Kobbie Mainoo lifts lid on what he really thinks of Erik ten Hag's demands at Man Utd
Kobbie Mainoo has insisted he welcomes Erik ten Hag's demands of him after breaking into the Manchester United first-team.
The midfielder has been a revelation since making his full debut against Everton in November. Mainoo has since claimed a regular starting spot in Ten Hag's team and is now seen as one of United's key players.
It has been a remarkable rise for the 18-year-old, who has been a rare bright point in what has been a miserable season for the Red Devils. He has made 16 senior appearances in total this term, scoring twice.
And the youngster has now singled out Ten Hag's coaching as being the key to his success. The midfielder revealed the Dutchman is looking to turn him into a dominant player in his position.
“He just wanted me to be more dominant and just demand the ball all the time. And when I first came up with the first team, he told me he was going to push me and he did," Mainoo told MUTV.
"He just always demanded more from me and just being involved in every play and just always getting on the ball. He’s been so helpful. And then always guiding me, as well as the senior players.
"And pushed me to help me keep developing and keep getting better and better. So all credit to him. I had to make an impact. It was my first start, at Everton, and so I just had to take it in my stride as much as possible."
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Mainoo scored his first Premier League goal at the start of the month to secure a thrilling win over Wolves with a 97th minute strike. And he has singled that out as a standout moment.
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“I just try and play my game. The fans are going to be there no matter what. And when we're at home, I obviously try and use it as fuel," he added as he recounted the start of his United career.
"And when we're away, I guess I kind of use that as fuel as well. Because with them being against you, it kind of makes you want to win even more. So it can be used however you want it.
“Obviously, the Wolves goal, that was crazy. I’ve watched it a few hundred times so it’s sunk in now! To be honest I hadn't thought about [the celebration] or anything. It just felt right when I scored it, you know. It was a nice clutch moment.
“Of course, that moment [against Newport] is still special. But under the conditions of the Wolves game, being 3-3 and added time, that edges the other one out a bit more.”
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Ross Barkley one of five Chelsea flops (and Jorginho) sold by Boehly who are shining at their new club
Chelsea have been a shambles since Todd Boehly’s takeover and the success of these six players since leaving rubs some salt in the wounds…
Ross Barkley
It seems ludicrous but Barkley was a Chelsea player when Boehly bought the Blues from Roman Abramovich. Technically, he was not sold but released by mutual consent. Either way, it was a miserable chapter of Barkley’s career. To say it is incredibly surprising to see him back in the Premier League and playing the best football of his career would be a massive understatement.
Barkley’s role for Luton Town is far removed from his days as a youngster at Everton, when he was more attacking and had everything it took to be a box-to-box midfielder. Now he is more of an orchestrator but has the freedom to go forward thanks to his partner in midfield, Albert Sambi Lokonga, and the fact Rob Edwards sets up with three centre-backs.
Barkley joined Chelsea with high hopes but never got going. A free transfer to Nice did not go to plan and he appeared to be miles off a return to the Premier League. He has Luton to thank for allowing him to show he has still got what it takes, and the Hatters can thank Barkley if they manage to avoid relegation because if they do, it will be in large parts thanks to the Blues flop.
Christian Pulisic
Chelsea boosted their American reach with the signing of Pulisic in 2019 and that is one of few positives from his time at the club. He joined from Borussia Dortmund for around £55million at the age of 20 and there were high expectations, as there should be for any young player coming from that breeding ground.
Pulisic had his moments in England and 22 goal contributions in 34 appearances in his debut campaign was a very promising return. It is safe to say the American peaked in 2019/20 but some golden moments made us believe he could be a world-class winger. Pulisic was inspirational in Chelsea’s Champions League semi-final win over Real Madrid in the year they won the whole thing, so there is that in his defence when we refer to him as a flop.
You never felt like Thomas Tuchel was fully convinced by Pulisic, who would be in and out of the starting XI throughout an entire season with the German in charge. His last season in west London was miserable, scoring once in 30 appearances in what was an abysmal 22/23 for the club as a whole. The transition from Roman Abramovich to Todd Boehly was bumpy to say the least, and with the latter desperate to raise funds after splashing a silly amount of cash, Pulisic was always going to leave.
The American winger was sold to AC Milan for around £15m, which makes for a £40m loss but a handy number to help balance the books. He is shining in Italy in a frontline featuring another former Chelsea man in Olivier Giroud. Pulisic’s performances for the Rossoneri this term have been better than Rafael Leao’s and he now has eight goals and seven assists for his new club.
Read more: ‘Blue billion pound bottle jobs” last 50 signings ranked has Lukaku last, Palmer 5th
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
The only player on this list who was actually signed by Boehly, Aubameyang made the controversial switch to Chelsea having played for and captained London rivals Arsenal. This was not a transfer that angered the Gunners fanbase to the extent of Robin van Persie’s move to Manchester United but the social media clips and that “nothing personal” BT Sport game promo was a bad look.
Having managed him at Dortmund, Tuchel was eager to bring in Aubameyang and he got his man late on in the 2022 transfer window, landing him for a small fee from Barcelona, who he had joined from Arsenal on a free transfer seven months before.
Aubameyang got to play one game under Tuchel before he was surprisingly sacked and replaced by Graham Potter – a decision amongst the worst in Boehly’s reign. Potter did not give the Gabonese hitman much of a chance and left him out of his Champions League squad for the knockout stages.
This transfer was a massive waste of time for Aubameyang and waste of money for Chelsea. Like Pulisic, his exit at the end of 22/23 was inevitable and the Blues got his wages off their books but could not secure a transfer fee when he joined Marseille last July.
Playing back in France after making a name for himself at Saint-Etienne for two-and-a-half years, the 34-year-old has been one of the best strikers in Europe this term, so far bagging 18 goals, including seven in seven Europa League appearances, making him the competition’s all-time leading goalscorer. The grass has most certainly been greener for Auba.
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Billy Gilmour
It was reported that Boehly tried to convince Gilmour to stay before his August 2022 switch to Brighton, where he would link up with the seemingly perfect manager for him in Graham Potter. The American billionaire hinted that change was coming with Gilmour struggling for minutes under Tuchel. The Scot was not interested and he left the Blues for the south coast anyway.
Potter was quickly off to Chelsea and Gilmour was left ruing his decision to move on. It was a difficult debut season for him at the Amex; he did not play as often as he would have liked, meaning he was a bit off the pace when given the chance to impress. Moises Caicedo’s boots were impossible to fill but after the Ecuadorian left for Chelsea, Gilmour has shone under Roberto De Zerbi and is currently playing at a higher level than his former team-mate.
Gilmour is only 22 and left for nowhere near what he was worth and what he will be worth. But at least Boehly tried to keep him.
Jorginho
Definitely not a Chelsea flop, but someone who is thriving having been sold during the Boehly era, Jorginho has become a very clever signing by Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, though it was heavily criticised by the Gunners fan when they found out the Italian was an alternative after failing to sign Caicedo.
While we focused more on Aubameyang, Pulisic and Barkley’s times at Chelsea, this is more about how Jorginho is doing at the Emirates, having won the Champions League for the Blues and been one of their better signings in recent years.
With Thomas Partey always injured, Jorginho has played more than expected this season, but whenever called upon, he tends to be one of the best players on the park. Most recently, he ran the show for Arsenal as they thumped Newcastle United in the Premier League. Jorginho is a big-game player and looks like an important figure in the dressing room.
Having seen him maraud the touchline during his ‘warm-ups’, passing on advice and instructions to his team-mates, we can see Jorginho becoming a top coach one day and we might see a similar path to Arteta, joining the Spaniard as an assistant following his retirement before going on to become a Premier League manager.
Ethan Ampadu
It never felt like Ampadu would become a big player for Chelsea, so we can hardly criticise Boehly for selling him to Leeds United last summer. He only made 12 appearances for the Londoners – one of which came in the Premier League – and was loaned out four times between his 2017 arrival from Exeter City and his 2023 exit to Leeds.
Still only 23 years of age, Ampadu seems to have finally found a permanent home at Elland Road and has been excellent in the club’s bid for promotion back to the top flight, playing as a defensive midfielder and at centre-back under Daniel Farke.
Leeds are currently on a nine-match winning run in the Championship and Ampadu has captained the Whites in their last eight matches, most recently against title rivals Leicester City, who they beat 3-1 last week.
The 49-cap Wales international will be one of Leeds’ regular starters if they are promoted to the Premier League, which looks very possible.
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Arsenal target four strikers this summer as concerns over Gabriel Jesus’ injury record rises
Arsenal will target one of four strikers this summer as concerns over Gabriel Jesus’ injury record continue to rise, according to reports.
The Gunners have been in great form in recent weeks with Mikel Arteta’s side scoring 25 goals in their last six Premier League matches on their way to six victories.
Many pundits and former players thought goalscoring might be a problem for Arsenal earlier in the season with Jesus and Eddie Nketiah their only two striker options to choose from.
However, the Gunners have shared their goals all over the pitch this season and are now just two points off Premier League leaders Liverpool with 12 games left to play.
Arsenal will strengthen their forward line in the summer, though, with the Daily Mail claiming they have four striker targets on their radar ahead of the transfer window.
Jesus has only managed to start 13 Premier League matches this term and hasn’t played since January 30 for Arteta’s side with the Daily Mail adding that ‘Arsenal medics are taking a cautious approach to his workload to ensure the ongoing knee complaint doesn’t worsen’.
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And it is ‘those injury concerns are among the factors behind the club’s move to sign a new central striker this summer, with Ivan Toney, Victor Osimhen, Joshua Zirkzee and Viktor Gyokeres among those the Gunners have looked at.’
Toney has been heavily linked to Arsenal for months and former Liverpool and England goalkeeper David James thinks a move to the Gunners would suit the Brentford striker.
When asked which club out of Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Newcastle United would Toney suit better, James told GGRecon: “The first person that came to mind when I heard this question was Harry Kane. I’ve seen Brentford play a couple of times in the last month since Ivan’s return and it’s obvious he would score goals for whoever he plays for, but is he going to help you win titles?
“I mention Harry Kane because a lot of people have been talking about him in the past week because he will always score goals, he’ll win the award for the top scorer in the Bundesliga and he might even break the Bundesliga scoring record for goals in a season, but Bayern Munich will probably not win the title.
“Manchester United have Rasmus Højlund at the moment and he’s been in fantastic form, so does Ivan Toney compliment him up top or does he replace him? I’m not sure how that would work, so at the moment, whilst Manchester United are showing an interest, I believe they would struggle to find a position for Ivan Toney in their starting eleven.
“Given Callum Wilson’s injury record this season, and I hope he can get himself fit to be in the conversation to go to Euro 2024 in the summer, but if there’s an ongoing issue for him there, then I think there’s a natural fit for Ivan Toney at Newcastle when you consider the way that Eddie Howe likes his side to play.
“I think Arsenal is a very interesting, and possibly tempting, prospect for Ivan. Where I think Arsenal fail in games is when they don’t have the physical presence at times against certain teams. To bring in someone like Ivan Toney would be beneficial for them. Another thing with Arsenal is that they do a lot of rotation, so it’s not like he would be expected to play every week. If I had to choose where Ivan should go in the summer, then I would say Arsenal or Newcastle United, but it all depends on whether these teams are looking to win titles or just have a top goalscorer.”
Haaland hits form as Man City face make-or-break month
Erling Haaland's five-goal haul in an FA Cup demolition of Luton sent an ominous warning to Manchester City's Premier League title rivals that the Norwegian is hitting top form in time for a momentous month in the title race.
City's 6-2 romp at Kenilworth Road on Tuesday left them on course to repeat the treble of Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup they won in Haaland's first season at the club last year.
But the next few weeks will go a long way towards deciding whether City become the first side ever to win four consecutive English top-flight titles.
Manchester United can be forgiven for feeling mounting trepidation ahead of their trip to the Etihad on Sunday after Haaland hit a hat-trick in a 6-3 demolition when they visited City last season.
The English champions then travel to Liverpool and host Arsenal before March is out. They begin April by welcoming fourth-placed Aston Villa.
- 'We're coming' -
Haaland has struck 27 times in 30 appearances in a season disrupted by a two-month absence due to a foot injury.
But despite those impressive numbers the 23-year-old, who scored 52 goals last season, had found the net just three times in nine games since his return from injury prior to the Luton game.
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"It's coming, we're coming," said Haaland. "I am getting back to my best. Finally I am feeling good. It's an amazing feeling. Exciting times ahead. We are ready to attack."
The first four of Haaland's goals on Tuesday were set up by Kevin De Bruyne, who has also been blighted by injury problems this season.
But the Belgium international has played a decisive role when he has been available and now has 11 assists and two goals in 10 appearances since returning from a five-month layoff in January.
Haaland and De Bruyne have started together just three times in the Premier League this season, one of which was when De Bruyne was forced off in the first half on the opening night of the season at Burnley.
Despite the limited availability of their star men in forward areas, City have won 14 and drawn one of their past 15 games in all competitions.
Should Guardiola have the luxury of having both fit and firing in the coming weeks, it will take something special from Liverpool or Arsenal to deny City a sixth title in seven seasons.
"I think Erling needs a guy with the vision, the quality and generosity (of De Bruyne)," said the City boss. "And Kevin needs the movement from Erling, but of course we know how aggressive they are."
Haaland's total of 79 goals in 83 games since joining City is 30 more than any other Premier League player in the that time.
"The number he has at his age in all competitions, honestly it's unbelievable," added Guardiola.
"He's our top goalscorer, happy that he's got the confidence, because the guys who are the top scorers need goals, and he did it (against Luton)."
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