• Jack Grealish looked every bit the superstar when he arrived to be introduced to supporters this week.
• The transfer merry-go-round continues and Southampton have contacted Liverpool in an attempt to re-sign Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, whom they sold when he was a teenager.
Image: REUTERS
At last the eagerly awaited new season has arrived. Clubs will be parading their expensive signings.
New managers will be anxiously treading a worn path up and down their technical areas and, of course, we welcome back the fans as stadiums fill up once again.
For my money, Chelsea and Manchester City will be contending for top spot with Liverpool and Manchester United biting at their heels. I expect Leicester to go well again and Tottenham if they retain Harry Kane while Arsenal have a lot of work to do and Mikel Arteta is still very much on trial.
Mid-table, I see West Ham, Everton, Aston Villa, Wolves, Leeds, Brentford and Brighton but in the relegation zone, Newcastle, Norwich, Burnley, Crystal Palace, Watford and Southampton will, in my opinion, be fighting an uphill struggle.
Pep finally assembles his squad
Pep Guardiola finally assembled a training session on Wednesday with what is more or less his strongest squad. He welcomed back the England players, who had been on holiday following the Euros, and also the Brazilians.
Gabriel Jesus and Ederson also returned and only Aymeric Laporte, who was isolating due to Covid-19, and the injured Phil Foden were missing. Three England players; Kyle Walker, John Stones and Raheem Sterling were in high spirits, laughing and joking and enjoying their first training session.
Kevin de Bruyne had been reported as injured but he too was there after missing the Community Shield. Aleks Zinchenko returned but left again after his wife gave birth to a baby daughter. But he is available for the trip to Tottenham on Sunday.
Everyone was focused on Jack Grealish, of course, and Walker, Sterling and Stones made him feel welcome. He also spent time chatting with Ferran Torres during a training break. Most heartening for the fans was his close bonding with De Bruyne and the two talked intensely as the other players trained.
Grealish has made no secret that playing with the Dutchman was a strong motivation for him to join City. There is much talk around the club that Harry Kane might be joining them and it is interesting that Gabriel Jesus was not wearing the training kit with his number 9 shirt… that, of course, is Kane’s Tottenham number.
One training segment showed a lively Grealish shooting and dribbling and on one occasion, he dropped a shoulder and weaved past Riyad Mahrez, leaving the Algerian struggling on the ground and then he went on to put the ball in the net.
Grealish arrives at City with a bodyguard
Jack Grealish looked every bit the superstar when he arrived to be introduced to supporters this week. To start with, he was accompanied by his own bodyguard, who was never more than a step away.
When City announced they would unveil their new player, the club expected only a handful of fans to turn up on a windy, rainy evening. However, 1,000 arrived and all wanted to have selfies with Grealish. His minder was working overtime to keep them at bay. The fans were outside the stadium and Grealish appeared after giving an interview on the club website using a public address system.
The Grealish machine had arrived and he was blowing kisses to the crowd and looked as though he was thoroughly enjoying himself. Grealish has been very impressed by Pep Guardiola’s work rate and by his two training sessions at the Etihad. He said: “I’ve had two sessions with City but it’s crazy seeing the work he does. It’s no surprise he’s been so successful in his own career, some of his tactics are out of this world. I feel like I can bring a lot to the team and the manager will choose what position to play me.”
Lindelof to fight for his place
One player likely to be affected by Raphael Verane’s arrival at Manchester United is Victor Lindelof. The 27-year-old represented his native country of Sweden at the Euros and gave a good account of himself. Now, Varane’s arrival means he might struggle for game time.
Lindelof suffered a niggling back injury last season which limited him to 29 appearances in the Premier League and he has been training hard to make sure he is fit for the beginning of this season. He said: “It was tough but I have been working very hard with different types of exercises and treatment and I now feel much better.”
Lindelof is confident he can challenge for his place in the United team and will be fit for their opening match against Leeds.
Martinez can improve Tottenham forward line
Tottenham hope to have made an important signing with Lautaro Martinez, who has agreed to join them from Inter Milan, where he had a good partnership with Romelu Lukaku.
Ignoring any possibility that Harry Kane could leave, Nuno Espirito Santos plans to link Heung-min Son, Kane and Martinez in a forward line trio. Martinez scored 31 goals and had 15 assists in the last two Serie A seasons. Even Lionel Messi described him as “special”. If the deal goes through without complications, he will join fellow
Argentine international Cristian Romero, the centre back who joined on loan from Atalanta with a clause in his contract that will enable Spurs to sign him for £47million if everything works out this season.
Kane has been living at The Lodge Hotel, which is inside Tottenham’s training centre. He was isolated because of government Covid-19 regulations after travelling back from holiday in the Bahamas. As I write this, Nuno has not decided whether to play Kane this Sunday against Manchester City. According to my contacts Romero will not be available either because he arrived with a knee injury.
Saints fancy getting The Ox back
The transfer merry-go-round continues and Southampton have contacted Liverpool in an attempt to re-sign Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, whom they sold when he was a teenager.
Southampton are fearing that Jannik Vestergaard will be poached by Leicester who are looking to replace Wesley Fofana, who is sidelined until next year with a broken leg. Saints want at least £15million for Vestergaard before they will even discuss the possibility of him leaving and Oxlade-Chamberlain is their preferred target.
However, I fear they will be disappointed. Alex has, according to manager Jurgen Klopp, been “on fire” in Liverpool’s recent friendly matches and has managed to stay injury free for the season’s start this weekend for the first time since 2017. He has not missed a single day of training.
Tough times at Barcelona
I talked at length with contacts at Barcelona this week. The news is not good. The club’s failure to keep Lionel Messi has depressed the city of Barcelona.
Club President Joan Laporte said: “I don’t want to create false hopes.” Barcelona is a typical example of a club which spent way beyond its means to achieve success and ended up in £1billion debt. Philippe Courtinho was signed for £140million, Ousemane Dembele £125million and Antoine Griezmann is another who cost over £100million. The pandemic pushed Barca over the edge but they have teetered on the financial edge for years. Sergio Aguero arrived to play with his close friend Messi and is dismayed that his fellow Argentine has gone. Now Aguero is injured and looks to be out for a few weeks. Barca are in trouble and it will take long for the glory days to return.
Spurs fans behind Nuno Espirito Santos
It was good to see new Spurs’ manager Nuno Espirito Santos walking out for his first game against local rivals Arsenal in a pre-season match this week. It was only a friendly but the fans gave Nuno a standing ovation and cheered him like a hero. They cheered when his name was announced over the Tannoy system. Given that Spurs could lose their talisman striker Harry Kane, who didn’t play, the crowd were in good spirits as Tottenham dominated Arsenal. The fans even applauded Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka in recognition of his excellent performances for England at the Euros. With no Kane, the biggest roar was for Heung-Min Son, who scored the winning goal.
Jimenez returns for action
I have been told that Wolves hitman Raul Jimenez will return to action for the opening day of the season. The Mexican international fractured his skull in a clash of heads with Arsenal defender David Luiz last November. The 30-year-old was given oxygen on the pitch and he will have to wear protective headgear for the rest of his career. New manager Bruno Lage said: “I feel he is ready. He is confident. So I hope he can help us to be a stronger team this season.”
Brighton suffer early blow
Brighton have suffered a major setback to the beginning of their season. Danny Welbeck has been ruled out of action until late September with a hamstring injury. The 30-year-old sustained the injury in Brighton’s penultimate game last season and has been carefully nursing himself back to fitness on holiday during the summer but his hamstring was a weakness. Welbeck signed a 12-month contract in June. He has been capped by England 42 times. On a more positive note, manager Graham Potter is hopeful regarding his summer signing, Enock Mwepu from Red Bull Saltzberg. He said: “Enock has got energy in abundance and he brings us that little bit of something different. He can hit the box, can play in several positions and he will give us a bit of versatility and some good options.” Brighton can also call on the services of Solly March, who was out for four months last season because of knee surgery.
Potter added: “Solly has built up well over pre-season. He is in good shape and will improve further as he increases his minutes on the pitch.”
Sadness for Michael Ballack and his family
My heart goes out to former German superstar and captain Michael Ballack. His 18-year-old son was killed in a quad bike accident in the Portugese holiday resort of Trola just south of Lisbon. His Premier League club Chelsea have sent messages of condolence and several current and ex-players have also been in touch to give Ballack and his family support.
Hendo likely to miss first Premier League game
Jordan Henderson was going through a routine at Liverpool’s training ground Kirkby this week but manager Jurgen Klopp said he is unlikely to start against Norwich in their first game of the new season. The Reds beat Spanish club Osasuna 3-1 this week and Hendo came on from the bench to test his recovery from Covid-19.
Solskjaer still upbeat over Pogba
Once again Ole Gunner Solskjaer has said he and Paul Pogba are close and that he had more positive discussions with his midfielder this week. “I hope every player thinks this is the place to win trophies,” said Soslkjaer. “Paul has come back and he’s fresh and he’s always such an enthusiastic boy. The talks we have had have all been positive.”