Manchester United have dropped some way south of the standards they set under the tutelage of Sir Alex Ferguson.
That said, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks to have the backing of the United board and one thing he has in common with his old mentor is his willingness to hand young players an opportunity. The Glazers, who also co-own NFL odds favorites’ Tampa Bay Buccaneers are under a lot of pressure.
While the Buccaneers might have the answer to who is the greatest quarterback in the NFL history under their roster, as Tom Brady is lifting the spirit of the Florida based team, Man United is not doing so well.
The Red Devils are 14th in the league, having conceded more goals that the ones they scored and the American family who owns the club is under a lot of pressure, with #GlazersOut trending in Twitter.
Here we look at five youngsters who could be knocking on the door in the near future and that can be the solution to United’s problems.
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Number 5. Dillon Hoogewerf
When Hoogewerf switched Ajax for Manchester United, he came into the club as a blisteringly quick striker who could run in behind or beat a defender one-on-one with his tidy dribbling skills whilst his goal scoring instincts had been praised too. So, they should have been. He had averaged more than a goal every other game for their youth sides.
Now with the United development teams that work has continued with six goals and four assists in 20 appearances. Hoogewerf has already set his sights on a first team debut. If he keeps doing what he is doing, the call may come – although a loan move initially feels more likely.
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Number 4. Tahith Chong
Chong is a strange one. He’s been close to the United first team after a string of impressive performances in the development sides, but his current loan spell isn’t really going to plan.
The good news for Chong is that the Bremen hierarchy have moved to allay fears over his game time. Clemens Fritz has publicly stated that he will play plenty of football over the course of the season.
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The 20-year-old’s cause wasn’t helped by a two-week covid-19 isolation but now he’s back it’s imperative that he gets minutes under his belt.
If the time is afforded to him, then he’ll need to add to the one cup goal he’s registered so far in Germany to reaffirm his place in Solskjaer’s long term thinking.
Number 3. James Garner
James Garner is well thought of at Old Trafford. He already has seven first team appearances to his name with two of them coming in the Premier League. This summer, Solskjaer and co took a view that the 19-year-old wasn’t going to benefit from running games of football against other kids and opted to loan him out.
The takers were Watford, who are amongst the favourites in the betting odds for promotion.
The Championship is a physically demanding league with some good players in it too. Garner hasn’t looked out of place. He’s made 10 appearances for the second placed Hornets and has an assist to his name too.
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It’s not his creative side that’s earned plaudits though. Nope, the thing that has caught the eye most is his energy and tenacity, which has proved a big asset in the engine room of Vladimir Ivic’s team.
Number 2. Arnau Puigmal
Second in our list of prospects is Arnau Puigmal. The 19-year-old arrived at Old Trafford after coming through the youth system at Espanyol. Initially he was seen as a central midfield player but a shift to right back has seen him flourish beyond coach’s expectation.
He has bags of ability going forwards, which is supported by the fact he has six goal involvements in just three matches so far this season but he’s started to add some defensive understanding to his game too.
If you believe the rumour mill, the question to ask isn’t whether or not United will give Puigmal a chance but more whether they’ll keep hold of him. Barcelona are known to be keen. Given he’s a Spanish youth international, a deal with the Catalan club could well appeal.
Number 1. Hannibal Mejbri
When United signed the then 16-year-old Mejbri from Monaco they paid £4m for his signature with another £4.5m to potentially follow. That’s how highly he is rated. It was a huge pull just to land the young central midfielder too with Barcelona and Liverpool also interested.
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That all said, it has quickly become apparent as to why there was so much attention in the young man. He hasn’t long been 17 and already he’s playing with the under 23 squad. In fact, he’s bossing the team.
This season alone he has three goals and four assists to his name from eight games. Mejbri has started every game too and has been subbed off just twice missing just a total of 28 minutes of action. Of all United’s prospects, he’s the most likely make a real impression on the first team.
There you have it, five prospects that could be gracing the Old Trafford turf in the not too distant future. Who else are you expecting to see turning out for United soon?
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‘Nothing is eternal’: Is Pep Guardiola hinting at the end of Manchester City’s supremacy?
Danny Jones
Pep Guardiola looks to have suggested that more than a decade of Manchester City’s supremacy and Premier League dominance at the very least might be coming to an end.
Speaking in his post-match press interviews after City were knocked out of the Champions League by serial European Cup winners Real Madrid, Guardiola cut a somewhat more deflated figure than usual following the 3-1 defeat.
A Kylian Mbappe hattrick which was closed out within an hour of play was enough to stretch the aggregate score to 6-3 over the two legs and Madrid doubling their lead across the tie proved yet again why, not unlike City domestically over the last decade, they’re the kings of the continental competition.
In contrast, however, Pep seemed to accept the loss much more easily than perhaps we’ve seen in the past and rather than appearing familiarly frustrated or defiant in the press conference; instead, he seemed rather reflective, responding to one reporter: “Nothing is eternal”.
🗣️ "Nothing is eternal" – Pep Guardiola.
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Insisting that they have to decide whether a significant rebuild is needed to keep competing at the very top level consistently as they have done since the 54-year-old arrived back in 2016, he argued that it is only with that they’ll be able to determine what comes next.
As for the result itself, he made no bones about Carlo Ancelotti’s side having “deserved it”, stating simply that “the best team won” and that fans and players alike have to “accept the reality: they were better.”
Having been a familiar foe for Pep long before he arrived in Manchester, both at Barcelona and Bayern Munich – not to mention City having faced Los Blancos a dozen times before Tuesday night since 2012 – there have been less surprising outcomes for supporters to come to terms with.
“With time, the club and everyone is going to accept what it is but for now we have 30/40 games for the Premier League next season to try and be here [in the Champions League] and to improve. Nothing is eternal”, said the Catalan coaching genius.
On the other hand, he also went on to add that it was merely a reflection on the night itself and not what his team have achieved in recent years.
He went on to remark that “when we were playing outstanding it hurt more” to be knocked out of the UCL when he felt they deserved to stay in it, but still insisted: “We have been unbelievable and we have to try step by step to get better from today.” Tonight just wasn’t the night.
Who knows? Perhaps it was just some more melodrama from a manager with an undeniable flare for pageantry and playing into/in the face of narratives when he doesn’t come out on top – which hasn’t happened all that often until their dip in form this season.
Plus, there’s certainly still plenty for him and the fans to be positive about; not only has the arrival of their ‘Egyptian Prince’ and the media’s Mo Salah successor, Omar Marmoush, got plenty of people excited – especially after that first-half hattrick against Newcastle – but so too have the other January signings.
In fact, for all of his downplaying in this particular presser (which you can hear in full HERE), it felt like there were only upsides after their victory over Newcastle, even going so far as to dub new signing Nico Gonzalez a ‘mini-Rodri‘.
You can watch the highlights from the game down below:
Pep is right, nothing is eternal – but sometimes you just come up against talents like Mbappe and there’s very little anyone can do about it.
Sale Sharks sign highly-rated Harlequins hooker, Nathan Jibulu
Danny Jones
Sale Sharks are investing in youth with their latest bit of transfer business after signing one of the Harlequins’ hottest prospects, Nathan Jibulu.
The highly-rated hooker, who has already nine appearances this season, including more than half a dozen in the Gallagher Premiership, has been exciting plenty of scouts throughout rugby union and is already firmly in national team plans.
Having already been part of the England Under-20 and A squads, not to mention impressing at club level in a relatively short space of time, it’s a big coup for Sale.
From the Quins academy to the right side of Shark-infested waters.
Jibulu joined the Twickenham-based outfit back in 2022 just a year after they won their second English championship (a full decade since their first) after previously attending Seaford College and representing nearby Wimbledon Warriors.
However, now the six-foot and seriously strong forward will be swapping the life near the capital for the North and Greater Manchester, specifically.
Set to join Sale Sharks for the 2025/26 season – scheduled to kick off in September – he’s looking like a really strong addition to their front row and a future squads to come.
Speaking to the club in an official statement, he said: “When I was younger, whenever someone asked me, ‘what team would you want to play for?’ I’d always say Sale…
“I’ve scrummed a lot with Asher [Opoku-Fordjour] and I got to know him pretty well. I always tell him how special and different he is, and I can’t wait to play with him.
“The way the club has developed him and nurtured him to become an established Premiership and England player speaks volumes about the coaching and the support that he’s getting at Sale.
“The entire front row is in the England squad, with the Curry boys too, so that tells you that someone at the club is doing something right. I looked at that and I said, ‘why would you not want to be there?’”
Still just 22 years old and having made just as many appearances for his soon-to-be former club, Sale weren’t the only ones chasing his signature.
Jibulu went on to add: “I love those games where you go toe-to-toe physically, so all of that attracted me straight away, and then speaking to people who are there already, they said all the stuff that I really like so it was a no brainer when the opportunity came about.”
As for his impending coach, Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson said: “Nathan is really driven, he understands what he wants from his life and his career, and he knows how he’s going to get it.
“He’s a young lad but he’s incredibly mature and he’s got the game and the physical attributes to match. I’ve got no doubt he’ll play for England in the future and we’re really excited to bring him to the club.”
Currently sat seventh in the table after another at times promising but somewhat frustrating start to the year, the summer can’t come soon enough for Sale.
The Manc -
16th November 2020 
