Category Archives: Manchester United

Man Utd and Chelsea handed huge boost in chase for £73m star – reports

Another day, another rumour involving Paul Pogba.

Juventus’ central midfielder has been linked with every club up and down the country, consistently with the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea.

Now the Daily Star are reporting that because of the denial of a deal with Barcelona, as per Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola, that means the trio of clubs are back on ‘red alert’ over his possible signing.

“An agreement with FC Barcelona? Absolutely not,” Raiola told Le10 Sport.

Would it work?

Every team in the world would benefit from a signing like Paul Pogba.

However, it is slightly difficult to imagine where he’d fit in at Manchester City.

The Etihad Stadium side have a settled midfield, and with options like Fernando, Fernandinho, Fabian Delph, Yaya Toura and David Silva, it’s really not a priority area for Manuel Pellegrini.

However, both Man Utd and Chelsea would benefit from his arrival.

That is especially the case for Chelsea, who have been awful so far this season.

Furthermore, the Stamford Bridge club have seen Nemanja Matic struggle horrifically since the start of the new campaign, best demonstrated by his sending off in the match against West Ham yesterday. Chelsea lost 2-1.

If anyone is likely to move for Pogba in the United Kingdom, it could be the Blues, who will want to spend in January to ensure a Champions League place.

Rumour rater

Even though all three clubs will want to sign Pogba, the Star’s suggestion that because Raiola said that it means all of the clubs are on red alert is preposterous.

Yes, there is no agreement with Barcelona, but the Premier League sides will be as ready to pounce as they would have been prior to that quote.

Not only that, but Barca will remain the frontrunners heading in to January, when they can make an agreement with Pogba, should they choose.

Chelsea have previously been linked with a £73m move – it seems Pogba is the tabloid favourite that keeps cropping up.

Rumour rated: 1/5

An image of Michael Carrick.

How important is Michael Carrick to Manchester United?

When Michael Carrick limped off last Sunday, it seemed, momentarily at least, as if Manchester City might have a way back into the game.

His absence forced Wayne Rooney into midfield and allowed the visitors to score a late consolation. Fortunately for Manchester United supporters, their team had already built a comfortable lead and taken the fight out of their opponents.

But why did an assured and confident United display suddenly look a little shaky once Carrick came off?

Since his return from injury, the midfielder has played in each of United’s last five Premier League games and Louis van Gaal’s side have won them all.

Is he actually so integral to United’s recent surge? Will they miss his presence in this weekend’s crucial clash against Chelsea?

We took a look at his statistics from those last five games in order to find out.

Passing

An image comparing the types of passes by Cesc Fabregas and Michael Carrick.

When people talk about Carrick, they often start by praising his passing and how he keeps a team ‘ticking over’ with simple build-up play. As one columnist put it this week, it’s often as if he is “playing in a dinner jacket”.

It cannot be denied that Carrick completes a lot of passes. He’s found a red shirt 89 per cent of the time since returning from injury and regularly finds himself at the top of the pass completion charts come the final whistle.

68.6 per cent of his passes over the last five games have been sent forward. That is marginally more than Cesc Fàbregas, a player many rate as one of this season’s best performers and who Carrick could have come up against this weekend.

Defending

An image showing the number of tackles won by Carrick.

This is where the statistics don’t shine a kind light on Carrick. He has won only one of his five attempted tackles and, despite making a decent 11 interceptions, he should be looking to improve the defensive side of his game.

Although he received plenty of plaudits after the derby win, he was clearly at fault for David Silva’s opening goal as he failed to track the Spaniard’s run.

Shooting

An image showing Michael Carrick's shooting success.

He has never been known as a prolific, reliable or even occasional scorer of goals, with a total of 17 during his nine years at Old Trafford, but Carrick’s shooting record over the last five matches is surprisingly good. He has made three attempts on goal, all of which have been on target, and scored one against his old club Tottenham.

2014/15 record

An image showing Manchester United's 2014/15 record.

Overall, Carrick has been present in 13 of United’s 19 league victories this season, 3 of their 8 draws and 2 of their 5 defeats. Although his contributions can be exaggerated and his flaws are sometimes glossed over, he has proven that he fits into Van Gaal’s system, offering a steady and controlled presence on which devastating attacks can be built.

With no direct replacement in the squad, it seems like his teammates will miss him at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Featured photo: Gordon Flood (Flickr)


@mjcritchley

New Signing And Ex-Liverpool Target Thanks Man Utd For The Opportunity

Manchester United’s new signing Victor Valdes has thanked the Old Trafford club for the opportunity to regain his fitness and restart his career, as reported by ManUtd.com.

He said: “For me it is a pleasure to sign for Man United. It has been a hard recovery time from my injury and the first thing I want to say is thank you to Louis van Gaal for letting me work again with him and his team.

“This change is very important for me because my injury was very, very hard.

“United and everybody around United saved me and they looked after me, so I am very grateful for everybody around the world and for the manager for giving me the chance to be a United player.”

 

The former Barcelona goalkeeper joined the Manchester side officially today, after spending a long period on trial with the Red Devils, during which time he sought to prove his recovery from injury to boss Louis van Gaal.

Prior to Man Utd’s interest, Valdes had been linked heavily with a move to Liverpool to replace current first choice goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, who has struggled with his form recently.

That possible move has now been scuppered.

Valdes found himself out of contract with no club to join at the end of last season after his mooted move to AS Monaco collapsed in the wake of a serious injury he suffered prior to the World Cup.

The former Barca man is expected to play second fiddle to the highly rated David De Gea, and his arrival could displace Anders Lindegaard and Ben Amos.