Premier League
Solskjaer faces sack as Man United reportedly call emergency board meeting
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer faces the sack after Manchester United reportedly called an emergency board meeting following Saturday’s (Nov 20) humiliating 4-1 defeat at Watford.
United manager Solskjaer admitted he was “embarrassed” after his team’s fifth defeat in their last seven Premier League games and the dismal result could bring a painful end to his troubled reign.
The Sunday Times said United’s meeting has been scheduled for 1900 GMT (3am on Sunday, Singapore time), “with Solskjaer’s compensation terms on its agenda”.
It was also reported that United will step up their interest in former Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane once Solskjaer is dismissed.
Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers has also been linked with the job, although he claimed the speculation was “not real” earlier this week.
The club’s hierarchy stuck by Solskjaer during the recent international break despite humiliating home defeats to Liverpool and Manchester City.
But worse was to come at Vicarage Road as the struggling Hornets could afford to miss a first-half penalty twice and still run out comfortable winners.
While United’s owners, the Glazer family, have stayed loyal to Solskjaer so far, they look compelled to wield the axe after the latest humiliation for a team spiralling into crisis.
Solskjaer has managed to avoid the sack after several previous poor runs since taking charge in 2018.
But United’s latest slide comes after heavy pre-season investment on Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane that was expected to turn the team into title winners for the first time since 2013.
Solskjaer, who famously scored United’s winning goal in the 1999 Champions League final against Bayern Munich, has failed to win a trophy in his Old Trafford reign.
The 48-year-old has retained the support of fans given his legendary status at United, but he seems certain to depart as a managerial failure.
“I’m working for and with the club and I’ve done that for 18 years,” Solskjaer said after the Watford game.
“We’ve got a good communication and if the club were thinking about doing something then that is between me and the club.
“The results are not good enough, we know that. We’ve gone 30 games unbeaten away from home and now we’ve lost two on the bounce and conceded four goals in both of them, so of course something is wrong.”
-AFP
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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