• I worry about Guardiola now…
• The difficulty in building a new United
Image: /REUTERS
I spoke with Tottenham to determine just how bad Harry Kane’s injury is. It appears Harry is very upset and depressed now it is confirmed he will miss the rest of the season.
It also means he will not make the England squad in June’s Uefa Nation’s League finals.
He is also missing the current Champion’s League matches. Spurs told me he is suffering from ‘significant lateral ligament’ injury to his ankle.
Harry had two days of medical investigations and an MRI scan but the seriousness of the injury long term is still being assessed.
Harry, I am told, is worried because the injury is to the ankle which gave him trouble earlier this year, it might now be a permanent weakness of the type which has hindered West Ham’s Andy Carroll and Jack Wilshere.
I worry about Guardiola now…
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has won it all; the Champions League, titles in the UK, Spain and Germany.
However, he says that this season had meant more to him than ever before and he wanted to win everything! Many people believed he could. He has told his players that he will not accept failure but after Wednesday’s aggregate defeat to Tottenham ended his Champion’s League dream, he looks like a beaten man.
It will take a giant effort to lift his spirits and press on for the Premier League title. Pep is now pointing the finger at himself for being at fault.
To underline the point, City played below their best when beating Brighton in the FA Cup semi-final. Guardiola, instead of being his usual cool and composed self, was jumping up and down, shouting at his players and flung his jacket across his technical area and into the dug-out.
I don’t ever remember him doing that at Barcelona or Bayern Munich. Winning four titles in one season would have been an astonishing success and the pinnacle of Guardiola’s achievements.
During their Champion’s League knock-out match against Tottenham, Pep ran up and down his technical area and it was a wonder there was a blade of grass left at the end of the match!
But they lost overall despite a 4-3 win and went out on away goals. I watched Guadiola and he was devastated, almost in tears despite hiding it well and his shoulders were as low as I have ever seen them.
He has not reached a Champion’s League final for eight years and believe me, he thought this was his year to lift the trophy. I genuinely fear for Pep now if he does not win the Premier League title and it is possible he could see Liverpool take that away from him just as Tottenham have taken away his Champion’s League dream.
Alexander-Arnold follows Beckham
Just like David Beckham before him, Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold has perfected passing and crossing into the opponent’s penalty area.
Trent has spent huge amounts of time practising alone, after training, his crossing and set-piece delivery techniques just like Beckham did a couple of decades ago.
His work on the training ground has rewarded him by becoming the youngest player to make three assists in a Premier League game in the 5-0 win against Watford in February.
Trent said it was a conscious effort to perfect his passing as he knew it would make him valuable to the manager and a stand-out player.
He said: “I practised over and again the deeper cross, the cut back, the lofted one and the firm whip into the penalty area. How to put the ball into dangerous areas or hit target strikers.”
Trent is a proud young man and values his roots being born very near to Liverpool’s Melwood training ground and his family are Liverpool supporte
Lukaku so happy with Solskjaer
It was easy to see why Manchester United boss Ole Gunner Solskjaer has been so successful as I listened to striker Romelu Lukaku. Under Mourinho, Lukaku could not play his natural aggressive football.
Now, he says: “I want to improve and the new manager has given me my confidence back. Do I feel wanted again? Yes!
"Every day the manager gives me instructions, tells me exactly what he wants and expects and I didn’t get that from the previous manager. I just go out there and do my very best for him because I believe in him and he believes in me. We have a really open, honest relationship. When he is not happy with me in training, he tells me why and I work on it immediately. It is so good to have someone who enjoys the game in the way I do.”
Solskjaer works with Lukaku and Marcus Rashford almost every day and teaches them to be aggressive and positive in the box and to create pressure and opportunities. The Norwegian manager’s way of running training is to put on a tracksuit and work with the players on the grass and not leaving it to assistant’s to carry out his orders.
The difficulty in building a new United
The huge challenge facing Manchester United manager Ole Gunner Solskjaer over the summer was all too apparent as little Lionel Messi dismantled their fragile defence over and again in this week’s Champion’s league loss to Barcelona. 90,000 screaming fans delighted as the mercurial Argentinian weaved his way through United’s defence, nut-megging Phil Jones, tormenting Ashley Young, frustrating Paul Pogba and walking rings around Fred and demonstrating what a true legend is made of.
Great sportsmen, like Roger Federer in tennis and Messi in football excite us with their talent and yet make it all seem so effortless and natural. Solskjaer will have money to spend this summer but the club tell me they will not approve expensive mistakes like Alexis Sanchez who has failed at every level. The manager recognises that he needs a midfield playmaker.
Nemanja Matic is not getting any younger. Paul Pogba’s agent seems determined to sell his client to Madrid for mega bucks and take his ridiculous percentage share from the profits but Pogba’s performance against Barcelona will not have impressed the Spanish club’s hierarchy. Solskjaer wants to build on English talent but it is difficult to see where that will take him.
Young superstar in the making Jadon Sanchez has told United he is happy in Germany for the moment although United will probably turn his head with a mega offer. If the Reds finish outside the top four and therefore fail to qualify for the Champion’s League next season they tell me they recognise how difficult it will be to attract the world’s top talent and that could present Solskjaer with his biggest challenge yet.
Pochettino wanted in Italy
My Italian spies tell me that whispers coming from AC Milan concern the club’s interest in moving to take Mauricio Pochettino to the San Siro. If he joins them, a transfer pot of £300million is said to be part of the deal. Former Arsenal Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis knows Pochettino’s quality and he is behind Milan’s interest now that he is Chief Executive of the Italian giants. After a mediocre season, current Milan manager Gennaro Gattuso’s reign is said to be under review and Pochettino is the man they want to replace him.
Spur’s chairman Daniel Levy was not available for comment. However, he is well aware that this year he could have lost his manager to both Manchester United and Real Madrid although those threats are now over. Following Spur’s remarkable feat of beating Pep Guardiola in the Champion’s League to progress to the semi-final in what will be a thrilling encounter with Barcelona, Pochettino’s star has never risen higher and his name is on every club chairman’s lips.
Son to the rescue once again
South Korea’s Tottenham striker Son Heung-Min has been sensational this season hitting 20 goals, providing assists and deputising for Harry Kane during his injuries. And yet it could all have been so different. I was reminded this week that Son signed for Spurs in 2015 but did not have a particularly successful first year and asked to be transferred back to German side Bayer Leverkusen. Son said: “It was tough but you need it tough to get better.”
The club, assistants and players rallied round the popular Korean and they persuaded him to stay. It is a decision he has never regretted and once again Spurs are relying on him to lead the line as Kane heals his injuries. Back in February when Harry was last injured, Spurs won five out of six matches and Son scored in every one. The fans sing his name every week and are hoping he can achieve the impossible again as Spurs fight for a top four Premier League spot and take on Ajax in the Champion’s League semi-final.
De Bruyne impressing his boss
One man who has hit a rich streak of form to end the season is Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgium midfield genius has missed 18 games this season through injury but has fought his way back into the team. Last weekend, he set up two goals for Sterling and Jesus and manager Pep Guardiola said after the game: “The last three or four games, he has been incredible."
"We missed him a lot because he has great ability and vision that the rest of us human beings do not have. The speed of our team in the final third of the pitch is fantastic thanks to his passing.”
Pep is relying on De Bruyne to work his magic in a tough fixture against Tottenham this weekend.