Mount excited about Man United challenge as EPL beckons

Mason Mount was visibly excited on Wednesday as he finally signed his Manchester United contract.

A £55 million deal, a private meeting with Erik ten Hag outlining his plans for the midfielder, a five-year-deal and the icing on the cake: being given the iconic No7 shirt previously worn by legends George Best, David Beckham, Bryan Robson and Eric Cantona.

Mason was emotional after leaving his boyhood club Chelsea and said: “It’s never easy leaving the club where you grew up but Manchester United will provide an exciting challenge for the next phase of my career. And I am still only 24!”

I understand despite passing a medical on Monday Mason remains a doubt to start against Leeds in a friendly in Norway next week but Ten Hag is watching the situation closely and will play him if he feels Mason is fit enough.

He underwent an operation for a stomach problem and missed the final games for Chelsea last season and also the June internationals. He joined in with a light training session on Thursday.

Mason will provide an answer to Christian Eriksen and Casimiro who both celebrated their 31st birthdays in February and Fred has also now turned 30 years of age.

Ten Hag was delighted with his new player but pointed out that he needs further investment by the owners to bring in a new goalkeeper and striker.

He said: “The club knows if you want to play top four and compete for trophies in this tough league then you have to invest otherwise you don’t stand a chance because other clubs will definitely improve.”

Fred is likely to be sold now Mason is on board and reserve goalkeeper Dean Henderson will join Nottingham Forest.

Arsenal are close to signing Timber

Mikel Arteta’s summer campaign to strengthen his squad saw Holland international Jurrien Timber travel from Ajax to the Emirates Stadium a few days ago and he will take a medical early next week prior to signing a contract with the Gunners. The fee will be around £40m. Timber is only 22-years-of-age and he will be used by Arteta as a central defender but he can also play at right back.

Tuchel determined to sign Kane

Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel is the power behind the German giant’s drive to sign Harry Kane. Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is still saying he will not sell his world-class striker.

However, with only a year left on Harry’s contract, he knows his options are under pressure. Levy still believes he can persuade Kane to sign a new contract but Bayern think a bid of £80m will change his mind so that Harry does not leave for free next summer.

Kane loves Tottenham and it was Levy who was responsible for him not leaving for Real Madrid or Manchester City two years ago. My sources in Germany informed me that Tuchel and Sporting Director Hasan Salihamidzic met Kane when they were also actively considering signing Declan Rice.

Declan showed no interest but Harry listened and he did not rule out a move to Germany. Tuchel has great power at Bayern and he is desperate and determined to take Kane to his new club.

Pochettino begins with a barbecue and considers a captain

Mauricio Pochettino arrived for his first day as the Chelsea boss by visiting the Cobham training ground and holding a barbecue.

He met with many of the staff and some players but most of them returned for training the following day.

He immediately got the fans on-side by declaring that Chelsea are ‘the greatest team in England’. I expect many of you might disagree! The 51-year-old Argentine then launched an emotional speech, saying he wants his players to be “animals” and they must “fight for the badge” and “die for the club.” Strong words indeed.

During the Monday session, he previewed the club’s opening game against Liverpool at home on August 13.

He said he hopes to bring in more attacking power after the release of Kai Havertz to Arsenal.

Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson have arrived at Stamford Bridge and will provide goals up-front. Pochettino pointed out that Jackson scored 12 goals with four assists in 26 matches for Villarreal in La Liga last season.

He said: “First I need to meet the players, start work and then go on the tour of America and it will be unbelievable to meet all the fans. We will be ready for the first game against Liverpool — and it is very good for us to have the first game at Stamford Bridge.”

With Cesar Azpilicueta probably leaving at the end of next season when his contract expires, Pochettino has the captain’s appointment on his mind and favourite is Thiago Silva.

Other possibilities include Kepa Arrizabalaga, Raheem Sterling and Reece James. Pochettino said, “We need leaders not followers in every single area.”

Kalvin Phillips vows to fight for his place at City

Kalvin Phillips was a superstar at Leeds and Pep Guardiola bought him for £50 million.

His time at Manchester City started well but a shoulder injury ruled him out of playing any games until the World Cup in Qatar. Since then, he has found it difficult to get game time because both Rodri and Phil Foden have been in excellent form.

His only two starts came when City had already won the PL title. Kalvin thinks that with Ilkay Gundogan leaving, there will be more opportunities for him and despite interest from both Premier League clubs and Europe, he has vowed to stay and fight for his place. It takes time to adjust to Pep Guardiola’s way of playing and both Jack Grealish, Joao Cancelo and Bernardo Silva took a year to find their form in his system.

Speaking with my insiders at the club, it seems more likely that if Kalvin can return to his more familiar role as a defensive midfielder, as he did for Leeds and the England national team, he could enjoy more game time.   

United’s breathtaking pre-season tour

Manchester United have an impressive pre-season match schedule which takes in four countries and thousands of air miles.

Beginning on July 12,  they will play Leeds United in Edinburgh, Scotland, and then move on to Oslo in Norway and then head off to America.

United play Arsenal at New York’s MetLife Stadium and then meet the Wrexham League 2 side owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. The game is in San Diego.

Twenty-four hours later, they have a big game against Real Madrid in Houston, Texas and finally, they take on Borussia Dortmund in Las Vegas.

Unwanted Cancelo returns to City

Bayern Munich have confirmed that they do not intend to take up Joao Cancelo’s £ 61.6 million buy-out clause and he will return to Manchester City at the beginning of next season after a six-month loan period.

He had an argument with Pep Guardiola in January and left under a cloud but has failed to make an impression under new boss Thomas Tuchel at Bayern.

Cancelo was originally upset by his lack of game time after Nathan Ake replaced him in Guardiola’s starting line-up. The coach clearly does not want him at City and said, “The reality was that we decided he had to leave and we didn’t care where he was going even if it meant to our most bitter rivals Manchester United.”

The fans don’t want him back either and loudly booed him when Bayern played City at the Etihad Stadium in the Champions League and Cancelo was brought on as a substitute.

Maddison could be the best buy of the summer

Mikel Arteta hopes Kai Havertz and Declan Rice will link up to provide fresh hope for a team that needs to move up a gear to compete with Manchester City.

At Tottenham,  new boss Ange Postecoglou is hoping his £40m signing James Maddison will do the same job with Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min. The 26-year-old was Leicester’s standout player last season and Tottenham awarding him a five-year contract was a very good piece of business.

When deciding whether or not to play for Spurs, James related what was said between him and Postecoglou: “He told me, whether you join or not, Tottenham is going to be a completely different team under me. That stuck with me and made me think of the self-belief I have. Things like that are important. I’m a player who likes to take risks and be creative. I like to create and score goals. I’m hungry to show the Spur’s fans what I can do.”

I think Maddison could very well be the best deal done this summer.

Emery believes Villa will be in the top four

Unai Emery has done remarkably well since joining Aston Villa when he hauled them up the table after taking command of a club that was dangerously near to being relegated. He has now orchestrated a coup by signing Villarreal defender Pau Torres for £31.5 million. He is a left-footed centre-back who knows Emery because he was the coach at Villarreal. Bayern Munich also wanted Torres however Villa won the battle and are now eyeing Leicester’s Harvey Barnes, Nottingham Forest’s Brennan Johnson and Leeds’ midfielder Tyler Adams. Harvey Barnes is also wanted by Newcastle.

Loftus-Cheek is happy to play in Italy

I understand that Ruben Loftus-Cheek is very happy with his move to AC Milan. He is teaming up with other ex-Chelsea players Fikayo Tomori and Olivier Giroud. Ruben said goodbye at the Cobham training ground after 19 years at the club. The 27-year-old was sold for £ 18.5 million and is among the players' new owner Todd Boehly had to lose to keep within the fair play financial rules and to recoup some of the huge sums he spent when arriving at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea paid Ruben £150k-a-week and the Blues have contributed to his salary to make the deal easier for Milan.

Legends go on pre-season Liverpool tour

Liverpool are taking several famous old boys along on their summer tour of Singapore. John Aldridge, John Barnes, Lucas Leiva who played 346 games for the Reds, Gary McAllister, Ian Rush and Martin Skrtel will travel with Jurgen Klopp. The Reds will play relegated Leicester City as they attempt to once again win the Standard Chartered Singapore Trophy at the National Stadium on July 31. They return to play Bayern Munich on August 2. The legends will meet fans and attend events as part of Liverpool’s campaign to support the Singapore Festival of Football.