Football / Sports

Transfer Update….

Man Utd rejected Barcelona request for Harry Maguire swap included in Frenkie de Jong deal – Paper Talk

Manchester United have rejected a sensational request from Barcelona for England defender Harry Maguire to be included in any deal to sign midfielder Frenkie de Jong.

Richarlison: Chelsea are considering rivalling Tottenham for Everton striker

The Blues are interested in the Brazil striker as a potential replacement for Inter Milan-bound Romelu Lukaku; Spurs are very keen on Richarlison and Everton are braced for them to bid; Chelsea could sign as many as three new forwards, with interest in Raheem Sterling and Ousmane Dembele

Ronaldo not for sale despite Chelsea reports

Cristiano Ronaldo is not for sale and Manchester United expect him to remain at Old Trafford, despite reports linking the Portugal star with a sensational move to Chelsea. United’s failure to qualify for the Champions League and lack of signings so far this summer has led to reports that Ronaldo may want to leave.

West Ham make offer to sign Lingard on a free

West Ham United have made an offer to Jesse Lingard’s representatives over signing the player on a free transfer.

Lingard officially becomes a free agent on July 1 following the expiration of his Manchester United contract.

Lingard had a successful loan spell at West Ham in the second half of the 2020/21 season when he scored nine goals in 16 Premier League starts.…

Football / Sports

Red Devils steal a point at Old Trafford

The Red Devils and Blues traded goals, only not in that order, as the hosts stole a point they didn’t deserve in a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford on Thursday.

Marcos Alonso fired Chelsea ahead right on the hour mark, but Cristiano Ronaldo hit back in Manchester United’s only truly dangerous moment two minutes later.

The draw sees Chelsea (66 points) move to six points clear of 4th-place Arsenal (60 points) as everyone in the top-five, including Tottenham (58 points), has now played the same number of games (33) once again.

Manchester United vs Chelsea final score, stats, results

Final score: Man United 1, Chelsea 1

Goal scorers: Man United (Alonso 60′), Chelsea (Ronaldo 62′)

Shots: Man United 6, Chelsea 21

Shots on target: Man United 3, Chelsea 6

Possession: Man United 35%, Chelsea 65%

3 things we learned – Manchester United vs Chelsea

1. Fight drained from Man United players: To call Manchester United’s squad and tactics disjointed would be an incredible understatement. The players are not playing for interim manager Ralf Rangnick, so much as they appear to be playing in spite of him. They are not playing for one another either, and some don’t even appear to be motivated to perform for their own self-interests. There is only apathy and disdain. One player would press the ball while three others stood and watched, failing to rotate and fill in any space and/or passing lanes by which the opposing player might try to escape. There’s not a player in the Premier League who can’t successfully play his way out of a one-man “press,” and the Blues sliced through the Red Devils like warm butter. Scott McTominay — bless his heart — tried to want it enough for seven or eight of his teammates currently on auto-pilot, all of whom are paid exponentially more than him, but he was no match for N’Golo Kante, Mason Mount, Alonso and Kai Havertz. And, still…

2. Chelsea can’t get out of their own way: In the first half, it was

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Football / News / Sports

‘You cannot turn down Manchester United’: Ralf Rangnick unveiled as manager to begin club’s new era

Manchester United stepped into a new era on Friday morning as the German innovator Ralf Rangnick was unveiled as new interim manager in the club’s boldest move since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure eight years ago.

Less than 12 hours after caretaker Michael Carrick walked away from the club – marking the last of Ferguson’s 2008 Champions League winners to leave Old Trafford, having played and then coached at United ever since – the 63-year-old Rangnick gave a measured press conference in which he hailed Cristiano Ronaldo, warned of the “big” gap to the Premier League’s three, and hinted he could stay on permanently.

Rangnick has walked away from a brief stint as sporting director at Lokomotiv Moscow where he was charged with overhauling the club as he had done so successively at Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig before. He revealed he turned down an interim position at Chelsea in February because it was only short-term, whereas United offered him a two-year consultancy role after this season to use his considerable experience guiding the hierarchy. “If a club like Manchester United contacts you for such a role, you cannot possibly turn it down.”

His first recommendation at the end of the season could be to hire Ralf Rangnick. “The people with whom I’ve spoken so far, they’ve been very clear we’re talking about a six-and-a-half month role. Maybe if it goes well and they ask me, I might make the same recommendation as I did twice at Leipzig – to continue with me.”

One of the most interesting aspects of the coming weeks will be to witness how Rangnick’s relationship with Ronaldo unfolds. Rangnick has been dubbed the ‘godfather of gegenpressing’ and his philosophy on determinedly winning the ball high up the pitch has been adopted and adapted by Jurgen Klopp, Thomas Tuchel and Julian Nagelsmann, now at Liverpool, Chelsea and Bayern Munich respectively, and it is not a strategy naturally suited to the 36-year-old Ronaldo.

But after watching from the stands as Ronaldo scored twice to sink Arsenal on Thursday night, …

Football / Sports

Transfer deadline day: Done deals as summer 2021 window closes

Check out all the deals agreed on transfer deadline day.

Premier League

23:45 Saul Niguez [Atletico Madrid – Chelsea] Loan

23:00 Salomon Rondon [Dalian Professional – Everton] Free

22:54 Takehiro Tomiyasu [Bologna – Arsenal] Undisclosed

21:50 Odsonne Edouard [Celtic – Crystal Palace] £14m

20:30 Alex Kral [Spartak Moscow – West Ham] Loan

18:30 Emerson Royal [Barcelona – Tottenham] £25.8m

18:10 Ademola Lookman [RB Leipzig – Leicester] Loan

17:30 Abdallah Sima [Slavia Prague – Brighton] Undisclosed (then loaned to Stoke)

16:15 Daniel James [Manchester United – Leeds United] £25m

16:00 Santiago Munoz [Santos Laguna – Newcastle] Loan

13:50 Connor Roberts [Swansea – Burnley] Undisclosed

11:58 Marc Cucurella [Getafe – Brighton] £15.4m

09:39 Cristiano Ronaldo [Juventus – Manchester United] £12.85m + possible £6.85m

09:00 Nikola Vlasic [CSKA Moscow – West Ham] Undisclosed

International

00:25 Antoine Griezmann [Barcelona – Atletico Madrid] Loan

00:05 Helder Costa [Leeds – Valencia] Loan

22:59 Philippe Sandler [Man City – Troyes] Loan

22:59Patrick Robert [Man City – Troyes] Loan

22:15 Hector Bellerin [Arsenal – Real Betis] Loan

20:45 Alex Runarsson [Arsenal – OH Leuven] Loan

19:32 Jaime Alvarado [Watford – Racing de Ferrol] Loan

19:30 Yangel Herrera [Manchester City – Espanyol] Loan

19:30 Nikola Katic [Rangers – Hajduk Split] Loan

19:06 Mungo Bridge [Aston Villa – Annecy] Loan

19:00 Tommy Doyle [Manchester City – Hamburg] Loan

19:00 Frederic Guilbert [Aston Villa – Strasbourg] Loan

18:49 Jack Hendry [Oostende – Club Bruges] Undisclosed

18:40 Ethan Ampadu [Chelsea – Venezia] Loan

18:37 Niels Nkounkou [Everton – Standard Liege] Loan

17:30 Eduardo Camavinga [Rennes – Real Madrid] Undisclosed

17:30 Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa [Fulham – Napoli] Loan

17:01 Dennis Praet [Leicester – Torino] Loan

16:35 Reiss Nelson [Arsenal – Feyenoord] Loan

15:02 Cedric Itten [Rangers – Greuther Furth] Loan

08:12 Moise Kean [Everton – Juventus] Loan…

Football / Sports

Cristiano Ronaldo re-signs for Manchester United from Juventus

Man Utd announced they had reached an agreement with Juventus to re-sign Cristiano Ronaldo on Friday; Premier League club will pay €15m (£12.9m) plus a further €8m (£6.9m) in add-ons for the Portugal captain, who completed a medical in Lisbon over the weekend.

United announced they had reached an agreement with Juventus for the 36-year-old forward to return to Old Trafford on Friday.

The Premier League club will pay €15m (£12.9m) plus a further €8m (£6.9m) in add-ons for the Portugal captain, who completed a medical in Lisbon over the weekend.

Ronaldo scored 118 goals in 292 games for United between 2003 and 2009, winning three Premier League titles, the Champions League, the FA Cup and two League Cups.

“Manchester United is a club that has always had a special place in my heart, and I have been overwhelmed by all the messages I have received since the announcement on Friday,” Ronaldo said.

“I cannot wait to play at Old Trafford in front of a full stadium and see all the fans again. I’m looking forward to joining up with the team after the international games, and I hope we have a very successful season ahead.”

Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who played with Ronaldo during his previous spell at United, added: “You run out of words to describe Cristiano.…