•Can Mikel Arteta get a good return on £105m Declan Rice and how about Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham will he be able to go into battle with Harry Kane?
•Will Vincent Kompany match his stellar career as a player by coaching a successful Burnley in the elite league
Image: XINHUA
Can Pep Guardiola keep on his winning streak after that spectacular treble? Can he do it without Ilkay Gundogan?
Can Mikel Arteta get a good return on £105m Declan Rice and how about Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham will he be able to go into battle with Harry Kane?
The minnows Luton Town and Wolves have lost their coach Julien Lopetegui before a ball is even kicked.
Can Jurgen Klopp regain Liverpool glory and will Erik Ten Hag succeed with Mason Mount in midfield?
Will Vincent Kompany match his stellar career as a player by coaching a successful Burnley in the elite league?
It is going to be a roller-coaster ride this season and I will bring you all the news and views from inside the dressing rooms and on the training pitches.
Arteta planning some surprises against Forest
Image: REUTERS
At a dinner in Los Angeles Mikel Arteta enjoyed a light-hearted dinner with owner Stan Kroenke after presenting his plan for this coming season which pleased to billionaire. It was the key moment when Arteta knew he had the blessing of his boss to sign Declan Rice.
Martin Odegaard is on record as saying, “I challenge anyone to come away from a meeting with Arteta and not believe everything he tells you.”
For the first time in years, Arsenal completed all their transfer business before pre-season training. £105m secured the signature of Rice and Kroenke agreed a £180m spent for transfers.
Arteta convinced Declan of his ambitions for the season and originally, he told the ex-West Ham man he would be a holding midfielder.
In their final pre-season game against Monaco, Declan demonstrated how versatile he is when he played a more advanced role and linked well with Gabriel Martinelli and new left-back Julien Timber. Arteta was also pleased with Kai Havertz.
He will play a Granit Xhaka role on the left of midfield but will also play through the middle and be expected to score goals.
Arteta admitted this week that he can’t always play Rice, Havertz, Partey, and Jorginho together.
The coach has already discovered new combinations using the quartet and he is hoping to spring some surprises with his formations because he believes that losing the title at the end of last season was because opponent teams had worked out exactly how Arsenal performed using Arteta’s favourite 4-3-3 lineup.
He summed up by claiming, “The idea is to become more unpredictable, to become more difficult for opponents to stop. We have more options at the back and in midfield.”
He intends to play some of his new ideas in the opener against Nottingham Forest.
*Arteta has agreed on a deal with Brentford’s goalkeeper David Raya and he will provide competition for Aaron Ramsdale between the posts. Brentford, in response, have made a bid for Fiorentina’s Nico Gonzalez.
Spurs players can't relax
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Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has one main thought in his mind: Attack! Attack! Attack! Dejan Kulusevski revealed to us that the coach gave the players a roasting at half-time because they had eased off against Shakhtar Donetsk and allowed the Ukrainians to equalise. The players listened and lifted themselves and ran out 5-1 winners.
Two Bayern Munich agents were in the crowd and were delighted to see Harry Kane, their prime target, bang in four goals. Postecoglou has drilled into his players that they will not play to protect leads, unlike the previous ultra-cautious Antonio Conte.
Kulusevski revealed that the coach has told him: “Attack the box more when the ball is on your side, when you have the ball just go, go all the time. Don’t worry if you lose the ball, just keep going. He wants me to score more. I’m enjoying having a lot of the ball higher up the pitch.”
*Postecoglou told Daniel Levy he wanted to boost his defence and the club have signed Micky van de Ven from Wolfsburg and forward Alejo Veliz from Rosario Central. Both are on six-year deals. Van de Ven’s cost is £34m.
Sticking plaster fix it by Klopp
Jurgen Klopp has admitted to us that he has to decide on a temporary fix for Liverpool’s opener against Chelsea.
He is still lacking a new defensive midfielder. As I write this column, Southampton have rejected the latest £46m bid for Romeo Lavia.
Stefan Bajectic has only just returned to training and therefore Klopp had to move Alexis Mac Allister to play in a No6 role.
Klopp said, “I have to find a formation for Chelsea but not for the whole season. Nobody got injured in pre-season matches and everyone got through okay so I have some options.”
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Guardiola still looking to replace Gundogun
Pep Guardiola is confident he can keep Bernardo Silva at Manchester City for the season.
West Ham’s midfielder Lucas Paqueta is under consideration and has replaced original targets Declan Rice, Gabri Veiga and Jude Bellingham. Guardiola was upset last week when he told us that clubs add on an extra 10 percent transfer fee when City enquired about their players.
Paqueta joined West Ham for a record £51m last summer and they would be looking to make a profit on that.
Harry the hammer
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Harry Maguire says he is willing to travel south and join London team West Ham if a deal can be reached between the Hammers and Manchester United.
The Hammers have made a £30m offer and another £35m for Scott McTominay. David Moyes made his first signing of this summer after agreeing a £32m deal to bring in Ajax midfielder Edson Alvarez.
West Ham will meet Maguire’s £190k-a-week wages but he is hoping that he can arrange with United to meet a large part of his salary.
He wants game time so his England position is not under threat but he is well down the pecking order at Old Trafford.
Alvarez has agreed to a £100k a week deal and flew to London on Tuesday for a medical. The Hammers are also still optimistic about signing Southampton's James Ward-Prowse. Gianluca Scamacca left this week to join Atalanta.
West Ham’s midfielder Lucas Paqueta has told his bosses that he wants a move to Manchester City. Pep Guardiola still has to replace Ilkay Gundogan who left for Barcelona on a free transfer.
City have received a rejection for their opening bid for Paqueta but are expected to return with an offer of £70m.
The Brazilian is very much part of Hammer’s coach David Moyes's plans for the season however if he does leave then Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse would fit neatly into an attacking midfield and fill the big hole left by the departure of Declan Rice. An agreement has been reached to bring in Ward-Prowse.
Leading players rebel over new “time-wasting” rules
I spent last Sunday watching my team Ipswich in the Championship against Sunderland. I was staggered by the way it turned out because the International Football Association Board (IFAB) has issued new instructions to referees to add up all those little moments of taking a long time for throw-ins, substitutions, arguments over free-kicks and deliberately delayed goal kicks, etc.
What staggered me with the Ipswich game was that nearly half an hour was added on! Yes, instead of 90 minutes we played for 113 minutes!
IFAB believe their not-so-clever idea will lead to less time wasting and increase better, more exciting play.
What they have tragically forgotten is that the players have to perform for much longer than the usual 90 minutes but now they have found their voice and are shouting back loud and clear. Kevin De Bruyne claimed, “The new rule doesn’t make any sense to me.”
He warned that overworked players faced the severe danger of injuries with the extra long games and especially when the season gets crowded with little time between games because players get tired and lose their focus.
He said, “We spoke to Arsenal players and even the referees say they don’t want to do it either but it’s the new rule and it’s what it is.”
This new introduction is going to play a big part in football across Europe and I can see a lot of trouble ahead.
Lopetegui leaving no surprise
Image: FILE
Julien Lopetegui was never going to last at Wolves. It was very clear that the former Real Madrid and Spain coach was very unhappy with the club’s lack of signings in the transfer window.
Chairman Jeff Shi has constantly stressed that Wolves have had to keep the purse strings very tight to keep within the Financial Fair Play regulations. They also spent £75m in January by using large amounts of this summer’s spending budget six months early.
Given that Lopetegui was open about his dissatisfaction with his board of directors at Wolves that very board had already spoken with Gary O’Neil about taking over. The club’s top people held a three-hour session with the ex-Bournemouth boss O’Neil a week ago.
He was abroad on holiday this week but flew back to the UK and I expect him to be in the dugout for the game against Manchester United on Monday.
Lopetegui watched as Wolves sold £85m worth of players this summer but only brought in Matt Doherty and third-choice keeper Tom King from lowly Northampton. Matheus Cunha and Boubacar Traore have seen their loan deals turn into full-time employment.
None of these players are up to the standard Lopetegui expected to strengthen his squad. Things do not look good for Wolves fans and it could be a relegation fight this season.
Luton, the minnows of the Premier League
Luton Town have fought long and hard to join the elite Premier League but I fear for them this season. Facing Brighton this weekend will be a tough match. As traffic rolls along the A1081 main road, drivers can look down on the “Orange & Blacks” training ground outside Luton.
No plush hotel, private chefs and big expensive cars in their car park. When supporters arrive they actually go through turnstiles which are built between two private houses with a family living above the entrance to the ground.
Luton in the Premier League has been described as facing a huge tidal wave without a surfboard.
Coach Dave Gregory has retained the majority of his squad which was promoted from the Championship and he is looking at Marvelous Nakamba to perform as he did last year.
Tom Lockyer and Carlton Morris are the other players to look out for. I wish them luck but I am afraid they will need lots of it.
Hojlund arrives and Wan-Bissaka stays
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In a wonderful upbeat quick interview this week, new Manchester United signing Rasmus Hojlund said, “Playing for Manchester United has always been my dream and I want to bleed for this jersey and win some trophies, that is why I came here.”
The 20-year-old Danish international picked up a minor injury playing pre-season for Atlanta and although Erik Ten Hag is not worried Rasmus is not likely to start in United’s first match against Wolves on Monday.
His medical revealed a stress problem in his back and after a scan, the club said he is likely to miss the first two games of the new season. He did some light training on Wednesday away from the rest of the squad.
*Aaron Wan-Bissaka has welcomed the offer of a new contract and the 25-year-old has completed a turnaround from being unwanted by Erik Ten Hag to earning a new pay deal and extended stay at Old Trafford.
Nkunku injury worse
New Chelsea signing Christopher Nkunku’s meniscus knee injury is worse than the club originally thought.
It might require surgery to mend. The £52m man from RB Leipzig was injured in a heavy tackle with Dortmund defender Mats Hummels. His injury has set coach Mauricio Pochettino’s plans back and his attacking force has been considerably weakened.
Balogun should leave
Mikel Arteta doesn’t include Folarin Balogun in his plans for the season but neither does it appear that he wants to lose him. After a successful loan period at French club Reims, where he scored 22 goals, he is still well behind Gabriel Jesus, Eddie Nketiah, and Kai Havertz. Balogun wants regular playing time but the £ 50 million wanted by Arsenal has not been offered by any club as yet. Inter Milan are interested and so is Monaco but the money is difficult to find for both clubs.
De Bryune says Halland is okay
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Both Kevin De Bryune and Pep Guardiola have said, “Don’t worry about Erling.
He might not be scoring at the moment but he will start to deliver once we get on with the real business, the Premier League.”
The City man scored 54 goals last season but was hardly seen during the Community Shield match last Sunday.
De Bryune said, “Obviously, people want to see him score in every game but it is pre-season and maybe he needs a little more time to get 100 percent match fit. He will be alright.”
The Dutch international believes after winning the astounding treble last year, it has taken the team a little longer than usual to blow away those summer cobwebs and will hit full fitness and speed in two or three games.