Midweek football stories and gossip: 01/12/21

-

Let's have a look at some football gossip from around Europe

Mancini to Old Trafford?

Italy head coach and former Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has emerged as a candidate to be appointed Manchester United manager next summer. The former City manager is reportedly interested in getting back into club football. It remains to be seen whether he would carry on as manager of Italy throughout the Qatar World Cup should they qualify.

Barcelona looking to re-build

Barcelona has offered Manchester United the opportunity to sign Brazil winger Philippe Coutinho. He would become one of very few players to play for both Liverpool and Manchester United.

It has been reported that Barcelona have a "total agreement" in place to sign Manchester City and Spain forward Ferran Torres, 21, but hope City will lower their asking price of  around £60m. Would he leave Manchester for Barcelona and then be part of the huge regeneration project under Xavi. 

More news from around the Premier League

Chelsea and Liverpool are both eyeing a move for 22-year-old Barcelona and Uruguay defender Ronald Araujo.

Ajax want to sign Tottenham and Netherlands forward Steven Bergwijn on loan. The winger has only played 5 Premier League games this season. 

Flamengo and Brazil forward Gabriel Barbosa wants a return to Europe with Arsenal, West Ham and Newcastle keen on the 25-year-old who had spells with Inter Milan and Benfica. 

Chelsea have received a transfer boost with Juventus having pulled out of the running to sign Monaco's France midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni.

Manchester City have stepped up their efforts to extend the contract of Algeria winger Riyad Mahrez, 30, who has 18 months left on his current deal.

Popular posts from this blog

Win for United in Ruud's last match as Interim Manager

-
Image
Manchester United 3 - 0 Leicester City Bruno Fernandes celebrated his 250th appearance for Manchester United by delivering an impressive performance as Ruud van Nistelrooy concluded his time as interim manager with a 3-0 victory over Leicester in the Premier League. Author - Olivia T Fernandes opened the scoring and later netted a second goal that was officially credited as an own goal by Victor Kristiansen. He also assisted Alejandro Garnacho for a brilliant third goal, helping United secure their third win in four matches since the departure of Erik ten Hag as manager. The home fans serenaded Van Nistelrooy at the final whistle . The Dutchman can be pleased with the return of three wins and a draw from four games, even if United remain in the bottom half of the table. He now leaves Old Trafford after it has been confirmed that he won't form a part of the new manager's coaching staff.  Super Reds News Post Match Review: United 3 - 0 Leicester Fernandes shines for Ruud
Read more

PL News: Ten Hag sacked by Man United

-
Image
There has been a managerial change at Old Trafford. Manchester United have sacked manager Erik ten Hag due to the club's disappointing start to the season. Author - Olivia T Ten Hag's last match ended in a 2-1 defeat against West Ham , leaving the club in 14th place in the Premier League with only three wins from their first nine matches. The Red Devils are also 21st of 36 teams in the Europa League league stage, having drawn their three opening matches. Club sources from the club have reportedly suggested that this was a difficult decision but a unanimous one among all the key decision makers.  The club exercised a one-year extension in Ten Hag's contract after their FA Cup final win against Manchester City in May . However, just over three months later, he has been dismissed. United currently sit on 11 points after nine games, marking their second-lowest tally in the Premier League at this stage (only slightly better than the 10 points they had in the 2019-20 season)
Read more

EFL Cup: United progress after difficult few days

-
Image
Manchester United 5 - 2 Leicester City  Ruud van Nistelrooy began his tenure as Manchester United’s interim manager on a high, with his team cruising past Leicester to secure a spot in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals. Author - Olivia T Just two days after stepping in following Erik ten Hag's dismissal , Van Nistelrooy’s call for an exciting performance was more than delivered by his players. Casemiro got the party started with a stunning long-range strike and went on to score again before half-time. After an initial header rattled off both posts, the Brazilian reacted quickly to slot the ball in from eight yards out. Alejandro Garnacho contributed his fifth goal of the season , and captain Bruno Fernandes had a bit of luck with his free-kick, which deflected off Leicester’s James Justin and into the net. Defensively, United weren’t flawless. Some familiar issues allowed Bilal El Khannouss and Conor Coady to pull goals back for Leicester before the break. Coady’s finish, a firs
Read more