Friday, July 21, 2023

Manchester United Sign Onana, Striker Still Needed

Manchester United continues to retool under Manager Eric ten Hag. The club inked goalkeeper Andre Onana this week, reuniting ten Hag with his former Ajax goalkeeper. Onana is fully familiar with ten Hag’s preferred style of play and is highly proficient with the ball at his feet. Former goalkeeper David De Gea was uncomfortable coming off his line. Onana will at times seem almost too adventurous as he strays far from his net. That proclivity was supposedly at the heart of Onana’s decision to retire from international football over tactical disagreement with the national coach. The style is perfect, however, for ten Hag’s desired possession style of football and this could thus be one of the more impactful signings in the Premier League this summer.

The Cameroonian keeper is joining his new teammates in America where United will face Arsenal at a sold-out MetLife Stadium in New Jersey Saturday night. Whereas the earlier signing of midfielder Mason Mount prompted some head scratching, the signing of Onana makes perfect sense for the way ten Hag wants to see his team play. Onana’s statistics for Inter Milan last season were decisively better in terms of ball distribution versus De Gea and, interestingly, also showed an advantage in save percentage over the former United goalkeeper. The new man in town also brings Champions League pedigree, having been part of Ajax’s 2019 semifinal team and appearing between the sticks for Inter in this spring’s Champions League final versus Manchester City.

Resolving the goalkeeper situation capped a newsworthy week for the Red Devils. Marcus Rashford signed a new five-year contract with the club while Bruno Fernandes was named captain in place of Harry Maguire. The highly compensated Maguire, reduced to a reserve role by ten Hag early last season, remains with the club for the moment amid purported interest by West Ham in the England defender. One more addition will be necessary to declare this a truly successful window for Manchester United. The Red Devils desperately need a striker. The loan signing of Wout Weghorst last season was a strange one and the Dutch striker has since returned to Burnley. Playing Rashford at center forward reduces his effectiveness and Anthony Martial is more often injured than not.

Rumored interest in heavyweight names like Harry Kane and Victor Osimhen has long since cooled and the current focus seems to be on signing Danish striker Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta. The 20-year-old scored 10 goals in 34 appearances for the Italian club last season. Other possible “fallback” targets to fill the void up front may include Eintracht Frankfurt’s Randal Kolo Muani, Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic and Benfica’s Goncalo Ramos. Manchester United scored 10 fewer goals than any other club finishing in the top six last season and only Aston Villa and Fulham scored less goals among teams in the top half of the table. Mount can hopefully help the attack should the midfielder regain his form after a terrible final season at Chelsea. More firepower up front, however, will likely be required for the Red Devils to extend their stay in the Champions League places.  

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Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Arsenal Upgrades

Arsenal fell short last season after exceeding expectations for much of the Premier League season. A young squad took large developmental strides under Manager Mikel Arteta, entertaining with their stylish play while accumulating an impressive points haul. Unfortunately, fatigue, inexperience and the behemoth that is Manchester City proved too much to overcome for Arteta’s squad which flagged badly down the stretch.

Undeterred, the club has brought in reinforcements this transfer window to prepare for another run at the Premier League title. Leading the shopping list was West Ham midfielder and English international Declan Rice. After a lengthy process, the Rice deal was closed just in time for the Gunners’ US tour. The purchase price was a club record for Arsenal as they sprinted ahead of others rumored to be interested in the young midfielder. Rice was once a Chelsea academy player, but the retooling Blues never seemed very interested in a reunion. Manchester United was once a rumored destination but their hearts were captured, for better or worse, by another Chelsea academy midfielder, Mason Mount. Manchester City sniffed at a deal late in the process but thought the price too high. Liverpool, of course, was never going to jump in on a purchase which even the profligate Citizens thought too pricey. With add-ons captured, the Rice price will exceed City’s purchase of Jack Grealish as the most expensive for a British player. So West Ham has a pile of money and Arsenal has a dynamic 24-year-old defensive midfielder who captained the Hammers to a European trophy last year and has anchored England’s midfield on 43 occasions.

Arsenal began overhauling its midfield earlier this window by plucking Kai Havertz from Chelsea. An exciting Bundesliga box to box midfielder was made into an underperforming target man at Chelsea where he failed to perform. The 24-year-old Havertz could embarrass Chelsea should he recapture his magic in the midfield of their London rival. Havertz will most likely line up with yet another 24-year-old, Martin Odegaard, in front of Rice in a revamped Arsenal midfield. Granit Xhaka has gone to Bayer Leverkusen. Thomas Partey is supposedly also nearing the door which would potentially present a problem when Arsenal needs to employ a double pivot in front of the back line against more challenging opponents. Former Chelsea man Jorginho is far more adept as a deep lying playmaker than for his defensive attributes. The back line, though, has also been upgraded with the acquisition of Jurrien Timber from Ajax. A natural center back, Timber is expected to displace Ben White at right back from the start.

Just as important, however, is the fact that Arsenal will not be devastated should injury strike their center backs next season. The stretch run of the last Premier League season for Arsenal was made more difficult when William Saliba went down to injury and substitute Rob Holding proved himself unfit to task. Timber provides protection against injury should either Saliba or partner Gabriel Magalhaes be sidelined.

Arsenal is a deeper team which will be necessary as supporters will now expect a better effort in cup competitions. Arsenal de-prioritized those contests with its thinner roster of last season. Fielding a weaker team in Europa League is a tad more acceptable than tanking in the Champions League where the Gunners will compete this season. Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka should be the preferred front line backed by Eddie Nketiah, Leandro Trossard and Reiss Nelson. Trossard was an impactful January pickup with the Belgian international notching more assists than anyone but Keven D Bruyne in the Premier League last season. The versatile Emile Smith Rowe, a promising young player whose season was marred by injury last season, provides additional depth up front or as an attacking midfielder. Bolstered by this summer’s restocking, the Gunners have their supporters justifiably excited for the upcoming season where Arsenal seems poised to take another run at Manchester City while vying for other domestic and European trophies.

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Friday, July 14, 2023

Liverpool’s Evolving Midfield

The Summer of Saudi could soon be making Liverpool sweat. The move to Saudi Arabia  by forward Bobby Firmino was a gentlemanly departure of a much-revered player whose role was diminished in a crowded front line. Now, however, a larger disruption could be in store. Saudi clubs are rumored to be forming offers for Jordan Hendersen, Fabinho and Thiago. Whether these whispers are just silly season attention grabbers or a real risk for the Reds is to be determined.

The Hendersen move has extra interest for Liverpool supporters as the current Liverpool captain would reunite with former midfield teammate Steven Gerrard. Liverpool legend Gerrard, himself a former captain of the Reds, will now manage in the Saudi League as he picks up the pieces following his unsuccessful and relatively short run as a Premier League manager with Aston Villa. The potential loss of three midfielders to Saudi Arabia could undercut recent improvements to the Liverpool midfield and necessitate further transfer moves.

The midfield has been a problem for the Reds dating to the loss of Gini Wijnaldum two years ago. Wijnaldum was a natural fit for Klopp’s gegenpressing style and the Dutch international was a key part of Liverpool’s Champions League and Premier League winners before his 2021 signing with PSG. The much-heralded acquisition of Naby Keita from RB Leipzig has turned out to be a monumental flop. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was never able to overcome the injury woes which followed him from Arsenal. The versatile James Milner helped somewhat to patch over holes in the midfield, but the 37-year-old is now off to Brighton. Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain have also left the club while midfielder Fabio Carvalho is on loan to RB Leipzig.

Liverpool upgraded the midfield this offseason with the acquisitions of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai. World cup winner Mac Allister moves over from Brighton where the 24-year-old enjoyed a breakout season last year. The Argentine scored 12 goals as the Seagulls secured a European place for the first time. Szoboszlai arrives from RB Leipzig as the second signing by new Liverpool Sporting Director Jorg Schmadtke. The 22-year-old Hungarian international helped his German squad to two German Cup titles while recording 20 goals and 22 assists in 91 appearances for the club. The young midfielder also captains his national team.

Twenty-two year-old Curtis Jones, 20-year-old Harvey Elliot and 18-year-old Stefan Bajcetic are already on the Liverpool roster and could make bigger contributions next season. Jones recently starred for the England U21 Euro champions.

The wildcard in the midfield for Liverpool is Trent Alexander-Arnold. Technically a left back, Alexander-Arnold would advance into a midfield role last season when Liverpool was on the attack, a strategy employed similarly at Manchester City with John Stones. The problem for Liverpool is that only the inexperienced Bajcetic is a true defensive midfielder and thus the loss of both Hendersen and Fabinho would likely mean going to market for a player to help protect Liverpool’s back line. Real Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni has been connected with a potential Anfield move in past windows and the 23-year-old defensive midfielder would be a nice solution if he could be pried free from the Spanish super club.  

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