Man Utd suffer crushing injury blow hours ahead of Liverpool FA Cup clash
Casemiro has been replaced in the Brazil squad due to injury, suggesting that he'll miss Manchester United's grudge FA Cup quarter-final clash with Liverpool.
The midfielder, 32, has been plagued by fitness issues all season and Brazil now say that he'll now miss their upcoming fixtures during the upcoming international break. Casemiro's nation are due to face England at Wembley next Saturday before another friendly clash with Spain three days later.
Late on Saturday evening, a statement from the Brazilian football federation confirmed that Porto striker Pepe had been called up to replace the United star, casting serious doubt over his involvement in Sunday's mouth-watering FA Cup tie.
Brazil manager Dorival Junior added: "We have just received a report from Dr. Rodrigo Lasmar. From a pre-list made by the Brazilian National Team's technical committee with 50 names, 13 of them were already away due to injury at their clubs. Unfortunately, we also lost Casemiro. Therefore, Pepe, from Porto, a native striker who now plays as a midfielder, is called up."
The Red Devils are yet to provide an update on Casemiro, who's played the full 90 minutes in their last three games. Manager Erik ten Hag would likely select Scott McTominay as his replacement and pair the Scotland international with teenage sensation Kobbie Mainoo.
Ten Hag does, however, have four more players available than he did ahead of last Saturday's 2-0 win at home to Everton, as Rasmus Hojlund, Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Mason Mount are all back in training.
United remain without centre-back Lisandro Martinez, who's expected to be available after the international break after being called up by Argentina for their double-header. Left-back duo Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia are longer term absentees, potentially both missing the rest of the season.
Your turn! How should Manchester United line up without Casemiro? Join the debate in the comments section.
© Michael Regan/Getty Images
Mount's possible return against Liverpool would mark his first appearance in four months, with Ten Hag saying during his pre-match press conference: "I'm convinced he’ll be a key player. He didn’t have the chance to prove this point. But he will be a very good player for United.
"It's been really unfortunate and disappointing for him but also for us when you have such a class player in the middle and you can't play him. I am sure that when he is fit and playing he will get into that rhythm, he will contribute to a successful Man United I'm sure."
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Saliba could join Mbappe in missing Olympics if Arsenal block his call-up to keep him for start of season
William Saliba could miss out on joining the France squad for the Olympics, with Arsenal able to block his call-up, which would ensure he’s available for the start of their season.
Saliba has played four of the last six games for his country – he was injured for the other two. The 22-year-old is likely to be a big part of their plans for the future, given he’s one of the most in-form defenders in world football.
However, he could be stopped from participating in the Olympics for them in the summer. The Olympic football tournament finishes on August 9, just a week before Arsenal’s first game of the 2024/25 season.
And while it’s been reported Saliba is expected to be selected – only three players in the squad can be over 23, and the defender is 22, so he’s a great asset to have alongside the older stars – Arsenal have the ability to block his call-up.
In a normal international window, clubs have to let their players go as the games are sanctioned by FIFA, but with the Olympics outside their jurisdiction, there is no right for France or any other side to have access to the players they want.
With the fact Saliba is likely to play in the Euros just a few weeks before the Olympic tournament, and the fact Saliba could miss the start of the season because of it, the Mirror suggests Arsenal could be forced to block their defenders’ inclusion.
Related video: Can Arsenal Upset Bayern Munich in Champions League Quarters? (SportsGrid)
If you go searching, you can find some photos of
If that is the case, the centre-back could join Mbappe in being unable to live the dream of representing his country in the Olympic games.
Indeed, it was recently reported Real Madrid could start a ‘war’ with France over their desire to pick the forward, who is reportedly already a Real player in all but name.
The report suggests the prospect of his inclusion in the squad is diminishing ‘day by day‘, with Real wanting him fresh for the start of their season.
While Mbappe has detailed his desire to play in the Olympics for France, the likelihood of it happening currently seems slim, and that could be the case for Saliba and some other stars.
READ MORE: Mikel Arteta’s 10 best decisions as Arsenal manager, including controversial Saliba, Martinelli, Auba calls
Guardiola warns Manchester City players to ‘handle it wisely’ like injured De Bruyne
Pep Guardiola nudged his Manchester City players to ‘handle it wisely’ ahead of the international break – and perhaps even follow Kevin de Bruyne’s lead.
The manager praised the attitude of his squad after they became the first team in the history of the FA Cup to reach the semi-finals in six consecutive seasons.
Two deflected strikes from Bernardo Silva secured a 2-0 win over Newcastle and the first of what City hope will be three visits to Wembley before the end of the season as they remain in the hunt for a second consecutive treble.
Guardiola is keen to deflect talk of that but praised their consistency, pointing to their record both in the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup, which they won in four consecutive years between 2018 and 2021.
“After we won the treble, and five titles, we’re coming to the international break with two months left and to be in contention for all the titles means a lot,” the City boss said.
“I know people talk about the Premier League, the Champions League, but to have won four Carabao Cups and (reach) six FA Cup semi-finals in a row, this team, this club, has something special, so it’s incredible.
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Either just come back to the Champions League draw.
“Of course we want to win all of them but sometimes this is not possible basically for the quality of the opponents and the schedule we have…but we were there six times in a row.
“Always you can have a bad night or a bad afternoon and to be there six times, you didn’t have a bad night. And for those that doubt the consistency of the team you prove they are wrong.”
City effectively put this tie to bed early on. The opener came in the 13th minute when Silva’s right-footed strike looped up off Dan Burn and into the net, and just after the half-hour mark, the Portugal international cut on to his left to hit a shot that found its way in off Sven Botman’s head.
Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku were substituted late on and Guardiola took the time to gently warn his players about over-exertion during the upcoming international break.
“He is not my player anymore from now on, what they will decide will be fine,” Guardiola said of Haaland, who is part of the Norway squad for friendlies against Czech Republic and Slovakia.
“They know that they fought a lot and train a lot, a lot of adrenaline and concentration to arrive in this position. They know they are friendly games and they have to handle it wisely. Hopefully they can do it.”
Much like Kevin de Bruyne, who was omitted from the Belgium squad to face the Republic of Ireland and England, with manager Domenico Tedesco citing how the midfielder had struggled with injury “for the last few matches”.
“We can’t take a risk now and certainly not with Kevin,” he added.
“It is better to give him time to recover well at City and then have him ready for the European Championship.
“I don’t know if there is a connection to his hamstring injury. Yesterday I spoke to the doctor and Kevin and we decided the risk is too great. It is our responsibility to take into account the player but also the player’s club.”
READ MORE: Pep Guardiola grilled on Kevin de Bruyne relationship after Anfield touchline bust-up
‘Having a laugh’ – Ten Hag asked how you ‘come back from’ Ajax with flop over 11-goal teammate for Man Utd
Darren Bent stated Erik ten Hag is “having a laugh” as the Manchester United boss was asked “how do you come back with Antony and not [Mohammed] Kudus” from Ajax.
Ten Hag made a point of bringing some Ajax players with him when he first moved to Old Trafford in the summer of 2022. The Dutchman signed centre-back Lisandro Martinez and winger Antony.
The former has been useful when fit, but the latter has been a very poor asset, particularly factoring in that he cost £86million. Indeed, the Brazilian winger has had an awful season, failing to score or assist in 22 Premier League games this term.
In contrast, his former Ajax teammate, Kudus, who is also a right winger, has been directly involved in 10 Premier League goals in his first season at West Ham, as well as four Europa League goals and one in the League Cup.
Former top-flight striker Bent has clowned United manager Ten Hag for picking the wrong option out of that pair when he went shopping for Ajax players.
“That’s why your manager is having a laugh. How do you end up at Ajax and you come back with Antony and not Kudus? Work that one out,” he said on talkSPORT.
He made the comment when referencing Kudus’ brilliant solo goal against Freiburg in the Europa League – a game in which he scored twice and helped the Hammers through to the quarter-finals, and was quizzed on how he managed to make it about United.Related video: Manchester Utd's Erik ten Hag speaks ahead of clash with Liverpool (Daily Mail)
What is the latest? First of all with Rasmus Hoyland,
“Because it’s true he opted to sign Antony over Kudus. What a goal, by the way,” Bent responded.
Looking at their career trajectories since leaving Ajax, it would be fair to say Kudus has had the better time, and in hindsight, he’d have been the better option at United.
Antony was the better out of the pair during his time in the Netherlands, though. He was directly involved in 29 goals in his final two Eredivisie seasons, so seemed to be heading to Old Trafford in good form.
Kudus’ final two seasons brought 19 goals and assists in the league, and in the campaign that got Antony his move, he scored just one Eredivisie goal and had one assist, whereas Antony’s totals that season were eight goals and four assists.
The transfer has not panned out, but it’s easy to see how Ten Hag thought it would.
READ MORE: Man Utd ‘offer’ Ten Hag favourite to Barcelona as Ratcliffe ‘tries to get rid’ of player amid ‘final decision
Arsenal ready to accept £25m offer from Premier League rival for talented attacking star
Arsenal are reportedly ready to accept an offer in the region of £25million for a top attacking talent who has struggled to earn regular game time under Mikel Arteta.
Mikel Arteta is expected to freshen up his squad again this summer despite the Gunners currently sitting top of the Premier League table, while they also face Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals.
But despite another sustained Premier League title challenge and a strong run in Europe, Arteta is well aware that players will have to be moved when the season comes to an end in order to satisfy FFP restrictions.
And one of those players is forward Reiss Nelson, who is being targeted by Brighton for a move down to the south coast.
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TEAMtalk first brought you news of the Seagulls’ interest recently, with a £30m package likely to be enough for the Gunners to accept.
The 24-year-old has dropped down the pecking order at the Emirates Stadium and could look to leave at the end of the season.
As we told you, Brighton are big admirers of Nelson and believe he could star in an inverted-winger role in Roberto De Zerbi’s system similar to what Kaoru Mitoma does on the left of their attack.Related video: Can Arsenal Upset Bayern Munich in Champions League Quarters? (SportsGrid)
And look, it really feels like the script writers are
Football Insider now reports that Nelson could move to Arsenal‘s Premier League rivals for a fee between £25-30m.
The versatile attacker is capable of playing on either wing but is currently finding it hard to dislodge Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli and is growing frustrated at his lack of opportunities in north London.
Indeed, he is yet to start a Premier League match for the Gunners this season and has made 23 appearances across all competitions for a grand total of just 654 minutes.
Nelson surplus to requirements at Arsenal
Nelson currently has four years remaining on his contract, having penned a long-term extension in the summer of 2023.
However, he has been sent out on loan twice since initially breaking into the Gunners first-team, having stints in Germany and Holland at Hoffenheim and Feyenoord respectively.
The winger has made 88 total first-team appearances for Arsenal since his breakthrough in 2017, scoring eight goals and adding nine assists in that time.
Arteta’s men are back in action on Sunday March 31 after the international break when they head to title rivals Cityi n what should be a humdinger of a game.
READ MORE: Victor Osimhen to Arsenal: Fabrizio Romano assesses Edu chances of beating Chelsea to gigantic deal
Wataru Endo picks rival defender over Liverpool ace Van Dijk when naming perfect footballer
Wataru Endo named a different defender who tops Liverpool ace Virgil van Dijk in the strength department when asked to assemble his perfect footballer, though Reds stars did fill three of the five categories.
Expectations weren’t all that high among the Liverpool fanbase when the Reds settled on signing Japan international Endo last summer.
However, both players only had eyes for Chelsea and once Todd Boehly opened the chequebook, moves to Stamford Bridge quickly took shape.
Thanks in large part to the now departed sporting director Jorg Schmadtke, Liverpool quickly turned their attention to the Bundesliga and Stuttgart in particular.
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Endo arrived in a cheap and cheerful £16m deal and has quickly made a mockery of that bargain price tag.
Endo is already a huge fan favourite at Anfield and the only regret is Liverpool didn’t sign the battle-hardened midfielder sooner.
Now, when appearing on Goal Japan’s TikTok channel, Endo was tasked with assembling the perfect footballer.Related video: Jurgen Klopp denies swift returns have caused Liverpool injuries (Daily Mail)FEATURE: Liverpool icon and USMNT star among 6 former Premier League players thriving in MLS
Van Dijk overlooked, but Trent, Salah make the cut
The five categories to make up the perfect player were right foot, left foot, strength, speed and footballing IQ.
Endo slotted Trent Alexander-Arnold in for the right foot berth, while Mohamed Salah got the nod for his mesmeric left foot.
Many would’ve expected Endo to pick Liverpool colossus Virgil van Dijk in the strength category. However, rival Reds centre-half, Ibrahima Konate, got the nod instead.
Konate has taken his game up a notch this season and has ensured Liverpool have not been hampered in the absence of Joel Matip who is sidelined after undergoing knee surgery.
Unfortunately for Liverpool, however, Konate is expected to miss Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final clash with Manchester United through a muscle injury sustained against Sparta Prague on March 7.
Rounding out Endo’s perfect footballer were Kylian Mbappe in the speed department and Real Madrid and Croatia legend, Luka Modric, for the footballing IQ category.
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