We’re just one week in to the new Premier League season and already there is meltdown on some Manchester United fans’ forums after an opening-day defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion.
Cries of ‘don’t panic’ are reverberating around Old Trafford and the news that the club has just tabled a bid for 33-year-old Bologna forward Marko Arnautovic has just tipped some Red Devils over the edge.
This is no criticism of the Austrian goal scorer; he’s been a menace to defences in the Premier League before and has turned in a very decent 14 goals in 33 games for the Serie A side. And he also scored 43 goals in England during his stints with Stoke City and West Ham United.
But when the long-suffering United fans spent the weekend watching Erling Braut Haaland score a brace for Manchester City and Darwin Nunez open his account for Liverpool, news of a £7.6m bid being tabled for Arnautovic is not exactly what they hoped to see.
Fans expect Cristiano Ronaldo to wander through the exit door during the last couple of days of the transfer window and if their Premier League 2022 results don’t pick up quickly, starting with a perilous visit to Brentford next week, there could be a revolution in Salford.
In other Manchester United news the club is also working on a deal to bring 27-year-old Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot to the club. He has just one year left on his contract and the Old Lady could be ready to cash in. But the news suggests that United might be prepared to move on from their long-term target Frenkie de Jong.
Werner on his way
Chelsea’s opening-day win over Everton had a notable absentee in the Blues’ matchday squad as striker Timo Werner was nowhere to be seen. The German forward has struggled to make a real impact in his time at Stamford Bridge and talks are progressing to take him back to RB Leipzig, where he scored 78 goals in 127 games.
With just ten goals in two seasons for Chelsea it seems Werner might be homesick, and the Leipzig fans would certainly welcome him back with open arms. Of course, Manchester United would surely be interested if Werner was happy to stay in the Premier League but I strongly suspect he’s on his way.
Werner has had behind-closed-doors meetings with Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel, who seemingly doesn’t agree that he deserves a starting place, and the two have reached an impasse.
The Bundesliga has already kicked off and Leipzig played out a 1-1 draw with Stuttgart in their opener. Christopher Nkunku scored the Red Bulls’ goal and the idea of him linking up with Werner is a mouth-watering prospect.
Forest continue to roll the dice
Newly promoted Nottingham Forest are fast becoming the club that fans of other teams are curious to watch. Their first season in the top flight this century has got their fans dreaming, but the way the club is spending money might alarm the more cautious. There are plenty of examples of newly promoted teams spending hundreds of millions and promptly being sent packing back to the Championship.
The Premier League 2022 betting odds here at SBOTOP price Forest at 2.00 to be relegated, second favourite for the prize no-one wants, behind only Bournemouth, and the Cherries got their season off with a win, while Steve Cooper’s team lost 2-0 to Newcastle United.
The most eye-catching signing at the City Ground has been Jesse Lingard who turned down West Ham to play for Forest, and the former Manchester United man won’t come cheap. In addition, Cooper has spent £85M on 12 signings so far, and he is looking to splash more cash before the window slams shut.
Having failed to lure Angelino from RB Leipzig – he has opted for Hoffenheim instead – Forest have revived their interest in Real Betis wing-back Alex Moreno. Cooper is hoping to sign the 29-year-old for 9m and push through a medical as soon as possible.
And, believe it or not, the Midlands club is reported to be close to meeting Wolves’ huge valuation of attacking midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White. The 22-year-old had an impressive spell at Sheffield United last season, but is unproven in the top flight, so Wolves boss Bruno Lage is likely to snap Cooper’s hand off if he improves on the current offer of £35m including add-ons.
I suspect £40m would do the job, and if Forest take their summer spending beyond £135m then they better make sure it works! In the meantime Wolves look set to make an exciting signing of their own, as Valencia’s attacking midfielder Goncalo Guedes is about to have a medical in the Black Country. And that might well smooth the way for the sale of Gibbs-White.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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