There are several rivalries and unrest inside Man United

Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick was annoyed with Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes after the team’s lacklustre and disorganised display last Monday against Newcastle.

Both Ronaldo and Fernandes spent much of the match complaining and whining to the referee about his performance, not penalising Newcastle for the smallest offences and calling for free kicks every time they were tackled.

Worst of all was their body language against their own players. They could be seen gesturing that their fellow players were not good enough to play with them.

Rangnick’s success depends on keeping a motivated dressing room and Ronaldo and Fernandes are not helping. Having investigated what is going on at United I have discovered that team spirit is almost zero.

Ronaldo doesn’t get on with Mason Greenwood and the two need to have a close working relationship. There appears to be a leadership struggle between Harry Maguire and Ronaldo and both want to be the main voice and the players are dividing themselves into two support groups.

The club has not helped by dividing the canteen into booths and each holds four people and the result is that players are dividing into cliques. There are several rivalries and a very unsettled atmosphere. It has spread to the training ground where the mood is low and many players avoid each other.

Much of the problem dates back to Ole Gunner Solskjaer’s reign because he avoided facing problems within the squad and would not get involved in any confrontations with players. Rangnick will get nowhere until he can bring everyone together and start to mend the wounds within the club.

Arteta struck down again at an important time

Mikel Arteta has tested positive for Covid for the second time and will not be able to coach his team at the training ground or be in the dugout for this weekend’s clash with Manchester City.

Securing a win is important to Arsenal as they look to cement their top-four place with West Ham only four points behind.

Arteta must also consider whether or not to let Ainsley Maitland-Niles join Jose Mourinho at Roma on loan for the rest of the season.

With Thomas Partey and Nicolas Pepe off to play in the African Cup of Nations, Arsenal do not want to be left short of players if Covid strikes the team again.

Calum Chambers, Takehiro Tomiyaso, Cedric Soares, and Maitland-Niles have all been recovering from the virus.

Coutinho’s signature could be a tug-of-war

Phillip Coutinho’s agents flew to London this week amid speculation that the Brazilian could become involved in a tug-of-war battle between Arsenal and Newcastle.

Mikel Arteta has given the green light for the club to begin discussions about him joining the Gunners. However, Newcastle have the financial muscle to sign anyone and have made contact with Barcelona regarding a switch to the northeast of England for the attacking midfielder and winger. I understand that Coutinho prefers Arsenal but money often speaks the loudest.

Newcastle’s early plans to spend some of their Saudi millions

The feeling at Newcastle is that relegation would be a major embarrassment for the new Saudi owners. Dropping down a league for the world’s richest club is unthinkable and yet the reality is that Newcastle have won only one match in their last 17 this season. At the current rate, they would finish on 22 points which is 12 less than the lowest tally ever to survive in the top tier.

Newcastle will have to lure big players in January and pay over the odds wages. They have the resources to do it and a capable manager in Eddie Howe. I am yet to see proof that this fabulous amount of money is available however the January transfer window will reveal the truth.

Co-owner Amanda Staveley is heading January transfer negotiations because no Director of Football or Chief Executive has been appointed as yet and that will be awkward because she has no experience in dealing with agents and football clubs who employ specialists to handle negotiations and I expect the Baggies to have to spend big money to achieve their goal of staying in the top league.

Newcastle contacts tell me that the new management is looking at a double deal to sign 28-year-old Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti and Brazilian striker Gabriel Barbosa.

Barbosa, usually called Gabigol has scored 14 goals for Flamengo who have said they are willing to look at a six-month loan if it includes a £17 million permanent deal next summer if Newcastle are not relegated.

The defence has been the Baggies weak spot all season and £17m rated center-back Umtiti could be an answer and Barcelona are anxious to offload the Frenchman’s wages of £220,000 a week.

Tuchel planning cover for Chilwell

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has stopped a move aimed at loaning out 22-year-old defender Malang Sarr following approaches by AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Napoli.

Tuchel has argued that the club need him as cover for Ben Chilwell if he reverts to a flat back four. Chilwell will be out for the rest of the season with a cruciate knee injury and will have major surgery following the accident in November.

Tuchel also has to deal with Barcelona’s interest in Andreas Christianson which has prompted the Danish defender to halt negotiations on a new contract.

After contacting Barca I learned that they are interested but are more likely to make a move for Juventus center-back Matthijs de Ligt.

Everton’s Lucas Digne is also very much on Tuchel’s mind as cover for Chilwell and he is open to a move because his relationship with Rafa Benitez has been difficult.

Inter Milan and Napoli are also chasing Digne and one of those clubs would be preferable rather than Chelsea because he wants to play regular football in order to get into the French squad for the World Cup next year and when Chilwell is fit again he could find himself without game time.

Covid statistic that resulted in postponed games

It is a shocking statistic but only one league in Europe canceled most of their games over Christmas…the Premier League.

Why? The numbers tell all because in Ligue 1 in France 95% of players have been double vaccinated, 94% in the German Bundesliga, 90% in Spain’s La Liga, and in the English Premier League only 68% of players have received any vaccination! This week the PL announced that 103 players and staff have tested positive for Covid which is a record nobody wants.

Jones and Martial heading for the exit door at United

Manchester United defender Phil Jones has not made much of an impression on new interim manager Ralf Rangnick and the manager believes his squad is too big. Some players will be transferred out and others will leave on loan and that includes Jones.

Portuguese top club Benfica are planning to approach United and take the defender. It seems astonishing for this versatile player but his last competitive game for United was against Tranmere in the FA Cup in 2020 which United won 6-0.

Jones says the last year has been the worst of his life as he struggled to overcome a knee injury. Anthony Martial is also keen to leave and Spanish club Sevilla have offered to take him on loan for the rest of the season but are only willing to pay half his £150k a week wages and no loan fee. United want to offload his entire salary and a loan fee. United have not made a final decision to let him go but Martial has made up his mind.

Rangnick said, “We spoke on Wednesday and Anthony said he’s been at Manchester for seven years and now is the time to move on while he is still only 26 years old. I can see his point of view but it is important to also understand it from our side. We have Covid times and we have three competitions in which we still have high ambitions.”

Moyes needs to sign new talent to save the season

After years of being a second-rate team, West Ham fans have become used to success under manager David Moyes. All their hard work and sitting in a top-four place looks under serious threat as the Hammers have hit a wall and are struggling for stability despite their 4-1 win at Watford this week.

Moyes has had a meeting with owner David Sullivan and laid out what he requires in the January transfer window to get the club back on track. Aaron Cresswell, Angelo Ogbonna, and Kurt Zouma are the backbones of West Ham’s defence but the last time they played together was November 7th in the 3-2 win over Liverpool.

Now all three are out injured. Southampton’s three goals against them proved that the substitutes filling in those roles are not good enough. Last year’s club Player of the Year Tomas Soucek is a shadow of his former self and Moyes wants a new partner for Declan Rice in midfield.

Antonio has just returned from a Covid attack and he has been sorely missed. Liverpool defender Nat Phillips is on Moyes’ radar. Regarding firepower, Moyes still wants to sign Jesse Lingard and Blackburn’s Ben Bereton Diaz.

His immediate problem is stopping interest from Liverpool regarding Jarrod Bowen who is seen as a possible cover for Mo Salah and Sadio Mane when they head off to the African Cup of Nations and the Reds are worried because Salah has not yet agreed on a new contract.

Mourinho edging to end of Roma employment

After being sacked by Tottenham Jose Mourinho bounced back when he joined Serie A top team Roma. That romance is looking ever likely to end in a toxic finish. After another poor run, the Portuguese has blamed the referees, injuries, the media, and his own players. Nothing of course is ever his fault.

However, the end is in sight this time and it has come much earlier than usual and Mourinho might well find that if and when he leaves Roma there will no longer be a queue waiting to employ his services.

Watford lack of training worries Ranieri

As I told you, Claudio Ranieri canceled family Christmas lunches and ordered his players into the Watford training camp canteen for a bonding festive meal.

It obviously did not work as West Ham hit them with a 4-1 defeat this week. Ranieri says his team is like a Formula One racing car, off the pace after Covid devastated the club’s ability to even play a match.

Matches against Burnley, Crystal Palace, and Wolves had to be postponed and Ranieri’s players have managed just one training session in two weeks.

Ranieri supported Jurgen Klopp’s call for five substitutes and said, “It is difficult for the team to play with such little preparation and I pray there are no injuries this week.”