Premier League
SOLSKJAER BECOMES FIRST MANCHESTER UNITED AFTER ALEX FERGUSON TO WIN EPL MANAGER OF THE MONTH
Manchester United caretaker manager pays tribute to staff and players after receiving monthly accolade for January as he becomes Manchester United’s first manager to win the manager of the month award since 2012.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has paid tribute to his players and coaches after winning the Barclays Manager of the Month award for January.
The Manchester United caretaker manager continued his dream start at the club where he starred as a player by extending his unbeaten run, claiming 10 points from a possible 12 during the month
This included victories over Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspurand Brighton & Hove Albion, as well as a comeback draw at home to Burnley.
“It means we’ve been the team of the month, both the staff and the players, so we’ve done well,” said Solskjaer. “We want to be winning games, we want to move up the table and this is the start of it.”
Solskjaer enjoyed a glittering 12-year playing career at United, winning six Premier League titles, and his transition to manager there has so far been seamless.
“The more you know the culture of the club, the culture of the players and the way that we have been successful, that has helped me,” he said.
“I’ve got some fantastic coaches, I have to say, Kieran [McKenna], Michael [Carrick], they’re brilliant.”
“Emilio Alvarez’s working with the best goalkeeper in the world and to bring Micky [Phelan] in with me is very reassuring because he’s so calm and experienced
“You cannot be a good leader or a manager without good players, you can’t get results without the players, so ultimately it’s how they respond to what we tell them and they’ve been fantastic, so all credit to them.”
The 45-year-old beat Burnley’s Sean Dyche and Southampton’s Ralph Hasenhuttl to the prize after the votes of a panel of football experts were combined with those of the public to decide the winner.
He also becomes the first Norwegian, as a player or manager, to win a Premier League monthly award.
Thomas Partey, who formerly played for English Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday.
Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said.
Partey’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 5.
Partey, 32, was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59 million) in October 2020 and became a key member of Arsenal’s first team.
He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing.
-Reuters
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Five players including England forward Marcus Rashford and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho have informed Manchester United that they wish to explore a future away from the Premier League side, a club source said on Friday.
Brazilian midfielder Antony, Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia and England international Jadon Sancho are also looking to leave the club, the source added.
Rashford, who has made more than 400 senior appearances for United, has fallen out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, played for Aston Villa on loan while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.
Amorim had called Rashford’s work rate into question, saying he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.
Rashford said he was feeling fitter and better since joining Villa, where he scored two goals in 10 league appearances.
United also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Garnacho, who was a late substitute in the final, voiced his displeasure on social media after the loss.
“Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know,” he wrote in a post . “The final will influence (my decision), but the whole season, the situation of the club.”
Sancho was on loan at Chelsea, where he made 31 league appearances last season. Antony, who joined United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial transfer fee of more than $100 million, scored five goals in 17 LaLiga appearances on loan at Real Betis.
Malacia joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on loan in February.
-Reuters
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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes turned down the opportunity to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in order to keep playing “at the highest level”, he said on Tuesday.
The Portuguese midfielder admitted that he had considered the move, which media reports said was worth four times his current salary, after being contacted by Al-Hilal’s president.
“There was that possibility, the president of Al-Hilal called me a month ago to ask me about it,” Fernandes, who is preparing to face Germany with Portugal, told reporters on Tuesday.
“It was a big offer, very ambitious. There was a waiting period for me to think about the future.”
Fernandes ultimately decided to stay at United and said he was motivated by his desire to continue playing at the top level and encouraged by his family and the club’s coach Ruben Amorim.
“I would be willing to do it if Manchester United thought so,” Fernandes added. “I spoke to the coach Ruben Amorim who really tried to talk me out of it. The club said they would not be willing to sell me, only if I wanted to leave.
“I spoke to my wife and family, and she asked me what my personal goals were in my career.
“It would have been easy to move there but I want to keep myself at the highest level, playing in the big competitions and I feel capable of it. I am happy with my decision.”
The 30-year-old Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 19 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for United last season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award for the fourth time.
However, it was a season to forget for the team, as they finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league finish in half a century, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
-Reuters
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