As reported by The Mirror, Liverpool are stepping up their interest in £18m-rated goalkeeper Nick Pope this summer, performing a serious of background checks to determine whether he has the mentality to make the step up to a top six side.
Currently on England duty at the World Cup in Russia, Pope has emerged as one of the most consistent shot-stoppers in the English Premier League after a storied career that has seen him rise through Conference and lower league football.
The 26-year-old is perhaps a less fashionable choice than the likes of Alisson, but he could be a top performer for Jurgen Klopp, who has done well giving chances to less illustrious names in recent seasons, to great effect.
As a result, fans are happy to see what he can offer Liverpool if he does sign, with some pointing to the transfer of Andy Robertson as proof that Klopp knows what he is doing.
Fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the links…
Tottenham fans have been discussing their midfield targets for the summer transfer window, and fans are desperate for the big money move for Tanguy Ndombele.
Above all else, Tottenham’s priority this summer must be finding some proper reinforcements in midfield.
The January arrival of Lucas Moura means Pochettino now has plenty of attacking options, but with Mousa Dembele on his way out the midfield is looking paper-thin.
Fans have been voting whether they’d prefer to sign Jack Grealish or Ndombele, both of which have been strongly linked with moves to North London.
They could of course sign both, as the Frenchman is slightly more defensive minded than the Villa star, but if only one arrives then fans are hoping it’s Ndombele, as nearly two thirds voted for the 21 year-old.
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Grealish is expected to leave Villa as the club looks to stave off financial difficulties, meaning he could be available for as little as £15m.
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Fans are hoping the club shows some big ambition this summer though, and a mega money move for Ndombele would certainly do that.
According to The Mirror’s live transfer blog (June 20, 10:43am), new Everton boss Marco Silva is ready to listen to offers for centre-back Ashley Williams this summer.
The Mirror’s live transfer blog says that the 33-year-old, who has 79 caps for Wales, is likely to be a casualty along with teammate Wayne Rooney this summer, and it would be no surprise given what happened towards the end of the 2017/18 campaign.
Despite being something of a regular under Ronald Koeman and Sam Allardyce throughout the season, a red card for him in the away match at Burnley in March proved to be a turning point, and he failed to make the matchday squad for the Merseyside outfit again on his return from suspension.
So, how would selling the Welshman truly impact the Toffees? Football FanCast take a look at the potential consequences of the major summer deal for Everton…
Everton fans will be delighted
In what was a 2017/18 campaign that started with so much promise but quickly went sour, Williams was one of the players that was heavily criticised by Toffees fans on Twitter throughout for his performances.
Those supporters may well have felt that Steve Walsh and Ronald Koeman should have brought a major upgrade for the Welshman to Goodison Park last summer, and their frustrations were further enhanced when he was red-carded against Burnley in March in what was another poor display on the road for Everton.
They would have been happy to see him pick up a suspension at that time though, and they would have been even more pleased when he failed to make the squad again for rest of the season ahead of a likely summer exit.
Matthew Pennington is revitalised
The centre-back would have hoped to have picked up some vital playing experience during a season-long loan spell with Leeds United in 2017/18, but he picked up an injury on his debut in August that kept him out of action for a spell, and he struggled to be a regular in the starting XI even on his return.
Nevertheless, the Yorkshire outfit were keen to keep him at Elland Road, but instead the 23-year-old signed a new contract at Goodison Park and it could be a now or never situation for him this term.
The departure of Ramiro Funes Mori and potentially Williams too could mean that he either starts the new season in the side or as one of the first-choice back-ups, and he may well be revitalised and go on to prove that he is ready to perform regularly on the Premier League stage.
Marcel Brands steps up Matthijs de Ligt pursuit
The Telegraph reported on June 18 that Everton are lining up an ambitious bid to bring highly-rated Ajax centre-back Matthijs de Ligt, rated at £36m by Transfermarkt, to Goodison Park, and it is a chase that Director of Football Marcel Brands may well step up if and when Williams departs.
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The loss of yet another centre-back after Ramino Funes Mori would make bringing a new one in a priority, and while a deal for De Ligt seems unlikely on paper given he is being courted by some of the biggest clubs in European football, it certainly can’t be completely ruled out if the Toffees make a big enough play for the teenager.
So, Everton fans, would you be happy to see Ashley Williams go? Let us know by voting below…
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The Leeds United fans in the Transfer Tavern are hoping their club can sign a prolific striker this summer to help with their promotion bid, and recent reports suggest they could be set to do exactly that, albeit, in the most unlikely of packages.
The Breakdown
Leeds United have been rumoured with plenty of strikers so far this summer as Marcelo Bielsa begins to lay the foundations for a potential promotion bid next season. The likes of Abel Hernandez, Jerry Mbakogu and Matej Vydra have been linked with a move to Elland Road, but another name has been added to the list of targets recently according to Algerian media outlet DZ Foot.
The report claims that Leeds have made an approach to sign Baghdad Bounedjah from Qatari outfit Al Sadd, although a potential deal could fall through due to the player’s reluctance to take a pay cut.
It’s easy to sympathise with Bounedjah’s situation as a move to the Championship represents a huge step to take in his career, but his record in the Stars League suggests Leeds could unearth a hidden gem if they are able to come to an agreement with the 26-year-old this summer.
During the 2017/18 season, the Algeria international notched a staggering 25 goals from 19 games in all-competitions, failing to score in just 3 matches in the process.
With a record as eye-catching as that it’s no wonder that Marcelo Bielsa and the Leeds hierarchy are expressing an interest in the unkown striker, even if a deal would carry plenty of risk.
However, the opportunity to sign Bounedjah is a unique one which could pay dividends for Leeds in the long-term future if he is able to adapt to the intensity of English football and settle into unfamiliar surroundings.
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Naturally, the Leeds supporters will be hoping their club can land a striker who is proven in English football, but those players are difficult to come by and cripplingly expensive, so the club might be wise to take a gamble on Bounedjah this summer and hope he can consistently find the back of the net in the Championship.
According to a recent report from The Daily Mirror, a whole host of Premier League sides are interested in striker Edin Dzeko. The 32-year-old currently plays his football at Italian giants and last year’s Champions League semi-finalists Roma having left Manchester City for the Serie A outfit back in 2016, and the striker has since gone from strength to strength in scoring goals for fun in the Italian capital.
Yet reports suggest that the Bosnia and Herzegovina international would be open to a return to the Premier League in the future, thus prompting reported interest from the likes of Cardiff City, Crystal Palace, and Southampton, and these recent revelations should also be of interest to Everton boss Marco Silva as he seeks to finally solve the Toffees’ goal-scoring troubles.
The Breakdown
Ultimately, the Merseysiders have seriously struggled in front of goal for the best part of 12 months following Romelu Lukaku’s move to Manchester United back in 2017, what with the likes of Cenk Tosun, Oumar Niasse, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and Sandro Ramirez simply not producing the goods on a regular enough basis.
And with those troubles also finding their way into this season’s campaign, what with messrs Tosun and Calvert-Lewin the only two of the aforementioned four to net in the Premier League, it’s plainly obvious that Silva needs to reinforce his strike-force if he wants to take Everton to the next level – Sandro is so far down the pecking order he was shipped out on loan during the summer.
And such has been Dzeko’s brilliant goal-scoring form in Italy, alongside what he produced for City in his time in England, the 32-year-old appears to be the man to solve Silva’s striking headache.
The Bosnian star has scored a mightily impressive 78 goals in just 148 appearances for Roma in the last few years, bagging 39 in only 51 games in the 2016/17 season to help them to second place in Serie A, before adding 24 in all competitions last season to inspire them to the last four of the Champions League.
Thus, there have been fewer strikers in Europe playing as well as Dzeko has done in the last few years, but he significantly has produced the goods in the Premier League as well having netted 50 goals in 130 league games for City earlier in his career, bagging at least 14 in each of his three full seasons at the Etihad Stadium.
And with the strength to bully defenders alongside an aerial presence to cause mayhem in the air, the 32-year-old appears to be exactly who Silva needs leading his Everton line – he has the all round game, but also the goal-scoring instincts.
As such, the Toffees must seek to join the race for the Bosnian star, as doing so would finally solve Silva’s striking headache.
There are few sights in football that set the pulse racing. Some things in the beautiful game just give off an aura. Like Barcelona out-passing their opposition, some sights are so majestic simply because of the team doing it. The yellow shirts of Brazil exude the same sense of excitement and expectation. And the orange strip of Holland isn’t far behind. The days of Cruyff, Kroll and Neeskens, and the era of Gullit, Van Basten and Rijkaard brought Holland to the table of footballing powers. And here they are on the brink of elimination from a European Championships before the tournament has even started. Some even said it would be easier to get to France 2016 than to get into a local polytechnic.
All the more baffling is that, just over a year ago, the Netherlands were only a couple of penalty kicks away from a World Cup final.
Then Louis van Gaal left his post at the Dutch national team to take over at Manchester United. It’s not that Van Gaal was the only thing standing between elimination in the qualifiers and a World Cup semi final, though. Surely Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben and their mates were good enough to see off Iceland and Latvia by themselves.
But there is an accusation that all is not well at the places Van Gaal leaves.
Hristo Stoichkov, the most recognisable Bulgarian footballer of all-time, and one of the 90s’ top marksmen recently publicised his distaste for the Manchester United boss, who had frozen him out of Barcelona when he took over at the Catalan club, saying that Van Gaal “destroyed Barcelona” and would have “ruin[ed] Pedro”.
Stoichkov continues his personal attack on Van Gaal by saying that Van Gaal approached the Bulgarian’s wife and asked ‘how it was possible’ that she married someone like the legendary star.
Let’s not read too much into the musings of a disgruntled former player. After all, he has an axe to grind and publicly rinsing Van Gaal was probably high on the former Barcelona striker’s agenda when he gave that interview. But what is interesting is what happened next.
Pedro did shun Manchester United in the end, and moved to Chelsea. But only last week did Pedro give an interview stating that Van Gaal’s treatment of Victor Valdes – a long-time team-mate and friend of Pedro – had influenced his decision to join Chelsea.
It’s too easy to simply say that Van Gaal is a destroyer who ruins players and ruins teams. For one thing, it’s not really true. After Van Gaal left Bayern Munich they had won the treble within three years, and within three years of his departure at Barcelona the Catalans had won the Champions League. In fact, in the years after Van Gaal left Barcelona, perhaps the team of a generation emerged at the Nou Camp: players like Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi and, yes indeed, Victor Valdes and Pedro were integrated into the team.
As with seemingly everything to do with Louis van Gaal, it’s more about philosophy than anything else. An amusing story from one of Serie A’s greatest strikers, Luca Toni, hit on this point – perhaps unwittingly.
Toni says that Van Gaal wanted to demonstrate that he had the ‘balls’ to drop any player, and proceeded to illustrate his point by dropping his trousers in front of his team. The Italian goal-machine then went on to say how Van Gaal “treats his players like interchangeable objects”.
And that’s exactly the point. Anyone who thinks that Van Gaal’s team is anything other than a machine put together using various different parts will have a tough time getting it to work. It’s like getting into a car and not knowing how to drive it.
Holland have fallen dramatically. Not because Louis van Gaal destroyed them, but because Danny Blind – a man who knows Van Gaal well enough to have no excuses, by the way – failed to see what Van Gaal was doing with his team. Frank Rijkaard and Pep Guardiola knew and Jupp Heynckes knew, too.
And right there is the warning for Manchester United – another wonderful footballing dynasty. The next manager needs to understand Van Gaal. If he does, the riches of Bayern and Barca could await. If not, they could sink like Holland.
Tottenham’s season has started better than even Pochettino would have imagined, but can you exceed the achievements of the former Saints manager?
The board will, fittingly, ask you to produce attacking possession based football and the young squad at Spurs has one of the higher potentials on the game. As ever, additions are needed for the club to really push to the top, but the quality of Kane and company is a good starting place.
What you start with: £17million transfer budget and £250k of available wage budget to play with.
90% of transfer revenue is retained initially, but the board may allow you to raise this later on. The wage budget will go up once some of the promising youngsters are loaned out.
What’s asked of you..
Premier League: Europa League qualification is the bare minimum that the board will ask for but the budget will increase slightly if you say you’ll make the top four.
FA Cup: Sixth round. Budget hardly effected by more ambition.
Europa League: Minimum achievement must be to reach the group stages and it seems the board aren’t too fussed about the progress.
Capital One Cup: Due to the other competitions involved in, the board are not interested in the Capital One Cup.
Three to buy…
Sven Bender: Bender is available on the transfer list from the start of the save. At £13.5 million, the Dortmund star would provide experience to Spurs’ talented but young midfield. The German can play in several central midfield roles and is a real bargain at that price tag, although you may face opposition from other big sides in Europe.
Ayoze Perez: If you’re looking for some cover for Harry Kane, its hard to look past Perez. A superstar of Football Manager 15 and the diminutive Newcastle youngster has the potential to become a real world beater. Perez won’t be cheap, but his versatility to play around the front line and operate as a number 10 could make him a bargain. First touch and finishing ratings of 15+ add to the promise.
Jack Grealish: With N’Jie and Son on the wings, Grealish can provide cover to any of the three players behind Harry Kane. He will take over £20 million to bring in, but the Villa wonderkid could be brought in using a number of instalments. Don’t expect too much defensive work or hard tackling, but Grealish has the potential to create a lot of chances and really dominate the final third.
Three to sell…
Andros Towsend: Value begins at £10m and you’re likely to be able to sell him on for quite a bit more than that. At only 23, Townsend still has a bit of potential, but his value and percentage of revenue retained makes his sale a sensible idea considering the quality in that position like N’Jie and Son.
Tom Carroll: Valued at £6m, but Carroll’s low strength rating makes him a tricky option to use as a central midfield player. Although I am an admirer of his in real life, the virtual Carroll is a bit delicate compared to the power and quality of Delle Alli and Dembele in his position. A central midfielder is still a fundamental requirement and Carroll’s technical quality will make him a classy signing for many clubs.
Alex Pritchard: Pritchard may have come close to making the Spurs team in the last year or so, but his quality on Football Manager leaves a lot to be desired and Pochettino has left this Spurs squad with plenty of options. The money could come in handy to pick up another youngster with potential, or a more senior player to give some backbone to the squad.
Youngsters…
Joshua Onomah: Onomah is one of the prodigies to come out of Tottenham’s academy lately and he seems to be ideal for a loan move. He is a central midfielder capable of playmaking from either a deeper or more advanced role and possesses great pace for a central midfield player. Onomah could be used as a great asset during transition.
Dele Alli: Alli’s impressive form this season for Spurs has been transformed perfectly into Football Manager 2016. Alli is capable playing in central midfield or off the striker, and the ex-MK Dons man can dominate from box-to-box, with powerful running and the eye for a pass. Dembele is in the squad to rotate with Alli to avoid over working the youngster.
Clinton N’Jie: N’Jie is much like the player in real life, unsurprisingly. Football Manager have got his attributes absolutely spot on and he works well as foil for Harry Kane in the last 20 minutes, his pace is a great threat to defences. However, N’Jie’s longer term career on your save is likely to be on the right hand side and playing as either a winger or inside forward he will pick you up plenty of goals.
Despite admittedly signing the odd standout talent on the rare occasion, such as this summer’s impressive capture of Georginio Wijnaldum, Newcastle United have hardly gone down as the Premier League’s most successful club in the transfer market throughout the years.
From the likes of Emmanuel Riviere, Remy Cabella and Facundo Ferreyra failing to work out at St. James’ in recent seasons, to certain forgettable stars of yesteryear – such as Xisco and Albert Luque – falling short of delivering the goods on Tyneside for one reason or another, the Magpies could certainly do with a little more fortune when it comes to landing potential big name players at their club.
So then, even though much was expected of former Ajax captain and Netherlands international – Siem de Jong – when he first joined the Premier League outfit last summer, it hasn’t been a total surprise to witness yet another high profile move in the North East fall victim to some serious bad luck.
The now 26-year-old has suffered a series of frustrating injury set-backs during his ill-fated time at St. James’, subsequently ruling him out of a great deal of important first team action for the Magpies.
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With everything that’s already gone wrong for the Dutchman on Tyneside, just how successful can the cultured midfielder prove for Newcastle United in the long-run?
Will Steve McClaren’s determined no. 10 force himself back into the Magpies starting XI sooner rather than later, or is Siem de Jong simply all but finished at the club already?
Well, after suffering a series of testing thigh injuries and an unfortunate collapsed lung upon signing for Newcastle last season, Siem de Jong has certainly experienced his fair share of off-field problems among the English top-flight. He may well have improved his overall health now that the 2015/16 campaign has been underway for some time of course – but the Dutch international nonetheless remains a long way off full fitness at this current stage in the proceedings.
The 26-year-old has only managed to start one solitary game for the Magpies in over a year on Tyneside. Because of the extent of his time forcibly spent on the side-lines, de Jong has ultimately looked out of shape since pulling his Newcastle colours back on, his legs are currently unable to carry him for the majority of the 90 minutes, and the Dutchman’s overall ability in front of goal has looked temporarily questionable as a result.
Such an unpromising outcome therefore remains a great shame for Steve McClaren and the St. James’ faithful. Alongside Newcastle’s growing contingency of Dutch talent among their current ranks – including certain names such as Daryl Janmaat, Vurnon Anita, Tim Krul, and of course, the aforementioned Georginio Wijnaldum – Siem de Jong could have really made a great impact on Tyneside had circumstances proven more accommodating.
Prior to making his switch to the Premier League last summer, this was a player who seemingly went about his business with a very strong reputation under his belt. The former Ajax man had proven himself to be a great leader whilst operating Amsterdam Arena. He was also someone who could dictate play almost at will, his vision across the park was certainly something to be admired – and when it came to registering himself on the score-sheet at a frequent enough rate – Siem de Jong rarely disappointed.
Newcastle could certainly do with a little leadership quality out on the field at the moment however, for without such a desperately essential trait present among McClaren’s current starting XI, the Magpies have often looked distinctly lost and short of ideas. Yes – the Tynesiders may well have shown a fair amount of promise if nothing else in their last few outings, but a dirty relegation dog-fight nonetheless awaits the St. James’ faithful unless their team somehow manage to turn things around rather dramatically this term.
In the end, Siem de Jong’s unfortunate fate at Newcastle has been one of many problems afflicting the North East club in recent years. Although he could certainly turn out to be a top player for the Magpies should he eventually get enough game time at the club – proving himself fully fit throughout the course of this season will likely prove a task much easier said than done.
Therefore, whilst the former Netherlands international is by no means to blame for his distinct lack of luck on Tyneside, Siem de Jong currently goes down as yet another wasted move in the transfer market from the Magpies.
With Jose Mourinho recently departing the Stamford Bridge dug-out in rather dramatic circumstances, and Louis van Gaal looking more and more out of his depth at Old Trafford, Manchester City look all set to become the next Premier League club hunting in the managerial market this season.
Carlo Ancelotti has accepted the illustrious role of Bayern Munich boss, leaving Pep Guardiola seemingly free to pick his next destination next summer.
Although both Manchester United and Chelsea have supposedly shown serious interest in landing the former Barcelona coach at the end of the season, it nonetheless looks as if Manchester City will eventually win the race if a series of recent reports are to be believed.
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However, does the current boss down at the Etihad this term – Manuel Pellegrini – really deserve to lose his job simply because Guardiola will be available in the summer?
Whilst Manchester City haven’t exactly set the Premier League alight this term, they nonetheless remain firmly placed within the title race. Arsenal did portray themselves as a far more cohesive unit when the two sides met on Monday, but that doesn’t mean Pellegrini’s team should be written off just yet.
In reality, the Citizens have struggled considerably without captain Vincent Kompany consistently available for selection, yet even without the powerful Belgian centre-back on board this term, Manchester City have still proven a force to be reckoned with overall.
The likes of Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Yaya Toure can easily make a difference when fully fit and raring to go, both Raheem Sterling and Kevin de Bruyne are obviously capable of turning on the goods inside the final third and although Eliaquim Mangala and Nicolas Otamendi have begun their partnership among the Premier League in somewhat shaky circumstances so far, each player could still eventually do the business for their manager in the not too distant future.
Yes, Manchester City have spent a ridiculous amount of money in recent transfer windows and should theoretically rise above their English competition with every passing season, but as top-flight football is invariably played out on the pitch as opposed to on paper, Manuel Pellegrini’s job isn’t quite as easy as everybody initially expects.
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The Chilean tactician has to manage his squad more effectively than any other Premier League coach, he is forced to work with players with extortionately over-valued price-tags above their heads, and faces a somewhat harsh degree of criticism whenever his side fail to win a match.
As the Etihad faithful have indeed witnessed their fair share of silverware during Pellegrini’s stint at their club, however, perhaps the former Malaga and Real Madrid boss deserves a little flexibility from the Manchester City hierarchy. Unlike most other English teams this season, the Citizens marched onwards towards the knock-out stages of the Champions League with relatively little fuss, and still remain well placed domestically as a result of their efforts.
However, as the wealthy Premier League club have been linked with Pep Guardiola for a number of consecutive seasons now, perhaps Manchester City simply aren’t willing to look beyond the 44-year-old Spanish manager come the beginning of next season.
The Citizens clearly possess enough wealth to tempt the former Nou Camp favourite, Guardiola would admittedly arrive with a stronger reputation and a more enhanced range of contacts than Manuel Pellegrini could possibly call upon, and does actually seem to offer more passion and enthusiasm than the current City boss has ever quite exuded down at the Etihad.
So although Pellegrini really doesn’t deserve to lose his job, it ultimately seems as if Manchester City have already highlighted Pep Guardiola as their no. 1 target next term – regardless of how well their team eventually do in the league this season.
David De Gea has endured quite a journey since his arrival at Manchester United in the summer of 2011.
It all began in difficult fashion for the Spaniard, with many failing see how the Atletico Madrid ‘keeper justified an at the time British record fee £18m for a goalie.
His first season was full of criticism, media attention and rumours a return to Spain could be on the cards. But it never came, and De Gea stuck to his guns despite some pretty horrific gaffes that showed us why being a goalkeeper is such a hard task
But Sir Alex Ferguson showed us, just as he has numerous times in the past, why he is one of the game’s greatest managers. De Gea came good, and he has turned into arguably the Premier League’s best No.1.
And last weekend De Gea only furthered his growing reputation as the nation’s strongest man between the sticks with a fantastic performance that gave United a 1-0 victory over fierce rivals Liverpool. If the truth be told, Liverpool were on top throughout large spells of the game and United fans have De Gea largely to thank for the vital three points, which somewhat takes the pressure off the beleaguered shoulders of Louis van Gaal.
And it was all in front of United’s last goalkeeping great – Peter Schmeichel. The Dane was and always will be a hero at Old Trafford, and it’s not outrageous to suggest that if he carries on the same way, De Gea could be granted the same status.
He’s been named as United’s player of the year for the past two seasons in a row and is held in huge esteem by Van Gaal’s management, and by his fellow colleagues.
£100m was spent by the Red Devils this summer, but their best bit of business was definitely by keeping hold of De Gea.
Not only was a transfer to Real Madrid on the cards, it was widely anticipated by both sets of fans. The United support were gritting their teeth hoping one of their best assets wasn’t going to depart, whilst Los Blancos supporters were ‘muy contento’ with the seemingly inevitable deal.
And then came the mysterious ‘paperwork mishap’. Whether it was the work experience boy or one of the managing directors who couldn’t work the fax machine, it’s the only reason United remain in the hunt for a Champions League place. In other words, give that man a pay rise!
Memphis Depay, Morgan Schneiderlin and Anthony Martial all cost in excess of £20m each, and they have all had varying degrees of success. Meanwhile De Gea is worth at least the combined sum of the above three players for his performances this season, which have continued to keep United in the hunt for a top-four finish.
By no means was Liverpool away De Gea’s busiest performance of the campaign, but it was a crucial one nonetheless.
Speaking of Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar, De Gea said earlier this week: “They were the greatest goalkeepers in the Premier League. They are legends for this club and that is all I want.”
There is little doubt that in five, ten or even fifteen years’ time, United’s next crop of youngsters will be coming through, looking up to their idols for advice, tips and inspiration.
De Gea may only be 25, but he’s not far away from superstar status, and a Manchester United legacy.