Man Utd-bound Ashworth leads ‘sensational €140m’ double raid to sign two ex-Newcastle targets
According to reports, Dan Ashworth is ‘leading’ Manchester United’s race to sign two Serie A stars he previously wanted Newcastle United to buy.
It was recently confirmed that Sir Jim Ratcliffe has completed his purchase of a 27.7% stake in the Premier League giants.
The INEOS chief has not become United’s majority stakeholder right away but he has taken control of footballing matters at Old Trafford.
Man Utd are likely to miss out on the top-four this season as they are 11 points adrift of fourth-placed Aston Villa following their 3-1 loss to Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday.
The Red Devils have made a lot of questionable recruitment decisions in recent years so one of Ratcliffe’s priorities is to overhaul their transfer model ahead of the summer.
Former Man City chief Omar Berrada has been brought in as United’s new chief executive and they are hoping to bring Newcastle United’s Ashworth in as their sporting director.
Ashworth only joined the Magpies in 2022 but he has been placed on gardening leave as he has made it clear to Newcastle that he wants to join Man Utd. Football Insider recently revealed that the two clubs are in talks over a compensation package for the 52-year-old.
They explained: ‘Talks are ongoing between both sides and a well-placed source has told Football Insider that Newcastle are likely to “compromise”.
Related video: Newcastle United 3 - 0 Wolves: Joe Buck match reaction (Dailymotion)
‘It is believed the clubs are set to meet in the middle and get a deal done – but negotiations are likely to drag on.’
READ MORE: Mailbox… Man Utd like ‘a fish on a bike’ as Liverpool’s Forest fallout continues
Now a report from Inter Live (via Sport Witness) claims ‘Ashworth is leading Man Utd’s interest in Juventus defender Gleison Bremer and Inter Milan’s Nico Barella, as both were targets for Newcastle United’.
Ashworth is said to be heading up a ‘sensational double transfer operation’ which could see Man Utd pay around €140m to land the two players.
It is noted that Newcastle failed to sign Bremer last summer and would cost €60m. He is said to be an ‘object of desire’ for Ashworth ahead of his expected move to Man Utd.
As for Barella, it is boldly claimed that Man Utd ‘would be willing to put that €80m on Inter’s table to secure his signature at the explicit request of Ashworth’.
It is also indicated that Ashworth feels Man Utd would be getting ‘absolute value’ if they sign these two players for a combined fee of €140m.
READ MORE: 16 Conclusions on Manchester City 3-1 Man Utd… Ten Hag sack, phenomenal Foden, rubbish Rashford
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s Manchester derby, Ten Hag suggested Man Utd should learn things from Man City but they have to create their “own model”.
“I think you can always learn from opponents who are successful and you have to do it if you want to go to high levels but, at the same time, we have to do it in a United way,” Ten Hag told reporters.
“This is a different club with a different environment, with a different DNA. But you pick up things that can be successful and you integrate it in your own model.”
4 things we learned from Man City's dominant win over Man Utd
Manchester City's 3-1 win over Manchester United was an entertaining spectacle for the neutral, laced with quality from some of the Premier League's biggest stars.
Marcus Rashford rose to the occasion early on, firing a stupendous effort past Ederson from long range to hand United the lead, before England teammate Phil Foden dipped into his playbook of brilliance to level the scores.
Foden doubled his money to score his sixth career goal against United ten minutes from time, and Erling Haaland was on hand to put the game out of sight - rich reward for the home side's dominance which yielded 73 per cent possession, 27 shots on goal, 736 completed passes and an xG of 3.33 compared to the Red Devils' 0.25.
So what did we learn from another Manchester derby that went the way of those in blue? The following four things for starters...
Foden in PFA Player of the Year contention
© Visionhaus/GettyImages
The focus and attention at City is usually reserved for Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne, but there's another bright star who's a serious contender for every Player of the Year gong going; Philip Walter Foden.
The 23-year-old netted his 17th and 18th goals of the season in an extraordinarily composed performance, which saw him dictate the play and offer up just as much quality as the lauded De Bruyne.Related video: Ten Hag claims Utd unlucky in 3-1 derby defeat at City (English Football Channel)
Foden's goal to level the scores was supremely brilliant from a technical perspective - though the less said about the defending the better - and his second was equally as impressive for his footballing intelligence and sheer understanding of the game.
Pep Guardiola has always claimed that Foden is a special, special talent, and it's now clear to those who didn't already know that he's on a par with Jude Bellingham when it comes to potential greatness. Will he be named Player of the Year when the season's out? Don't bet against it.
Onana's bad days are behind him
© Michael Regan/GettyImages
Andre Onana's debut Manchester United campaign has been anything but plain sailing.
The Cameroonian has made an abundance of mistakes, often costing United points, and has seen his credentials called into question from supporters and pundits alike. But recently, things have started turning in Onana's favour.
He's been exceptionally busy in goal, saving more shots than Erik ten Hag dare think about, and looks to have addressed the mental road blocks that saw his performance levels waver from one extreme to the other. Indeed, Onana is now consistently one of United's better players - again, probably not a good thing from the club's perspective - and his nervy distribution has also come on tenfold.
Haaland is human but goals are inevitable
© James Gill - Danehouse/GettyImages
With half-time on the horizon and City all over United like a cheap suit, Haaland was presented with an unmissable opportunity just three yards from goal.
The Norwegian had ghosted in between Jonny Evans and Raphael Varane, positioning himself perfectly as Foden rose high at the back post to head Rodri's dinked cross back across goal. But with the goal at his mercy and Onana stood gawping at the front post, the unthinkable happened. Haaland missed.
Bizarrely, for a player who makes the right decision (seemingly) every single time, Haaland opted to go with a high boot to cushion the ball into the net, rather than stooping down the teeniest little bit to plant it at home with his forehead.
Haaland would get his goal, obviously, in the dying embers of the game - punishing Sofyan Amrabat's dallying on the ball with a ruthlessly efficient finish - but did at least prove that his recent habit of missing chances is not a robotic malfunction, rather that he is in fact human.
Sir Jim's 'knock City off their perch' ambition is one for the back end of this decade
© Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/GettyImages
“We have a lot to learn from our noisy neighbour and the other neighbour (Liverpool). They are the enemy at the end of the day. There is nothing I would like better than to knock both of them off their perch. Equally, we are the three great northern clubs who are very close to one another.
“They have been in a good place for a while and there are things we can learn from both of them. They have sensible organisations, great people within the organisations, a good, driven and elite environment that they work in.
“I am very respectful of them but they are still the enemy.”
Those were the first public words of Sir Jim Ratcliffe following confirmation of his 27.7 per cent investment into Manchester United - music to the ears of every Red Devils supporter around the world.
But he, like everybody else, knows United are miles away from their rivals currently, and that's unlikely to change anytime soon. And by not anytime soon, we're not talking days and months, we're talking years. Many, many years.
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This article was originally published on www.90min.com as 4 things we learned from Man City's dominant win over Man Utd.
Arsenal name ‘starting price’ for Tottenham, Newcastle target set for summer ‘release’
According to reports, Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah is likely to be ‘released’ in the summer amid interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United.
During the 2022 summer transfer window, Nketiah penned a new contract to commit his future to Arsenal until 2027 but he has still been consistently linked with a move elsewhere in recent months.
Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus have been criticised this season as they have struggled in front of goal and Arsenal are expected to pursue a new striker in the summer. Brentford’s Ivan Toney, Brighton’s Evan Ferguson and Napoli’s Victor Osimhen are among the players they are being linked with.
With Jesus currently ahead of Nketiah in the pecking order under Mikel Arteta, the Gunners could allow the latter to leave during this year’s summer transfer window.
According to a report from Spanish outlet Fichajes, Arsenal have ‘named their starting price’ for Nketiah as they ‘have it in mind to release him’ in the summer.
The Gunners are set to ‘ask for 50 million euros’ in the summer. It is suggested that ‘Newcastle United or Tottenham Hotspur have been interested to a greater or lesser extent in the 24-year-old player’.Related video: Arteta sets 90-point minimum target to win Premier League title (SNTV)
Can I ask you, Nicole, how many points do you
The report adds: ‘The setting of a price of 50 million euros by Arsenal for Eddie Nketiah indicates the firmness of the club in obtaining substantial value in the event of his departure, searching the market for a guaranteed replacement’.
READ MORE: Transfer gossip… Arsenal to move for Sporting star and rival Man Utd for ex-Real Madrid defender
Spurs and Newcastle are likely to be in the market for a new striker in the summer but a move for Nketiah to the latter club presumably has more chance of happening out of the two given Arsenal’s heated rivalry with Ange Postecoglou’s side.
Goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale is another Arsenal player who could be on the move later this year.
Before this season, the England international had barely put a foot wrong for Arsenal but club chiefs still decided to sign Spanish shot-stopper David Raya from Brentford in the summer.
Raya struggled at the start of this season but he has grown into this campaign and Arsenal are expected to sign him permanently for around £27m in the summer.
This deal could spell the end of Ramsdale’s time at Arsenal and according to Turkish journalist Ekrem Konur, Serie A giants are interested in signing him.
He tweeted: “AC Milan could make a move for Arsenal’s English goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale if French goalkeeper Mike Maignan leaves at the end of the season.”
READ MORE: £89m flop Pogba 15th and Rice 2nd in ranking of all 20 Premier League clubs’ record signings
Liverpool: Alonso warned off Anfield job as new name emerges in race to succeed Klopp
Xabi Alonso has been warned by former Real Madrid manager Bernd Schuster about leaving Bayer Leverkusen too soon to take the Liverpool job.
The Reds are on the lookout for a new manager after Jurgen Klopp announced earlier this year that he will be leaving at the end of the season to take a break from football.
Klopp has big shoes to fill after winning his seventh major honour at Liverpool when his side lifted the League Cup trophy at the end of February.
Former Liverpool midfielder Alonso is the current favourite to get the job despite interest from defending Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen.
A number of other managers have also been linked but a report last week claimed that Liverpool have now offered Alonso a three-year contract to take over.
Schuster moved from Getafe to Spanish giants Real Madrid during his managerial career and he has warned Alonso against making a similar mistake to him.
READ MORE: Premier League winners and losers: Liverpool hero, ‘classic’ Newcastle shine as Forest, Ten Hag embarrass themselves
“Xabi’s situation reminds me of a similar situation I was in a few years ago,” Schuster told Sport Bild.
“Back then, I coached my team Getafe into the European Cup and then went to Real Madrid. Afterwards I thought to myself that I would have liked to have played with Getafe as a smaller club in the European Cup (Champions League).Related video: Klopp on Liverpool's bad day in the office at Arsenal (Dailymotion)
“This was the first time in Europe for this club in its history and would therefore have been a very nice story. So, it’s hard to decide.
“I would understand Xabi in every decision he makes. But what I can say for sure is that sometimes you have to be careful not to want everything too quickly.
“As a young coach you still have a lot to learn. And if, like Xabi, you already have your own team that he has strongly brought together and developed, it is also a really interesting task to go one step further with this team.”
Roberto de Zerbi, Julian Nagelsmann, Thomas Tuchel and Ange Postecoglou are among the other names to have been linked to Klopp’s position when he leaves in the summer.
And now The Athletic insist that Franck Haise is another manager under consideration after he guided Lens to second place in Ligue 1 last campaign.
The report claims: ‘Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi, Newcastle United’s Eddie Howe and Lens’ Franck Haise have profiled well in Liverpool’s data model but are considered less likely to make Liverpool’s final shortlist.’
Ranking the six Arsenal goals by how embarrassing they were for Sheffield United
Arsenal had scored ten in their last two away games, while Sheffield United had conceded ten in two at home. Despite Thierry Henry’s ‘it’s football – anything can happen’ protestations in the Sky Sports studio, this game was over before it started. A very good Premier League football team at the peak of its powers was playing a very bad Premier League football team at its lowest ebb.
We all got excited, as we always do, in the hope of double figures after Arsenal went in 5-0 up at half-time, at which point Jamie Carragher claimed “I can’t think of anything worse in a half of football” than what he had seen from Sheffield United, but spoilsport Mikel Arteta is all too focused on winning the Premier League and rested key players after the break.
They added just one more after half-time, and full disclosure, we fully expected there to be at least a couple more than that when we decided to do this ranking. Shame on them, but more shame on Sheffield United.
We’ve ranked the six goals by just how embarrassing they were for the hosts. Ben White scoring with his left foot was pipped to top spot.
6) Jayden Bogle (13′ og)
On the embarrassing Premier League own goal scale, if Tony Popovic’s audacious flick for Crystal Palace vs Portsmouth is a 10, this may only have been a two or three. Bogle could have got his feet sorted out a bit quicker, but it came at him at a fair rate. This one’s on Auston Trusty, who was understandably wary of allowing Bukayo Saka inside given what we all know he can do with that lethal left foot, but there’s showing a player down the line and there’s granting them free rein of it. The cross through the goalkeepers legs provided some shame sprinkles, with Trusty being an Arsenal player until the summer the chagrin cherry on top.Related video: Arteta on Arsenal 6-0 thrashing of Sheffield Utd (Dailymotion)
5) Martin Odegaard (5′)
The problem wasn’t the goal itself – though Sheffield United should probably have been more aware of a cutback to Odegaard, such is the regularity with which he scores from them – it was that by the time Odegaard had opened the scoring Arsenal had already hit the bar, had a shot cleared off the line and been a toe away from scoring from a yard out. ‘Pray for Sheffield’ was trending on social media and bracket keys were tested ahead of their use circa 10pm.
4) Kai Havertz (25′)
Anel Ahmedhodzic is the Sheffield United captain. He got bullied off the ball, threw Martinelli to the ground and then complained to the referee after Kai Havertz – yes, Kai Havertz – fired the into the far corner like a 30-goal-a-season stirker. Not clear whether it was indeed The Real Kai Havertz we saw or whether playing Sheffield United makes every player look like The Real version of themselves. Bit of both, probably.
3) Declan Rice (39′)
Saka to the byline for the 427th time before the Blades were granted the sweet release of his substitution at half-time. A great pull-back from him and a clean finish from Declan Rice, and there’s no particular shame in Ben Osborn being beaten for pace and trickery by one of the Premier League’s best. The humiliation here is Chris Wilder’s. The Sheffield United boss brought Osborn on for an understandably peeved Oliver Norwood after 13 minutes, presumably with the express interest of putting the shackles on Saka.
2) Ben White (58′)
He had scored six goals in 276 senior appearances, four with his right foot and two with his head, before leathering that ball into the corner with his left. He looked as surprised as anyone.
© Provided by Football365
Ben White scored just the seventh goal of his career against Sheffield United.
1) Gabriel Martinelli (15′)
We’re not sure a deflection can still be classed as ‘cruel’ when you’re already 2-0 down after 15 minutes, and at least the defender tried to get in the way of an Arsenal shot on this occasion. The greatest of all ignominies here came courtesy of Jakub Kiwior, the Arsenal centre-back, playing at left-back, who delivered a one-touch no-look assist: a skill generally reserved for Brazilian wingers or Sunday league d*ckheads, not a bit-part Polish defender who’s had more transfer links away from Arsenal than appearances for them.
