Former Man Utd star tips £78m Ratcliffe centre-back target to be transformative Old Trafford signing
Manchester United have been told that major summer transfer Lenny Yoro is destined to be a huge star in the game as the pursuit for his signature hots up.
Teenage centre-back Yoro has emerged as one of the rising stars of the European game this season, already establishing himself as a regular starter at his club Lille.
United are well known to be one of the frontrunners in the chase for Yoro, along with the likes of Liverpool, Real Madrid and PSG.
New minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants to make Old Trafford the best place to develop exciting young prospects and has several names on his shortlist already.
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A new centre-back is the first task for Ratcliffe and landing Yoro could be one of the first tasks for incoming new Man Utd director of football Dan Ashworth to complete.
Scouting reports given to Ratcliffe, have the INEOS owner convinced of Yoro’s ability and the future growth he will undergo.
And that is something that Yoro’s Lille teammate Angel Gomes is convinced of too after waxing lyrical about the surremely talented defender.
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Gomes came through United’s youth system but only played 10 senior games for the club before his free transfer switch to Lille in 2020.
The former England Under-21 international has not looked back since, going on to score eight goals in 99 appearances for the French outfit.
Yoro a top talent who has it all
Having seen what it takes to make it at Old Trafford, Gomes feels that Yoro has everything it takes and more to become one of the best defenders in Europe.
“As soon as he arrived in the group, I understood that he was going to reach the summits”, Gomes told he told Eurosport.
“When I discovered the pros at the age of 16 at Manchester United, I understood that it was different. He already had the right temperament.
“And that’s not normal for a 16- or 17-year-old player arriving. It’s like he’s already an experienced player. And it showed in the way he trained, the way he behaved. His progress was obvious.”
Yoro has scored three times in 28 games this season for a Lille side who currently sit third in the Ligue 1 table as they look to secure Champions League qualification.
As for United, they are back in action on Sunday when they head to Luton Town in the Premier League.
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Dan Ashworth plans Man Utd ‘raid’ on Chelsea with ‘key appointment’ identified for ‘transfer team’
Ashworth is regarded as one of the best directors in world football and he was previously lauded for the work he did with Brighton and Hove Albion.
The 52-year-old left Brighton to join Newcastle United at the start of February but he could be on the move again in the coming months.
This is because it was claimed earlier this week that Newcastle are expected to ‘reach an agreement’ with Man Utd ‘next week’ over Ashworth’s move to Old Trafford.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s minority takeover of Man Utd was recently ratified and significant changes are already in the process of being made behind the scenes.
Former Man City chief Omar Berrada has been brought in as United’s new chief executive and it’s been widely reported that Ashworth has always been their top choice to become their new director.
On Sunday morning, Fabrizio Romano revealed that Man Utd will “push again next week to get a deal done” for Ashworth.
“Manchester United are working hard to bring directors in to be prepared for the summer transfer window. From what I’m hearing, Man United are prepared to push again next week to get a deal done and sort out compensation with Newcastle for Dan Ashworth,” Romano told Caught Offside.
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“Ashworth has said yes to Manchester United, he wants to work for the Red Devils, and from what I’m hearing he sees this as a perfect project for the present and future. Now it’s important to see how negotiations between the clubs will go, but for sure Man United will make one more big push for Ashworth next week.
“The links with Southampton director Jason Wilcox are also true – he is a candidate to work next to, and together with Ashworth. United are exploring options and Wilcox is one of them, but there are also other clubs interested and Southampton are pushing to keep him at the club.”
A report from The Sun now claims ‘Ashworth is set to raid Chelsea for his first Man Utd signing’ as he attempts to ‘form a new transfer team’.
This will come via a ‘move for chief analyst Kyle Macaulay’, who is said to be on Ashworth’s ‘wishlist’. The report adds.
‘The Scot went to Chelsea when the Blues appointed ex-Seagulls boss Graham Potter and is still at the club but United will come calling for him shortly.
‘Ashworth, who is being poached from Newcastle, wants an experienced head of recruitment and will also be looking at increasing his staff, with Macaulay a key appointment.
‘United have also set up a move for Ipswich technical director Sam Williams to join them and find emerging talent, as we first revealed.’
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Carragher urges Pochettino to ‘end’ Chelsea star’s ‘playing days’ as ‘brilliant’ alternative emerges
Jamie Carragher has encouraged Mauricio Pochettino to stop playing Thiago Silva after Chelsea star Axel Disasi shone against Manchester City.
Silva joined Chelsea on a free transfer in 2020 after his contract with Ligue Un giants Paris Saint-Germain expired.
The Blues were questioned for signing the 39-year-old at the time as onlookers questioned whether the veteran defender had enough left in the tank to compete in the Premier League.
The Brazil international silenced his doubters in his first three seasons at Stamford Bridge as he was consistently one of Chelsea’s stronger performers but he has dropped out of the first-team in recent weeks.
Disasi lined up alongside Levi Colwill at centre-back at the Etihad on Saturday evening. The two defenders were superb as Erling Haaland failed to score in the 1-1 stalemate.
Speaking post-match, Carragher explained why he thinks it will now be “very difficult for Silva to get back into the team”.
“When you see those two [Disasi and Colwill] playing there together, I think it makes it very difficult for Thiago Silva to get back into the team between now and the end of the season unless someone gets injured,” Carragher said on Sky Sports.
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“But I certainly think Chelsea, yes they’ve got the cup final, but they’ve almost got to start building something for the future.
“There’s not an awful lot to play for after the cup final. So I think looking at those two as a partnership and maybe another younger centre-back — I’m not sure who else they’ve got in the squad — but yeah, I think the days of Thiago Silva playing for Chelsea have got to come to an end.”
Carragher was full of praise for Disasi after the game. He likened the 25-year-old to John Terry and he “can’t remember a better defensive performance this season” than his against Man City.
“It was backs against the wall throwing yourself in front of things, every time the ball comes in you’re like a magnet,” Carragher added.
“Talking about Chelsea, that was a John Terry performance [from Disasi] and I can’t give any higher praise than that.
“I can’t remember a better defensive performance this season, certainly from a central defender.
“You’re coming away to Manchester City, playing against the best striker in the world, he was brilliant.
“He was Man of the Match, definitely the best player on the pitch. He was just throwing himself in front of everything.”
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Speaking post-match, Blues head coach Mauricio Pochettino admitted that they have been “surprised” by Cole Palmer this season.
“We knew he was a talented player with the potential to be top,” Pochettino told reporters.
“But like all young players, always there was a question mark about how he would adapt to the team, to the new environment.
“I need to be honest – he surprised everyone. Always when you sign a player you expect something, but not so quick. He was an impact. After one week, two weeks, he was playing like he was an experienced player here.
West Ham boss Moyes comes out swinging with ‘wins more’ admission amid links to ‘exciting’ bosses
David Moyes has defended his position at West Ham by insisting he “wins more” than more exciting managers who could replace him.
Angry fans displayed a banner asking for him to be sacked after they lost 2-0 at Nottingham Forest to stretch their winless run to eight games in all competitions.
Six days after a home humiliation to Arsenal, they went down to goals from Taiwo Awoniyi and Callum Hudson-Odoi as Forest gave their survival chances a shot in the arm.
Moyes guided the Hammers to the Europa Conference League title last season, the semi-finals of the Europa League the year before and regularly challenged the top six in the last three years, but supporters have little patience.
The Scot was staunch in his defence and reminded fans of what he has done at the London Stadium.
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“I am pretty long in the tooth, you can never please everybody, it would be hard to say there have been many better times at West Ham,” he said.
“Maybe they want something different, but they would honestly have to say it has been the best times they have had at the club with regards winning a European trophy, the league positions.
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“Maybe there would be managers who excite them more, possibly, but the one who is sitting here wins more.
“My response would be to say we are hurting really badly as a team and a manager because we have not had good results for five or six weeks now.
“But this year already we have beaten Tottenham, Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal, we must not forget there were good times not so long ago.
“We have not been playing well, but there are some mitigating circumstances since January 1, with boys going to the African Cup of Nations, Jarrod Bowen came back from England with an injury and has not been the same since, we have been without Lucas Paqueta as well for most of the time so there are things that have affected us.
“I have seen other teams have similar, Newcastle, Man Utd, Man City before the World Championship, Arsenal over Christmas.
“There is no divine right that West Ham don’t have a dicky period at some point in the season. We are hoping we can get back on it.”
Forest won for the first time in the Premier League in 2024 to give themselves some breathing space at the foot of the table.
They were worthy of their first victory in five with Awoniyi and Hudson-Odoi scoring at the end of either half.
Boss Nuno Espirito Santo said: “We played a good game. We were disciplined and aggressive. The boys worked really hard.
“And when we had the ball, we had good spells. We had good combinations and created chances.
“That was the basic and the most important thing for today, to get those details solved. We had to be practical, pragmatic and compact and aggressive in our own box.
“We needed to control set-pieces and not allow too many, because we know how strong West Ham are in that aspect.
“The players did really well. We have to keep going.”
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Arsenal dismantle Burnley to continue incredible form and underline title credentials again
Man of the match the last time Arsenal went to Turf Moor, Martin Odegaard again shone against Burnley as the Gunners’ relentless form continued on Saturday.
Arsenal have come so far since their last visit to Turf Moor but there was one obvious similarity: the influence of Martin Odegaard.
Back then, Arsenal’s ceiling with fourth in the Premier League, which a lot of people thought was a stretch. The following season a top-four finish felt like the minimum requirement, and the Gunners ended up coming very close to winning the title. After their disappointing capitulation thanks to the pressure of challenging Manchester City, another tilt was this season’s aim.
It felt like their hopes of winning the Premier League were fading away after back-to-back December defeats at the hands of London rivals West Ham and Fulham, but Mikel Arteta’s men have been relentless in 2024, winning their opening five league games of a calendar year for the first time in their history.
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The winter break was perfectly timed for Arteta and his players, who came back from their warm-weather training camp in Dubai rejuvenated and ready for the second half of the season.
A 5-0 win at home to Crystal Palace was backed up by a 2-1 victory at Nottingham Forest that ought to have been a lot more comfortable, a superb 3-1 win against title rivals Liverpool, a ridiculous 6-0 victory at West Ham, and now a 5-0 drubbing of Burnley at Turf Moor.
Anything less than a comfortable triumph against a woeful Clarets side would have been a big disappointment for Arsenal, but you can never be too sure with the Gunners. Confidence is something that fanbase does not have in abundance.
Eleven goals in consecutive Premier League away matches is pretty outrageous and the best Arsenal player in both wins against the Hammers and Burnley was club captain Odegaard.
He is the heartbeat of Arteta’s Arsenal team and like he did at Turf Moor in September 2021, the Norwegian playmaker opened the scoring with a fine strike.
Odegaard has a trademark finish: low and hard from outside the box to beat the goalkeeper at the near post. He did just that with a half-volley, leaving poor James Trafford – who has now conceded 50(!) goals this in the Premier League this season – with no chance.
The Gunners skipper had a strong first half and continued his fine form with an assist less than two minutes into the second, finding Bukayo Saka with a defence-splitting through ball.
It was then his lovely lobbed volley pass for Jakub Kiwior that facilitated Arsenal’s fourth of the afternoon.
Odegaard was obviously very good but Arsenal as a whole were outstanding yet again, scoring goals for fun without a recognised striker on the pitch.
Arteta and Arsenal will continue to be compared to Pep Guardiola and Manchester City and they are showing signs of the Cityzens pre-Erling Haaland, when they would have Phil Foden, for example, playing as the furthest forward central player.
Leandro Trossard has been the Foden of this Arteta system, with Kai Havertz – who scored a fine goal – sometimes slotting into a No. 9 role. There are goals all over this Arsenal team, which is constantly evolving under Arteta.
Both Burnley and Arsenal are extremely different from the teams that faced off in the aforementioned fixture. While Arsenal are different for all of the right reasons, the Clarets are not. Although they were relegated in 21/22, you would not see teams go to Turf Moor and rip them a new one. That is happening far too often under Vincent Kompany.
Sean Dyche’s Burnley made Arteta’s Arsenal work hard for the three points two seasons ago but it felt like a foregone conclusion from the first minute on Saturday, with Odegaard’s early strike quickly turning it into a case of how many.
This sort of ruthless edge is what can make the Gunners champions for the first time in two decades; the journey they have been on since that 1-0 win is a remarkable one and there have not been many more influential players than captain Odegaard.
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