He took a little bit of time following his deadline-day move to get his fitness up to speed, but his moment arrived when he came off the bench against Southampton to inspire a United comeback from 2-0 down with an assist and two goals. There have no doubt been glimpses from the Germany striker, including notable braces against Southampton and Krasnodar, but lately things have not fallen for Werner, and with Olivier Giroud performing at every given opportunity he faces more competition than he may have expected. Those previous performances cannot be forgotten, and with Bayern Munich and Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer labelling him ‘world class’, there is certainly reason for optimism that a long-term holder of the No 1 jersey is quite literally in safe hands. Jamaica may have only played in one World Cup but they are deserving of greater respect. My, how things have changed. But John Stones is back in the side and in form however and Aymeric Laporte’s talents have held things together in previous seasons, so the Netherlands international will be well aware of the task ahead of him if he wants to nail down a regular spot.
Glenn Hoddle claimed Bale still looks tentative and lacks trust in his body, a risk the former Spurs boss admitted was a risk when re-signing him, and the jury very much remains out on whether – with the form of harry kane replica jersey Kane and Son Heung-min – he will ever again become a Premier League regular in Jose Mourinho’s side. A knee injury suffered on international duty saw Spurs fans have to wait for his debut, and since then he has been a fixture in the Europa League side as opposed to a regular in the Premier League. The peerless performances of Son and Kane this season perhaps have contributed to a slightly negative view of Vinicius, who evidently lacks the guile of his fellow team-mates, and he was not afraid to hook him and bring the England captain on in their final Europa League group game. Brought in to ultimately replace Serge Aurier who looked destined for the exit door, the Republic of Ireland man’s spell so far has been dogged with inconsistency.
Bath lost and will almost certainly exit at the pool stage, and Burns’ folly will be the latest addition to the reels of sports bloopers. Nevertheless, the 25-year-old has demonstrated enough to suggest that if his raw ability can be harnessed by Mourinho, he may well prove to be another valuable addition to their attacking arsenal. Seemingly the perfect addition to compliment Pogba and Bruno Fernandes, van de Beek’s £40m arrival from Ajax was supposed to have been the final piece of the jigsaw in Solskjaer’s midfield. However, Runarsson has been one of the disappointments in Europe this season and has looked shaky at times not only in terms of distribution, but also with shot stopping, as was the case against Molde and Dundalk in the final two group games. The defender has played just four times for Klopp’s side since joining from Olympiakos in the summer for a reported fee of just under £12m. ‘Because of my playing background and coach education, it allows me to work with a higher level of contextual knowledge because I understand the game,’ he told the BelievePerform podcast prior to joining the FA in 2018. ‘We always talk about the four pillars of the game, the technical, the tactical, the physical and the mental, and the mental has been largely neglected.
I felt unfulfilled in my playing career so when I got my chance to coach, it almost felt like a second chance and I had so much energy and motivation. Ceballos secured a second Arsenal loan from Real Madrid borne out of an excellent end to last season where he helped deliver a record 14th FA Cup for Arsenal. His signing appeared to have been met with much consternation by sections of the United fanbase, but already has demonstrated why he is Paris Saint-Germain’s all-time record goalscorer. Chelsea supporters had grown tired of Marcos Alonso’s lapses of concentration, particularly in defence, and his assists record suffered as a result too. With Aaron Wan-Bissaka currently struggling on the opposing flank, the 27-year-old has also shown the ability to make tackles and clearances in defence, and was perhaps unfortunate to be dragged off for Paul Pogba on that fateful evening in Leipzig. Pep Guardiola singled out the Dutchman to come and shore up City’s defence, and if his start to life at City has been unspectacular, it has certainly added versatility to the backline.
