Complicated evening for the English clubs
For those of you who couldn’t watch yesterday’s games, here are the main results: Barcelona lost at Bayern (2-0) despite a rather interesting first half. Liverpool, meanwhile, got their first win of the season in the competition against Ajax (2-1) in the last minutes with a goal by Matip. Tottenham got surprised by Sporting Portugal (2-0) at the end of the game.
Tonight’s main fixtures look exciting as well: Real Madrid vs RB Leipzig, ManCity against Dortmund, Juventus vs Benfica, and of course…Chelsea is facing Red Bull Salzburg.
ManU made their choice
238 million euros. It was the amount spent by Manchester United in the summer transfer market. Only Chelsea, who broke the bank with a €269 million purchase, spent more than the Red Devils during the Mercato. With that much money spent, it often means the clubs need to sell some players. And ManU has made their choice on two key players: Ronaldo should leave, while Rashford is staying.
The Manchester Evening News reports that the door is likely to open as Man Utd has no intention of offering Ronaldo a contract extension. Indeed, his current lease runs out in June 2023. Both the club and the player are unlikely to continue together. Rashford’s recent good performances have convinced Ten Hag and the management team to extend his contract.
A key tactical choice
This weekend The Times reported that Chelsea was interested in signing not a tenuous new player, but a new member of the staff and counselor for the transfers: Luis Campos. The Portuguese are known to have very good relationships with the best clubs in Europe.
Todd Boehly, the owner of the English team, has already spoken with the Portuguese and his name was mentioned at the time of the negotiations to sign Graham Potter as head coach. The French journal Le Parisien confirmed yesterday that interest. The Londoners are offering him a salary of 8M€ to leave PSG and join the Stamford Bridge outfit.
Chelsea's new bosses are unhappy with the start of the season and are keen to make a coup at the Mercato, trusting Campos and his contacts to sniff out the right moves. The Portuguese are said to be in charge of the Blues' next two markets (winter and summer 2023). He would have colossal resources at his disposal as he would have a budget of 300 million euros to build a competitive team. Le Parisien added that Jim Ratcliffe, a candidate for the Manchester United takeover, has made Luis Campos his priority to head up the club's sporting department. Campos, who cannot work for more than three clubs at the same time (he already works for Paris and Celta Vigo), could leave Paris, which would be compensated in this case.
It’s time to move on!
Tonight, the Blues are facing the Red Bull Salzburg (8.00 pm) at home. The Austrians had a draw against AC Milan last week. Let’s hope Graham Potter’s first game will be successful, and that Chelsea will launch their Champion’s League season tonight. Come on!
