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Premier League

MAN UNITED TARGET, GREALISH WILL HAVE HIS AUDITION TONIGHT

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Graeme Souness is not exactly angling for a job in Manchester United’s recruitment department. Even so, would they have taken note of his comments on Jack Grealish this week?

Grealish has been a long-term target for them, clearly a player that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admires, and the Aston Villa man is a mooted £50million target for them in the window.

They have identified him as an addition that could help them step up another level. Competing for the Champions League places is not enough, and the aim in the summer will be to turn them into a top Premier League side.

Yet Souness is not convinced Grealish can bring that to Old Trafford. During the game against Liverpool on Sunday, he suggested the midfielder lacked intensity. 

When asked for his assessment of Grealish, Souness told Sky Sports: ‘He has got quality but do the top teams carry passengers when they don’t have the ball? 

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‘No – they don’t have players that stand with their hands on their hips when they lose the ball. 

‘Everyone rolls their sleeves up to be the first, second or third one to press. That is something that is not in his game right now.

‘I’m not denying he has talent – but for me there’s a big question mark.’

A stat that is regularly trotted out to back up the 24-year-old’s ability is that he is the most fouled player in the league.

He has been fouled 151 times in the 2019-20 season – a huge 45 times more than the next most fouled player, Wilfried Zaha.

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It has often been suggested that it means opposition players are worried about him, and decide the only way to deal with him is by means that go against the rules of the game.

Yet Souness saw it another way. ‘When I was a player, I wouldn’t want to be the most fouled player in the league,’ he said.

‘That means I’m holding onto the ball too long. That means I’m not seeing the picture early enough, I’m taking extra touches when I don’t need to. 

‘He has ability and he’s easy on the eye, silky on the eye. But, I am yet to be convinced by him. 

‘When I was being coached at Liverpool, I was told that I had to make the striker’s mind up with my body movement. 

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‘I’m making them run where I’m looking to kick the ball. I think someone that gets fouled that much isn’t seeing the picture quick enough.

‘As an old midfield player, would I have liked to play against him? I would have loved to have played against him.

‘He allows me to get close to him, get physical with him. I don’t want to play Paul Scholes, Xavi or Andres Iniesta. They are too quick – they pop it off in one or two touches. 

‘I want to play against people like him – he would allow me to mess him around.’

Grealish will have the perfect opportunity to prove Souness wrong on Thursday evening when Villa host United. If he can star in that game, it shows that he has the talent to feature for the opposition next season.

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Yet there are fair doubts to be had over whether the Villa man is that standard of player. He has six assists all season, admittedly putting him joint 15th in the Premier League.

But that also means he ranks under Emiliano Buendia and Harvey Barnes, who both have seven. Neither have been touted for big money moves despite impressing.

It also puts him on the same level as Dwight McNeil and Ashley Westwood. Again, it is no criticism of them, just an acknowledgement that they are not being mentioned in the same dispatches.

He is also level with Daniel James, who has been criticised for his recent displays for United.

Admittedly, he has created 82 chances, the second best in the top flight. It could lead to doubts over whether Villa – relegation threatened – have the firepower to convert the opportunities he makes.

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Yet only six of those have been touted as ‘big chances’. That actually means that Villa’s forwards are matching up to the quality Grealish provides for them. 

While he is providing positions for them to have an effort at goal from, only six of them have been particularly good.

This is not to say Souness is entirely right. Grealish is clearly a talent and impressed at Old Trafford earlier this season. Solskjaer said on Wednesday that he would watch out for him: ‘Grealish scored a fantastic goal (last time we played). 

‘There’s been loads said about him and we need to be aware of him, if he’s off the left, middle or right.

‘He attracts players to him but there’s not just one player in that Villa team, there are a lot of them.’

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And he has been a talismanic figure for a poor Villa side. He dragged them to promotion last season, the run of form that took them to the play-offs from mid-table entirely coinciding with his return to fitness.

His agent Jonathan Barnett did hint at a move to a big side after insisting his focus was on keeping Villa up: ‘I think as far as his career is concerned, it would be great for him to play in the Champions League and develop his great skills and i’m not sure in which country or where that will be.’

When it comes to his goal of keeping Villa in the Premier League, Thursday night’s game is a perfect stage on which to do it. Help them win, contribute to them finishing outside of the bottom three and he’ll be remembered as a hero there.

On the making a big move front, conveniently enough it is also a great stage on which to audition. Show off in front of Solskjaer and it might just force his hand.

Souness has made it clear. When it comes to Grealish, he has his questions. It’s time for Grealish to answer them. 

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-Daily Mail

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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Former Arsenal soccer player Partey charged with five counts of rape

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 Premier League - Arsenal v Manchester City - Emirates Stadium, London, Britain - February 2, 2025 Arsenal's Thomas Partey during the warm-up before the match REUTERS/David Klein/File Photo

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.

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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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Rashford, Garnacho among five players seeking Man Utd exit

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Premier League - Manchester United v Newcastle United - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - December 30, 2024 Manchester United's Marcus Rashford warms up as a substitute during the match REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo

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.

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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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Fernandes rejects Al-Hilal offer to stay at Manchester United

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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.

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“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.

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-Reuters

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