Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has urged the likes of Victor Moses and Danny Drinkwater to improve on the tactical side of their game, if they are to remain with the west London side on a long-term basis. Drinkwater has not featured for the Blues since the Community Shield at the start of August while Moses has been restricted to six appearances – just two of those coming in the Premier League.
Manchester United legend-turned-pundit Gary Neville believes Anthony Martial has genuinely struggles with his movement which often sees him drifting out of games. The Frenchman has found some good form this month with four goals across all competitions but Neville remains critical of the attacker’s play without the possession of the ball.
Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney feels Jose Mourinho is being made the easy target for the players’ shortcomings during the ongoing campaign. The Red Devils have been far from impressive since the Premier League season started in August and they find themselves seven points behind the leaders after just eight matches into the campaign.
Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin has admitted that he is relishing the prospect of playing under manager Unai Emery. The Spain international has been a regular fixture for the Gunners since the start of the season and he has been impressed with the progress witnessed under the Spaniard’s management.
Manchester United legend Tom Ince has admitted that he is concerned over the Red Devils’ inability to attract world-class players to Old Trafford. United experienced a rather frustrating transfer window where they could not pursue a centre-back before the transfer deadline and Ince fears the club are no longer capable of attracting big-name players.
Roma forward Radja Nainggolan claims that new Chelsea signing Jorginho is one of the most difficult opponent he has faced in Italian football. The 26-year-old has been signed by Chelsea for a fee of around £ 53 million, although a small portion of this fee is believed to have gone as a compensation for Maurizio Sarri. The Chelsea manager has been reunited with his former midfielder, who was extremely influential in the 4-3-3 formation employed by Napoli throughout the 2017-18 campaign. Jorginho was subjected to interest from Manchester City even a couple of weeks ago.
Premier League champions Manchester City have completed their first signing of the summer transfer window with Riyad Mahrez joining from Leicester City on a club-record deal. The Algeria international was initially tipped to join the Citizens last winter but the club have eventually won the race for his services after agreeing upon a £60m sum with the Foxes.
“I am so pleased to have joined City, a side playing great football under Pep Guardiola. Watching them from afar has been a pleasure. Pep is committed to playing attacking football, which is perfect for me, and City’s performances last season were outstanding. They’re redefining the English game and I wanted to be a part of it. I think we can be successful over the coming years and I believe my own game can develop under Pep’s management,” he is quoted as saying on the club’s official website.
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There are sensational reports from Spain that Premier League side Liverpool have submitted a bid for Real Madrid’s Marco Asensio. MundoDeportivo reports that the Reds submitted a bid of £158 million in big efforts to land the youngster – and a British record.
Manchester City has stressed that the club won’t go on a huge spending spree during the summer transfer window and they are likely to adjust with a couple of signings to replace those who are likely to depart. The Catalan tactician has spent over £450m on players since his arrival at the Etihad in 2016 but he has insisted that the club won’t be splashing the cash in the upcoming transfer window.
He said: “When people say, “they won because they invested a lot,” they are right. We invested a lot of money, we are going to invest less in the future because instead of doing it in two or three transfer markets, we did it in one. But we needed to because of the (squad’s average) age we had before. Yaya is leaving so we have to replace him and maybe another one. One or two, no more, maybe people don’t believe me but we don’t have the money to invest £300m every season.”
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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is keen to end his Gunners association on a high note. Earlier in April, the Frenchman announced that he would be ending his 22-year reign with the Gunners during the summer and the 68-year-old is now keen to end his spell on a positive note with Europa League success being a possibility.
