of their knockout tie.
The challenge has been insurmountable, the road impassable. No more. Slot has taken Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and turned it into something better. A thrash-metal, easy-on-the-eye outfit has been gentrified and polished.
Conor Bradley’s crunching tackle on subdued Kylian Mbappe was the highlight, an image framed and pasted across channels. Alexis Mac Allister and Caoimhin Kelleher were also sublime. But one man continued his revival with a quietly excellent performance.
Darwin Nunez's resurgence continues
Darwin Nunez has scored three goals and supplied two assists in 16 matches this season, starting nine. Not brilliant; it could be better for sure.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast's Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
But the 25-year-old’s overall game is noticeably more refined and streamlined. He was a thorn against the La Liga side, playing for 68 minutes before being replaced by goalscorer Cody Gakpo, with Luis Diaz shifting into a makeshift role at number nine once again.
Nunez’s maturity and understanding of Slot’s style is something that can’t be easily defined through statistics. As per Sofascore, the Uruguayan was foiled twice by Thibaut Courtois and saw an impressively-taken header skew wide. It was a good effort all the same.
Courtois has been a byword for misery down Anfield Road these past few years, saving his finet displays when facing Liverpool. Maybe he’s just an exceptional goalkeeper. Yesterday, though, Slot’s tactical assault and the clinically-taken goals finally thwarted the Belgian.
It wasn’t Nunez who beat the Belgian and missed chances are of course a grumpy theme of the forward’s Liverpool career, but he was tenacious and tireless, a thorn in the visitors’ backline.
Darwin Nunez against Real Madrid
All that said, it might be that he needs to be dropped for the weekend’s Premier League clash, against none other than Manchester City. They’re coming thick and fast alright.
Pep Guardiola’s beleaguered side are really struggling, look a shell of their usually indomitable selves. Slot won’t expect to steamroll over the most illustrious English side of the modern age, however, and must expect the best version of the Premier League champions.
Nunez should be dropped with Diogo Jota fit once again. The Portuguese ranks among 12% of forwards across Europe – over the past year – for non-penalty goals scored (0.63) per 90, as per FBref.
Now let’s step into more contentious territory. Slot should drop Diaz too.
Ehy Slot must boldly drop Luis Diaz
Diaz didn’t put in his finest display of the season, but he was still effective down the left channel and looked more impactful still when Slot demonstrated his tactical nous once again by moving the Colombian central.
How curious that he almost looks more fluid when playing as Liverpool’s number nine. Even so, Gakpo’s performance proved that he should start against City on Sunday, and while Diaz could do a job up front, Jota may well be preferable.
Anyway, this isn’t to say that the 28-year-old, who has been in fine fettle this term with nine goals and two assists across 18 matches (an identical record to Mbappe at Real Madrid, by the by), can’t leave his mark on the Sky Blues, with his pace and potency sure to have an effect if welcomed to the field after the break.
Gakpo deserves the opportunity, with his refocused role at left wing this season triumphing in making him more dangerous and dynamic.
He boasts a myriad of ways to inflict damage on his opponents, does Gakpo, and this level of incisiveness should be rewarded with a starting berth. Liverpool, to be sure, will need to take their chances against a Cityzen side that would like nothing more than to damage Slot’s high-flying start.
Minutes played
90′
22′
Goals
0
1
Assists
0
0
Touches
19
60
Shots (on target)
4 (2)
1 (1)
Accurate passes
41/45 (91%)
11/12 (92%)
Key passes
0
1
Dribbles (completed)
3 (2)
1 (1)
Total duels (won)
10 (3)
2 (2)
As you can see from the table above, Gakpo made such economical usage of his time on the field. He scored, yes, great, but he also made a key pass – Diaz did not across the full 90 – and succeeded with his one attempted dribble.
Diaz was good. Jotting down his post-match thoughts, the Liverpool Echo’s Ian Doyle handed him an 8/10 match rating and wrote: ‘Started brightly but should have been more bold up against stand-in right-back Valverde. Second half better, especially when switched to central position. Tenacious.’
Of course, Gakpo’s dynamic approach knows no bounds and saw him win both of his challenges, whereas his South American teammate lost seven of his ten contested duels.
All told, Liverpool deservedly thumped Real Madrid and the Slot machine churns on. The fact that the Reds have such a breadth of high-class options bears testament to the work done by Klopp and co across the past several years, rebuilding the iconic first iteration of this brilliant team.
Diaz will want to start on Sunday, but Gakpo is the man of the moment and proving his prolificness. With nine goal contributions from as many starts during the 2024/25 campaign, he should be placed on that left wing against City and let loose.
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Liverpool made it five wins from five in the Champions League against Real Madrid.
أعلن روبن أموريم، المدير الفني لفريق مانشستر يونايتد، تشكيل اللاعبين لخوض مباراة ليون في منافسات الدوري الأوروبي لموسم 2024/2025.
ويلاقي مانشستر يونايتد نظيره ليون في إياب دور الـ8 من بطولة الدوري الأوروبي، في نظامها الجديد على ملعب “أولد ترافورد”، في تمام الساعة التاسعة مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة.
وانتهت مواجهة الذهاب بين الفريقين على ملعب “جروباما ستاديوم”، بالتعادل الإيجابي بهدفين مقابل هدفين.
اقرأ أيضاً.. تقارير: ليفربول ينافس مانشستر يونايتد على التعاقد مع صفقة هجومية من الدوري الإنجليزي
وتأهل مانشستر يونايتد إلى منافسات دور ربع نهائي الدوري الأوروبي، عقب تخطي ريال سوسيداد، بينما نجح ليون في العبور إلى الدور ذاته عقب فوزه على ستيوا بوخارست.
ويدخل مانشستر يونايتد مواجهة اليوم، بعدما تعثر في المباراة الأخيرة بالدوري الإنجليزي أمام نيوكاسل يونايتد، بهزيمة قاسية بنتيجة 4/1.
فيما يخوض ليون لقاء اليوم بعدما فاز في المباراة السابقة على أوكسير، في منافسات الدوري الفرنسي، بثلاثة أهداف مقابل هدف.
ويلتقي المتأهل من مانشستر يونايتد وليون مع المتأهل من مباراة أتلتيك بلباو ورينجرز الإسكتلندي، في مرحلة نصف نهائي البطولة، حسب القرعة التي تمت في وقت سابق. تشكيل مانشستر يونايتد اليوم أمام ليون في الدوري الأوروبي
حراسة المرمى: أونانا.
خط الدفاع: نصير مزراوي، هاري ماجواير، ليني يورو، دالوت، دورجو.
خط الوسط: كاسيميرو، أوجارتي، برونو فيرنانديز.
خط الهجوم: أليخاندرو جارناتشو، راسموس هويلوند.
The Pride of All Europe 👊#MUFC || #UEL — Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 17, 2025
It wasn’t a flawless performance, but Arsenal more than steadied the ship with their Champions League win over Monaco last night.
Mikel Arteta’s side were almost perfect in the first half, and had the likes of Gabriel Martinelli or Gabriel Jesus been at the races, they could’ve gone in with a three or four-goal lead at half-time.
Fortunately, while the Ligue 1 side offered more of a threat in the second half, the Gunners pounced on mistakes and lapses in concentration to extend their lead and eventually ended the game at a canter.
Arsenal vs Monaco
Arsenal
Statistics
Monaco
55%
Possession
45%
1.89
Expected Goals
0.38
3
Goals
0
6
Big Chances
0
16
Total Shots
7
3
Corners
1
12
Fouls
7
532
Passes
439
All Stats via Sofascore
While several players put in good performances for the North Londoners, two really stood out, one of which was, of course, Bukayo Saka.
Bukayo Saka's game vs Monaco
Yes, Arsenal’s talismanic winger once again stepped up and led from the front in a Champions League game and was entirely deserving of his Man of the Match award.
The Hale End icon was a threat throughout the encounter, opening the scoring in the first half, doubling the lead in the second half, and then providing the assist for Kai Havertz’s effort in the closing moments to secure all three points.
Unsurprisingly, the mercurial number seven seriously impressed football.london’s chief Arsenal writer, Kaya Kaynak, who awarded him an 8/10 match rating at full-time and praised him for producing ‘the difference-making moments’ for the team.
The 23-year-old’s statistics from the game more than justify the praise he received after the game as well.
In his 93 minutes of action, the sensational winger produced a combined expected goal and assists figure of 0.48, took two shots on target, had one shot blocked, took 48 touches, played three key passes, was accurate in 100% of his long balls, created one big chance and made three interceptions and two tackles.
Saka’s game in numbers
Minutes
93′
Expected Goals
0.41
Goals
2
Expected Assists
0.07
Assists
1
Shots on Target
2
Shots Blocked
1
Touches
48
Key Passes
3
Big Chances Created
1
Long Balls (Accurate)
1 (1)
Interceptions
3
Tackles
2
All Stats via Sofascore
Overall, it was an utterly superb performance from someone who is now his team’s most important player, although there was another starter who was arguably just as impressive, albeit for a slightly different reason: Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Myles Lewis-Skelly's game vs Monaco
Yes, the Gunners’ other stand-out performer from last night’s brilliant win was undoubtedly Lewis-Skelly.
Now, it’s true that, with no goals and no assists to his name, it would be fair to say the 18-year-old was less influential on the result than Saka, but the reason his display was just as impressive is that it was his first start in the Champions League, and he looked right at home.
The Hale End graduate had to start due to the club’s current injury crisis, but from the very first minute, he looked entirely comfortable on Europe’s biggest stage, confident in defence, and decisive in attack.
For example, while Jesus played the ball across the box for Saka’s goal, he only had the opportunity to do so thanks to an incredible defence-splitting pass from the Islington-born gem, whom Arsenal podcaster Will Balsam fairly described as a “different beast” for a similar pass he played in the game against Bolton.
The exciting gem, whom former U18 coach Jack Wilshere proclaimed is capable of doing “things you can’t coach” left an impression on football.london’s Kayak as well, with the journalist awarding him an 8/10 rating and writing that he ‘showed composure beyond his years.’
Lewis-Skelly’s game in numbers
Minutes
64′
Passing Accuracy
45/47 (96%)
Touches
53
Lost Possession
2
Dribbles (Complete)
2 (2)
Ground Duels (Won)
5 (4)
Fouls Committed
1
Fouls Won
1
All Stats via Sofascore
Such composure is visible in some of his statistics, as he maintained a passing accuracy of 96%, took 53 touches, lost the ball just twice, completed 100% of his dribbles, won four of five ground duels, committed a single foul and won one himself.
Ultimately, it was an extremely impressive full European debut from Lewis-Skelly, and as former professional turned pundit Karen Carney said, it’s “scary how good he’ll be”.
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O mata-mata do Campeonato Paranaense não tem apenas os seus confrontos, mas também as suas datas e horários definidos pela Federação Paranaense de Futebol (FPF).
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>Fique atualizado pelo aplicativo de resultados do LANCE!
O clássico da capital entre Athletico e Coritiba terá seu primeiro embate na próxima quarta-feira (23), às 20h (de Brasília), na Arena da Baixada. Por ter a melhor campanha no acumulado das fases, o embate decisivo ocorrerá no próximo domingo (27), às 16h, no Couto Pereira.
Do outro lado da chave, Operário e Maringá começam sua semifinal na quinta-feira, também às 20h, no Germano Kruger. A definição da chave ocorrerá no domingo, às 18h, no Estádio Willie Davis.
As campanhas dos qualificados a decisão do estadual seguirão contando nos jogos da semifinal. Com isso, no caso do Coritiba, a equipe do Alto da Glória, ele só depende de dois resultados positivos contra o arquirrival para garantir a disputa do segundo jogo da decisão em casa.
يمر نادي ريال مدريد الإسباني بفترة اختبار قوية، خاصة بعد توديع منافسات بطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا، والشكوك حول القدرة على التتويج بلقب الدوري الإسباني تحت قيادة المدرب كارلو أنشيلوتي.
وتمكن آرسنال من الإطاحة بريال مدريد من الدور ربع النهائي لدوري الأبطال، عقب الفوز في الإياب بهدفين لهدف بعد السقوط في مباراة الذهاب بثلاثية نظيفة.
وفي بطولة الدوري الإسباني، يتأخر ريال مدريد خلف المتصدر برشلونة بفارق 4 نقاط، بعد مرور 31 جولة، وسيلتقي الفريقان يوم 26 أبريل الجاري في نهائي كأس ملك إسبانيا.
ويعد مستقبل كارلو أنشيلوتي على المحك، ويتأهب ريال مدريد لاتخاذ قرارات مصيرية بشأن الفريق، في مرحلة حاسمة من الموسم.
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وذكرت صحيفة “ماركا” الإسبانية، أن تلك القرارت لا تتعلق بالموسم الجاري، لأن الهدف الأكبر لريال مدريد هو لقب كأس العالم للأندية بنظام البطولة الجديد، لأسباب تتعلق بهيبة النادي والتوسع دوليًا، والاستفادة على الجانب التجاري.
وبناء على ذلك، تدرس إدارة ريال مدريد في الوقت الحالي، الخيارات التي تضمن للفريق خوض البطولة وهو في أفضل وضع ممكن.
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وتفكر الإدارة في أفضل مدرب يتولى تدريب الفريق بعد أنشيلوتي، إذا استمر الأداء المتذبذب، خاصة وأن الموسم ينتهي في 25 مايو، ثم تبدأ بطولة كأس العالم للأندية في 13 يونيو.
ويخطط ريال مدريد للتعاقد مع تشابي ألونسو المدرب الحالي لفريق باير ليفركوزن الألماني، والذي ارتبط في وقت سابق بتدريب النادي الإسباني، والذي لديه بند في عقده يتيح له الانتقال لتدريب ريال مدريد أو ليفربول مقابل تعويض مالي للنادي الألماني.
هناك خيار آخر سيتوقف على قرار تشابي بالقبول أو الرفض، وهو تعيين مدرب مؤقت مثل راؤول أو سانتياجو سولاري، لكن الصورة الأقرب أن يتولى المدرب الجديد تدريب ريال مدريد قبل أسابيع من إنطلاق مونديال الأندية، من أجل التحضير الجيد للبطولة.
Somerset’s losing run continues after three-wicket defeat in south London
Matt Roller24-Apr-2022High hands in his backlift, disdainful pull shots in front of square, front-foot slaps over cover and wristy whips through midwicket. Forget Ryan Patel, this was more like Ryan Charles Lara.Patel’s second first-class hundred, more than three years after his first, set up a stroll to victory in the south London sunshine for Surrey and subjected Somerset to their seventh straight Championship defeat. It was a result which had seemed impossible barely 24 hours before, when Somerset were 161 runs ahead and two wickets down in their second innings, but their collapse on the third evening and Patel’s remarkable knock kept them bottom and put Surrey top of the nascent Division One table.Related
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Surrey needed 237 to win in their second innings after Jordan Clark had prised out the final wicket early on the final morning, and Patel brought up a 60-ball half-century on the stroke of lunch, making his intentions clear early on by swiping Craig Overton for two boundaries in the space of three balls.He had a hundred by tea, punching the air as he scampered through for a single off Jack Leach and acknowledging the applause from a healthy Sunday crowd as he reached his landmark off just 127 balls. Patel was by no means guaranteed his place in the side at the start of the season, but is now the second-highest run-scorer for a Surrey side brimming with international quality.The tempo of his innings was completely out of kilter with his reputation as a blocker but Patel has reinvented himself as a red-ball batter. His strike rate across his first-class career was just 38.95 at the end of last season but a remarkable innings of 131 off 70 balls in the Royal London Cup at Guildford last summer appeared to spark a transformation, giving him confidence in his attacking shots.He furthered that transition over the winter, working closely with Vikram Solanki – before his departure to become Gujarat Titans’ director of cricket – and then Gareth Batty. Backed to open alongside Rory Burns ahead of Jamie Smith and Cameron Steel, Patel started the season with 75 not out off 107 balls against Warwickshire, and has 256 runs at 64 across his five innings to date.”I’m very, very happy at the minute,” Patel said. “It’s just down to confidence in my own game. The main thing for me was backing myself and backing my ability: I can score runs. Confidence is the biggest thing and I feel very different to last year.”I’ve always been a bit tentative and a bit nervous to get going in first-class cricket. I don’t think it’s been a conscious effort to make [my strike rate] better, it’s just that I’ve been playing shots that previously I wouldn’t have through lack of confidence.”Now I’m going out there and backing myself to hit a four, first ball; I don’t need to leave the first few. If the ball’s there to be hit, hopefully, I’ll hit it. I’ve always wanted to open the batting and obviously with Mark Stoneman going to Middlesex, that opened up a spot for someone to grab. I’m glad I’m taking that opportunity.”Patel fell shortly after reaching his hundred, edging Josh Davey through to Steven Davies, but Surrey looked comfortable in pursuit of their target despite a late wobble. Ben Foakes, who was cleared of concussion after his collision with Jamie Overton last night, finished 48 not out, clipping the winning runs off his hip through midwicket with three wickets to spare.Somerset had restricted Burns, Hashim Amla and Ollie Pope to 31 runs between them, with Burns top-edging a pull, Pope cutting a short, wide ball straight to gully and Amla edging behind, but struggled to strike a balance between stopping the flow of runs and attacking.They were also hampered by Craig Overton’s bruised toe, which caused him to leave the field two overs into his first spell after lunch, while Davey pulled up sore on his return to the side. Sam Curran hit Leach out of the attack, chipping his second ball after tea into the pavilion for six then heaving him over wide long-on, and while Jack Brooks finished with four wickets, he bowled too many four-balls to apply sustained pressure.Jason Kerr, their head coach, said Somerset’s performance represented “progress” despite their eventual defeat. “It’s certainly an improved performance but obviously the result isn’t what we wanted,” he said. “We’ve been working incredibly hard but ultimately the players need to step up. We need to rally around each other, stick together as a unit, and keep trying to turn it round.”He also revealed that Lewis Gregory, who missed this week’s game with a stiff back and has struggled with back injuries throughout his career, will undergo a fitness test tomorrow. “If that’s positive, great. If it’s not, it could be a lengthy lay-off,” Kerr said.
Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim secured his second consecutive Europa League victory last night, beating Viktoria Plzen 2-1, but once again, hi side made hard work of the win.
The Red Devils fell a goal behind just minutes into the second half after Andre Onana’s slack pass was pounced upon, handing Matej Vydra an open goal to put the hosts ahead.
However, Rasmus Hojlund saved the day, scoring a double off the substitutes’ bench, after being dropped for the meeting in the Czech Republic.
Ruben Amorim
Summer addition Joshua Zirkzee once again failed to impress and take advantage of his start, being replaced after an hour, with his subsequent display putting his United career at risk.
He’s only scored three times in his 22 appearances for the Red Devils, looking way off the pace and not worth anywhere near the £36.5m fee forked out for his signature.
As a result, other options have recently been targeted, with Amorim clearly not happy with the attacking output, potentially putting an early end to the Dutchman’s career in England.
United’s pursuit of a new centre-forward
Rumours have been swirling over numerous names of strikers who could be set for a move to Old Trafford, but as of yet, no player looks close to a move to the North West.
Alexander Isak, Dušan Vlahović and Viktor Gyokeres are just three players who have been touted with a transfer in recent times, but they aren’t the only ones.
Gyokeres, Hojlund, Amorim
Brighton striker Joao Pedro was linked with a move to United earlier this week, named in a report by UOL as one of two Premier League sides registering interest in a move for the Brazilian international.
He’s made a phenomenal start to the ongoing campaign, scoring four and registering three assists in his opening nine matches, also catching the attention of Liverpool in the process.
There’s no mention of any potential price tag for the 23-year-old, but his versatility of being able to feature as a lone striker or as a number 10 would see him be a perfect fit for Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 system.
Pedro has proven he’s capable of being the main man in a Premier League outfit, making him a viable option for the new boss ahead of January, with his comparisons to one leading top-flight talent only highlighting what a stellar addition he would be.
Why Pedro could end Zirkzee’s United career
As previously mentioned, Zirkzee has been unable to make the impact he would’ve envisaged upon his big-money transfer, struggling to make his mark under Erik ten Hag and now Amorim.
The fast-paced nature of England’s top flight doesn’t appear to suit the 23-year-old, but he undeniably doesn’t have the characteristics of a traditional Amorim striker – lacking the work rate and hold-up play at the top end of the pitch.
Hojlund’s form is only going to decrease his game time, whilst a move for Pedro would massively impact his ability to gain the minutes he would desire.
When delving into the Brighton ace’s stats from the current season, he’s outperformed the former Bologna star in various areas – leading to comparisons from FBref to Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.
It may seem a farfetched resemblance given their difference in roles, but Pedro has bettered the Egyptian in multiple key attacking areas throughout recent months.
The Brazilian “magician”, as dubbed by commentator Kevin Hatchard, has registered fewer combined goals and assists this season, but managed to achieve a better goal per shot on target rate – making him a more clinical option based on his chances in front of goal.
Games played
9
14
Goals & assists
7
21
Goals per shot-on-target
0.6
0.4
Progressive passes
4
3.7
Pass accuracy
74%
72%
Successful dribbles
1.7
1.6
Aerials won
1.9
0.2
Tackles won
1.1
0.6
He may primarily be a centre-forward, but he’s registered more progressive passes per 90 than Arne Slot’s star man, showcasing his versatility in attacking areas, making him able to improve the goalscoring tallies of those around him.
Crucially, the Seagulls attacker has also won 1.1 tackles per 90, demonstrating his ability out of possession, arguably making him the perfect option for the 39-year-old United boss.
Any deal for Pedro will undoubtedly be yet another huge sum splashed by the current hierarchy, but it’s evident what he would bring to the current first-team side, providing an immediate upgrade, whilst also having the potential to improve down the line.
However, the Red Devils will face a huge task in convincing him to move to Old Trafford, rather than Anfield, should they decide to pursue a move for the 23-year-old in January.
As bad as Rashford: Amorim must axe 3/10 Man Utd dud who left him dismayed
Manchester United secured a third consecutive Europa League victory last night.
Looking to take full advantage of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s stance, Barcelona have now reportedly set their sights on signing a Manchester United star who has already earned the praise of new manager Ruben Amorim.
Man Utd transfer news
With defeats against Arsenal and Nottingham Forest sandwiched in between the shock exit of sporting director Dan Ashworth, before Manchester United needed a late winner to defeat Viktoria Plzen, the difficulty of Amorim’s task has never been clearer.
Attempting to organise the chaos that Erik ten Hag left on the pitch whilst INEOS and Ratcliffe continue to steal the headlines for the wrong reasons away from the action, Amorim desperately needs the January transfer window to arrive.
It’s not just incomings that could take place when 2025 arrives, however, with several names likely to head for the exit door as Amorim looks to mark his own stamp on the current side. And that could yet see one shock player head for the exit door.
According to reports in Spain, Barcelona have set their sights on signing Marcus Rashford, who Ratcliffe is reportedly ready to sell for as little as £40m when the opportunity arrives.
Man Utd refuse to rule out deal for "amazing" ace scouts saw play star role
They could land a bargain deal…
ByTom Cunningham Dec 13, 2024
The academy graduate has struggled to rediscover his best form in the last year or so, which far from helped Ten Hag’s tenure, and it remains to be seen whether he will find a permanent role under Amorim, given his system without wingers.
This comes despite the new manager’s early praise and encouragement for Rashford, telling reporters as relayed by Reuters after a 4-0 victory over Everton: “He can do so much, so he has to continue to improve, he has the ability to do it, he already proved that. But he can play so much better, as can the other guys. Was a good performance, (but) tomorrow he has to recover and start thinking about Arsenal.”
"Great" Rashford needs fresh start
Manchester United may be his boyhood club, but if Rashford is to rediscover his best form then he must do what many before him have decided to do by leaving Old Trafford for pastours new. Old Trafford has seen the likes of Angel Di Maria, Danny Welbeck all those years ago and, more recently, Andreas Pereira all depart before finding their best form in better environments elsewhere. Now, Rashford should do the same.
If it’s Barcelona who come knocking too, then the England international should swing the door straight open and take hold of what should be a dream move for almost any player.
Despite how it ended under Ten Hag, the Dutchman was so often full of praise for Rashford, praising his “great” form at the end of 2022 when he was at his very best in a Manchester United shirt. With Ten Hag gone and Rashford yet to find his form under Amorim, however, a shock exit seemingly looms.