Manchester United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2018 pt. 2

TheDoc

Mitch Connor wrote: »

It's absolute bs. We need to get a DoF to take transfers away from Woodward. Look at Liverpool, already got their big summer signing done and what do we have? Young at left back.

?

Woodward has been excellent for a number of windows consecutively. He is signing every player our managers want.

Moyes is the only manager that could use an excuse for transfer window issues.

I only agree with a DoF because I think the club is big enough that it should be defending it's interests, ethos and core values, and identifying managers and players that can work in that environment, and not come in and make platonic shifts.

Long believed we are lagging behind in terms of structure, and we allow a shocking amount of knowledge and wealth of experience disappear from the club.

LuckyLloyd

How Soon Is Now wrote: »

One thing ive been thinking about lately as a fan it drove me insane this season seeing sky and the likes creaming themselves over mostly city but also Liverpool and at times spurs.

All the while throwing in the digs at Jose and his ''style'' United are horrible to watch the manager doesnt have a clue about the modern game the players dont care........

It makes me think how many of the current United squad see this and use it as something to drive them on?

Do you feel the praise / criticisms are unwarranted?

Leroy42

Is Pogba really worth the hassle when apparently is can only play when everything is done to make him happy, that Jose needs to be constantly massaging his ego, mindful of what he say sin case it upsets him?

Pogba is supposed to be one of the top players in the world yet can only play one way and in one position?

We have 11 positions on the pitch, and one of the main one is completely inconsistent depending on whether Pogba is in the mood or not. You can't built a team around someone like, never mind a top team

TheDoc

bangkok wrote: »

No because it is more than likely the truth. He had a 92% pass completion as well which is actually excellent higher than any other player on the pitch

as a big Pogba fan, I see when you do this actually hurts those of us who are fans of his.

Pogba was poor at the weekend. He wasn't terrible, but he was ponderous in possesion, didn't drive from his position and was taking too many touches and slowing the game down.

He wasn't the only one, but he is who I expect to be driving the team in terms of tempo and shifting the ball.

There was points he was literally standing still, or having little triangles of 3-5 passes while walking. His pass completion is totally irrelevant when you watch the game and see him play like that.

TheDoc

Lord TSC wrote: »

Reports of Bayern and Juvi fighting it out for Martial, which is good news. A bidding war means better deals.

Both have players we should be asking about as well....

Hello Douglas Costa....

On the flipside, we shouldn't be entertaining deals to sell. Such a blow if it happens

clubberlang12

Regarding Pogba, I've mentioned it before here that i think he has bags of ability and if he wanted to, can dominate midfields which his physical presence, athleticism, and ability on the ball. "HE" chooses not to.

All this talk of having to play him a certain way, or play completely to his strengths to see him perform is a huge cop out. He is not been asked to play as an anchor man, he has been giving the position in a midfield 3 a number of times and still not performed. If David Silva, and to a lesser extent De Bruyne who both excel further up the pitch, can play in a midfield where they are asked to also do defensive work for the team and still perform week in week out, then i find it slightly farcical that so many excuses need to be giving for Paul to try and extract performances out of him.

And i would be an admirer of him, so take what you will from the above.

TheDoc

Lord TSC wrote: »

What player would come to a team second in their league, in the champions league, willing to double their wages, and to play with a manager with a long history of winning trophies, and is now at one of the biggest clubs in the world?

I seriously wonder about the utter desire to be negative that people have some times, and the inability to have a bit of objective thoughts about the situation.

It's a valid point that was made your replying too.

There is some serious thinking for any attack minded player moving to United. If money was no consideration, which it is, and a big reason players will come to us.

But it's pretty obvious why an attacking player would think long and hard before joining us, especially if other options are on the table.

Lord TSC

TheDoc wrote: »

as a big Pogba fan, I see when you do this actually hurts those of us who are fans of his.

Doc, I'll say this, cause I worry sometimes I'm a bit harsh in my responses to you.

For all I utterly disagree with you on many aspects of how the club is run, Jose, etc...I do believe you tend to be very genuine. I don't think you hold those views for the sake of winding people up or whatever. I don't agree with you, and I think you can be a bit fanatical at times (as, hey, I'm sure you'd say about me), but I respect that you tend to present your opinions well, and they tend to come from a properly logical place.

Unlike others....

TheDoc wrote: »

Hello Douglas Costa....

On the flipside, we shouldn't be entertaining deals to sell. Such a blow if it happens

We have three LW now, and zero RW.

I think Martial has all the potential in the world, but I think we're in a position where we cannot accomadate both Rashford and Martial regularly into the first team. And while Rashford might have a lower ceiling (imo), he seems to work harder, and has the benefit of being an Academy player.

If we can trade Martial for a proper RW player, then I really won't care if he goes, even if he becomes immense elsewhere. As a squad, we need a RW more than we need a third LW player....

TheDoc

Leroy42 wrote: »

Is Pogba really worth the hassle when apparently is can only play when everything is done to make him happy, that Jose needs to be constantly massaging his ego, mindful of what he say sin case it upsets him?

Pogba is supposed to be one of the top players in the world yet can only play one way and in one position?

We have 11 positions on the pitch, and one of the main one is completely inconsistent depending on whether Pogba is in the mood or not. You can't built a team around someone like, never mind a top team

Typically to maximise the potential of an elite player, you need to provide the environment for them to flourish. You know, like De Bruyne for example is experiencing? Like Hazard isn't. Ronaldo, Bale, Muller, Neymar, Mbappe, Messi, Suarez, Salah etc etc

Think of all these great players and the ones playing and doing extremely well have a pattern about it, the ones not, also have a pattern.

Pogba is our best player. He will win games at times alone, he will dig us out of holes, he can drive the team. He is the fulcrum. When he plays well, the team plays well, when he's poor, the team is poor. The correlation is that obvious.

So you either provide the platform to allow him flourish, or you don't. And you question why he was bought, what plan there was, and how much faith should be put in someone who can frivolously waste £89 and that type of talent.

The entire team doesn't need reworking, its a specific area. And area that has been bags for years anyway and needs a new structure. Why WOULDN't you build a new midfield, which has been derilict for years, around a quality player.

You will also note that most of the world class players, play in one position, and do one relatively specific thing, brilliantly. All round players arn't a thing anymore, we have moved to specialisation, and we did a fair time ago.

Lord TSC

TheDoc wrote: »

It's a valid point that was made your replying too.

There is some serious thinking for any attack minded player moving to United. If money was no consideration, which it is, and a big reason players will come to us.

But it's pretty obvious why an attacking player would think long and hard before joining us, especially if other options are on the table.

Sanchez is an example where we attracted a big name attacking player who was also wanted by another team who "play better football". Sanchez could have gone to City and won a free league medal the weekend just gone.

I wont say it's not a factor for players. I just think it would be seventh or eighth down the list. Especially, for instance, if we're after a RW or a CM who is being told "You're going to be first choice at Man United, and you're going to be the one who facilitates that attempt to play better football".

bangkok

Leroy42 wrote: »

Is Pogba really worth the hassle when apparently is can only play when everything is done to make him happy, that Jose needs to be constantly massaging his ego, mindful of what he say sin case it upsets him?

Pogba is supposed to be one of the top players in the world yet can only play one way and in one position?

We have 11 positions on the pitch, and one of the main one is completely inconsistent depending on whether Pogba is in the mood or not. You can't built a team around someone like, never mind a top team

All the top players in the world have their ego massaged AND are played to their strenghts.

Messi practically calls the shots at barca, ronaldo at madrid.

Salah at liverpool is free of any defensive duties, Robben at bayern the same.

Look at pogba even at juventus, conte played him to his strenghts.

If the team as a whole improved due to Pogba leaving and other players coming in would that not be a good thing.

Do people want United to play well or do they want Pogba to play well.

I'm not saying he should be sold but he needs to up his performances and consistency if he is to live up to his full potential

bangkok

Who do we reckon will be dropped for spurs game this weekend as jose said those who played poor at weekend will be dropped?

Iused2likebusts

bangkok wrote: »

Who do we reckon will be dropped for spurs game this weekend as jose said those who played poor at weekend will be dropped?

The guy with the 92% pass completion .

bangkok

Iused2likebusts wrote: »

The guy with the 92% pass completion .

Who else? Wouldnt be surprised to see sanchez lukaku and herrera all dropped

clubberlang12

Mata for me definitely should get dropped. Thought he was extremely poor against West Brom. Was very surprised to see him come out at half time.

TitianGerm

bangkok wrote: »

All the top players in the world have their ego massaged AND are played to their strenghts.

Messi practically calls the shots at barca, ronaldo at madrid.

Salah at liverpool is free of any defensive duties, Robben at bayern the same.

Look at pogba even at juventus, conte played him to his strenghts.

Salah does plenty of tracking back.

TheDoc

Lord TSC wrote: »

Doc, I'll say this, cause I worry sometimes I'm a bit harsh in my responses to you.

For all I utterly disagree with you on many aspects of how the club is run, Jose, etc...I do believe you tend to be very genuine. I don't think you hold those views for the sake of winding people up or whatever. I don't agree with you, and I think you can be a bit fanatical at times (as, hey, I'm sure you'd say about me), but I respect that you tend to present your opinions well, and they tend to come from a properly logical place.

Unlike others....

Genuinely appreciate that post. And yes you are harsh to me at times, but I acknowledge where it comes from. And I'm likely harsh back at times too You are extremely supportive of the manager and have multiple reasons and beliefs for this. And like you say with me, I respect where they are coming from and I understand.

We sit on the opposite side of the fence and we won't ever reach the middle until he's gone. I'm the same with Adox generally. I had it with Prof for ages and homerjay before that. I fully know I can get fanatical and hypercritical or negative at times, but I'd say just as much as you or some might get hyper defensive.

And in the end we engage in these things because at the core we all want the same thing, team doing well and winning. We just don't always all agree on the way to get there.

But I've no beef with anyone here or individuals. And I never like when I do see the likes of yourself, Adox or others have had pops or digs and make me out to be some windup merchant or fool. And I don't like to see entrenchments start where I see myself out alone (and island of character if you will :P ) where it might be the case I'd like to think we will still be posting here in years to come, as we have previously, where we do fall in line with the same beliefs under different circumstances.

I also appreciate there is likely some disjointing effect with Bangkok. Don't want to drag him into anything, but me and him do tend to have similar points of view, ideas or beliefs. We tend to go about them in slightly different ways. So I guess that likely can feed into peoples thinking when they see us liking each others posts. Think sometimes that can create little pockets of miniature gang warfare

Cantona's Collars

Probably posted already but Miguel Delaney claims any player bar a few that Jose trusts could be for sale.

"Mourinho would be willing to consider the sale of pretty much any players bar David De Gea, Alexis Sanchez, Romelu Lukaku, Nemanja Matic, Jesse Lingard, Ashley Young and Juan Mata. They are currently the only ones who have his full trust."

Rossi IRL

Front 3 next game of Rashford, Martial and Lingard.

Have Lukaku on the bench if we need him.

Could see Chong getting some gametime off the bench aswell.

jayo26

Rossi IRL wrote: »

Front 3 next game of Rashford, Martial and Lingard.

Have Lukaku on the bench if we need him.

Could see Chong getting some gametime off the bench aswell.

Yeah great idea bench the best goal scorer we have at the club for 3 that do it in patches.

bangkok

Rossi IRL wrote: »

Front 3 next game of Rashford, Martial and Lingard.

Have Lukaku on the bench if we need him.

Could see Chong getting some gametime off the bench aswell.

I would be happy to see that front 3 given a try together, all quick skillfull and difficult to mark

Lord TSC

Cantona's Collars wrote: »

"Mourinho would be willing to consider the sale of pretty much any players bar David De Gea, Alexis Sanchez, Romelu Lukaku, Nemanja Matic, Jesse Lingard, Ashley Young and Juan Mata. They are currently the only ones who have his full trust."

Huh? Thats an interesting name to be on there.

I feel the rest don't surprise me though. They're the ones you can see constantly giving 110% every game.

TitianGerm

Rossi IRL wrote: »

Front 3 next game of Rashford, Martial and Lingard.

Have Lukaku on the bench if we need him.

Could see Chong getting some gametime off the bench aswell.

Why would you drop your top goalscorer? Get someone who can actually supply him and he'll score more next season.

bangkok

Lord TSC wrote: »

Huh? Thats an interesting name to be on there.

I feel the rest don't surprise me though. They're the ones you can see constantly giving 110% every game.

He seem to trust mata a lot an to be fair to mata he has worked his socks off for the team and done everything thats been asked of him

bangkok

TitianGerm wrote: »

Why would you drop your top goalscorer? Get someone who can actually supply him and he'll score more next season.

He just means drop/rest him for the game on wednesday night

jayo26

bangkok wrote: »

He just means drop/rest him for the game on wednesday night

Why did I misread that as next season haha sorry Rossi

TheDoc

Lord TSC wrote: »

Huh? Thats an interesting name to be on there.

I feel the rest don't surprise me though. They're the ones you can see constantly giving 110% every game.

Especially considering it was only widely reported recently himself and Ander were told they are surplus to requirements and wont feature in first team plans. Welcome to stay if they wish, but also welcome to leave for first team football.

Interesting summer ahead alright

TheDoc

Don't think we are really in any sort of form or consistency to afford to rest players. Martial starting up front would be interesting, but at the same time Lukaku is a bit of a beast in terms of the effort he puts into a season.


Separately, I actually totally forgot Bournemouth were even in the league. They have had such a quiet season in terms of exposure haha. Not much media circle jerk over Howe this year.

TitianGerm

jayo26 wrote: »

Why did I misread that as next season haha sorry Rossi

I did the same :pac:

Lord TSC

TheDoc wrote: »

Especially considering it was only widely reported recently himself and Ander were told they are surplus to requirements and wont feature in first team plans. Welcome to stay if they wish, but also welcome to leave for first team football.

Interesting summer ahead alright

With the World Cup and the shortened transfer window, I'd imagine there'll be some hectic weeks involved. I'd LIKE to think there's some deals already done, but thats probably being too optimistic.

I'd imagine there's a second tier as well of players who would depend on what others are doing; for instance, I can't see him offloading Martial AND Rashford. I couldn't see him letting Smalling AND Jones AND Rojo go.

But I do think we're more likely to get our long discussed clear out.

jayo26

TitianGerm wrote: »

I did the same :pac:

He ninja edited it

Rossi IRL

jayo26 wrote: »

Yeah great idea bench the best goal scorer we have at the club for 3 that do it in patches.

Didn't realise Bournemouth was a league match, thought it was Cup.

Then I would start Lukaku up top with Rashford left wing and Lingard right wing and Pogba behind them.

bangkok

Iused2likebusts wrote: »

The guy with the 92% pass completion .

"So, Paul was out because of the yellow card, because in terms of the way he played he was not worse than some others that were on the pitch for 90 minutes."

Judging by those comments there will be others dropped before he is.

Im guessing sanchez and herrera are 2 certs

yabadabado

Cantona's Collars wrote: »

Probably posted already but Miguel Delaney claims any player bar a few that Jose trusts could be for sale.

"Mourinho would be willing to consider the sale of pretty much any players bar David De Gea, Alexis Sanchez, Romelu Lukaku, Nemanja Matic, Jesse Lingard, Ashley Young and Juan Mata. They are currently the only ones who have his full trust."

Not a major surprise there tbh. I thought Bailly might be one considering Jose bought him and has looked good when available.

Really shows a new backline could be bought in the summer 2 FBs and a CB would be very welcome.

If we are doing mad **** which we probably wont I'd like to see Rashford tried on the right wing again he ha one great dribble in whatever game he played there and he does have a good cross of a ball. Plus it would take away his tendency to have shots everytime he gets a chance

pjohnson

Tbh Mata was supposedly surplus before Martial started whinging. So Martial may be the one to go instead. Still we must decide whether we put faith and the then needed millions in reinforcements to get a 4-3-3 around Pogba or not. If it is 4-3-3 then Lingard will probably be first choice RW with Mata back up as we try to get midfielders in to make Pogba look good.

yabadabado

Matic is a certain starter and if we play 3 man midfield then we need one more cm to partner Matic and Pogba. We will also need a squad cm as fairly light there with the changes that will likely happen in the summer.

It's not really break the bank scenario is it to get 2 CMs in?

bangkok

yabadabado wrote: »

Matic is a certain starter and if we play 3 man midfield then we need one more cm to partner Matic and Pogba. We will also need a squad cm as fairly light there with the changes that will likely happen in the summer.

It's not really break the bank scenario is it to get 2 CMs in?

Pereira squad player if he wants it but i doubt he does, new midfielder like savic/kroos/veratti and a cheap option like Romeu if southampton get relegated

PhlegmyMoses

Cantona's Collars wrote: »

Probably posted already but Miguel Delaney claims any player bar a few that Jose trusts could be for sale.

"Mourinho would be willing to consider the sale of pretty much any players bar David De Gea, Alexis Sanchez, Romelu Lukaku, Nemanja Matic, Jesse Lingard, Ashley Young and Juan Mata. They are currently the only ones who have his full trust."

I don't believe he would sell Rashford either. Maybe doesn't trust him as much as others, but the fallout from selling a young lad that has come through the ranks would be too much.

Lord TSC

PhlegmyMoses wrote: »

I don't believe he would sell Rashford either. Maybe doesn't trust him as much as others, but the fallout from selling a young lad that has come through the ranks would be too much.

I think it's more that he'd sell Rashford if someone, for instance, met a crazy valuation. As opposed to Lukaku or Sanchez or DDG who aren't for sale at any price.

If someone threw us 100m for Rashford, for instance, I think he'd suddenly be for sale....

PhlegmyMoses

Lord TSC wrote: »

I think it's more that he'd sell Rashford if someone, for instance, met a crazy valuation. As opposed to Lukaku or Sanchez or DDG who aren't for sale at any price.

If someone threw us 100m for Rashford, for instance, I think he'd suddenly be for sale....

Yeah, I suppose in those terms it makes sense. When it comes to his actual valuation though, I don't see him being sold.

He also might not want to sell DDG, but I think he won't have a choice this summer. Madrid will be going all out for a goalie. If he did leave, I wouldn't begrudge him it. Absolutely class act on and off the field for us and stayed longer than he maybe should have, given his standing in the game and our so-so performances on the pitch.

TheDoc

I don't know where it came from, but quotes confirming Jose will drop players from starting XI and squad for tomorrows game and potentially Spurs at the weekend.

Actually hard to pinpoint who exactly considering so many players were garbage. And Pogba getting dropped seems to be more like singling him out again, when he wasn't the worst out there. Sanchez could do with sitting on the bench for a bit. He's been generally atrocious since signing.

Somehow I doubt we are going to randomly see Fellaini, Darmian, Blind and Shaw in the mix when they are clearly out of his plans. Which is a pity, there is just no restbite for someone like Matic who has been struggling for a number of months.

Could be a mental team tomorrow. But big call for him Saturday. Drops big players and we lose, the only real salvation from the season left, there could be war.

How would he be signaling Pogba out if he is dropping playerS?

fatherted1969

This crack of Pogba needing another 2 central midfielders beside him so he can play well is a complete cop out and actually hurts my head a little. Look at the 3 midfielders who play for City. Fernandinho, De Bruyne and Silva. On paper that is an incredibly lightweight 3. You'd think it'd be easy to overrun them but no, they have a willingness to absolutely work their bollax off for the good of the team that is the complete opposite of Pogba.

I dont see why Utd should ever need to play 2 holding midfielders against at least 14 of the premiership teams. It's a joke people thinking that's the problem. One more defensive midfielder against who!!!! West Brom!! At Old Trafford!!! It'd be funny if it wasn't so depressing.

I don't like Mourinho, disliked him intensely at Chelsea, hate the circus he brought to my club but he can't be blamed for Pogba playing muck like he's been more often than not this season. Playing Herrera and Matic as defensive midfielders at home against West Brom, Pogba should be lording it completely

yabadabado

It doesn't have to be 2 defensive midfields along side Pogba.

bangkok

fatherted1969 wrote: »

This crack of Pogba needing another 2 central midfielders beside him so he can play well is a complete cop out and actually hurts my head a little. Look at the 3 midfielders who play for City. Fernandinho, De Bruyne and Silva. On paper that is an incredibly lightweight 3. You'd think it'd be easy to overrun them but no, they have a willingness to absolutely work their bollax off for the good of the team that is the complete opposite of Pogba.

I dont see why Utd should ever need to play 2 holding midfielders against at least 14 of the premiership teams. It's a joke people thinking that's the problem. One more defensive midfielder against who!!!! West Brom!! At Old Trafford!!! It'd be funny if it wasn't so depressing.

I don't like Mourinho, disliked him intensely at Chelsea, hate the circus he brought to my club but he can't be blamed for Pogba playing muck like he's been more often than not this season. Playing Herrera and Matic as defensive midfielders at home against West Brom, Pogba should be lording it completely

Its not just pogba, wont see the best of sanchez until we have a proper left back who will over lap and take a defender away from him, or we wont see the best of lukaku until we have proper wingers, right and left backs who can actually cross a ball first time. Everything is connected. We are only seeing the best of de gea because our defence is poor

TheDoc

Deleted User wrote: »

How would he be signaling Pogba out if he is dropping playerS?

Just my take if he is dropped. There was worse, and nothing really better.

Even trying to think of who was garbage, no one really stuck out as pathetic, everyone was just at a poor level. And no one excelled.

I'm assuming Pogba will be on the bench and then its a certain "well how did you arrive at that decision".

Would love to see a small change in Matic ****ing off crawling on top of Lindeloff, let the fella play the ball out and the team push higher in possesion. So annoying watching Matic drop deep to take a 3 yard pass from Lindeloff, to then hit another pointless tiny pass, when Lindeloff could hasten the whole thing himself.

Like how hes settling. The ricks are gone, showing some nice composure and passing ranges. Would like him to be given the remit and freedom to take the ball out of defence and play some passes of note.

Actually probably gone a little under the radar with all thats happened. While he hasn't been immense, he's improved, and looks very assured and composed. Don't have the mild panic attacks that I had start of the season. So fair play to him, and the manager for obviously working towards a good plan with him. Noticably, didn't harang or abuse the player publicly. Potential idea there moving forward

TheDoc

fatherted1969 wrote: »

This crack of Pogba needing another 2 central midfielders beside him so he can play well is a complete cop out and actually hurts my head a little. Look at the 3 midfielders who play for City. Fernandinho, De Bruyne and Silva. On paper that is an incredibly lightweight 3. You'd think it'd be easy to overrun them but no, they have a willingness to absolutely work their bollax off for the good of the team that is the complete opposite of Pogba.

In the scenarios where that midfield did get put under it, they got barrelled through. Recent evidence of that. David Silva is a complete passenger in the defensive side. De Bruyne is also more often than not. He can tackle mind you, but his defensive awareness of space is all over the shop. And that's ok, he's a recently converted CM.

I dont see why Utd should ever need to play 2 holding midfielders against at least 14 of the premiership teams. It's a joke people thinking that's the problem. One more defensive midfielder against who!!!! West Brom!! At Old Trafford!!! It'd be funny if it wasn't so depressing.

Absolutely agree. The persistence with 4-2-3-1, playing two holding midfielders, one of which being Pogba where it clearly rails against his instincts, hasn't worked. His and the teams ability forces it to work in a lot of cases but in any real test it has shown to come up short more often than not.

The point of a three however is that it's not two sitting behind him, it's one defensive midfielder. And someone like Herrera who has an engine to get up and down. Pogba does have that engine and he can and could do it, and he does, but its clearly an issue for him bombing forward in a two, as from what he says himself the manager likes both playing behind the line of the ball and not getting ahead. In a three, he can bomb into the box as opposed to having to be a recycler of possesion.

I don't like Mourinho, disliked him intensely at Chelsea, hate the circus he brought to my club but he can't be blamed for Pogba playing muck like he's been more often than not this season. Playing Herrera and Matic as defensive midfielders at home against West Brom, Pogba should be lording it completely

Both are as guilty as each other probably. But its literally becoming evident he bought Paul Pogba with absolutely no idea how to use him or get the best from him. He assumed he would slot into a 4-2-3-1, the formation he obviously wanted to come with, and its only through consistent badgering he has succumbed and attempted a 4-3-3 which so far is too small a sample size to show anything, we have had poor results but also good ones.

He definitly needs to sit down and have a long hard think on that front. Whilst you assume players can adapt and should be able to play multiple formations, they are so micromanaged by modern managers, that they are totally embedded to a system, and changing it requires serious work.

Adamocovic

Just finished reading one of the worst articles/headline I've read in some time, and that's saying something. This one comes from the ever reliable source that is Express.co.uk, who run, very calmly, with the headline:

"Barcelona to miss out on Luke Shaw because of surprise offer"


Now I don't want to belittle Shaw, but surely most football fans would find the most surprising thing about that headline the fact that Barcelona are reportedly set "to miss out". Suggesting they have been putting in a big effort to go for Shaw.

Cast aside that voice in your head that says "but they already have Alba and spent nearly €20million on Digne as his backup/replacement" or the voice that says "they've only ever signed one English player before, and that was when they had an English manager!". Let's just put our fingers in our ears and carry on.

So Barcelona want Shaw. But who would have both the financial power and appeal to hijack the deal with a shock deal of their own? Juventus? Chelsea? PSG? Munich? Madrid? Even City?

No I'm afraid. Valencia are now clear favorites after beating out Barcelona, according to McKenzie ......Valencia. No not him. Yes that Valencia.

Now I've rated both Shaw and Valencia (the team not Antonio) this season, but surely the only thing in this article that wouldn't be classified as shocking is the fact that Valencia would be interested in Shaw, and possible favorites. The most shocking thing about this is any interest from Barcelona, something they deliver calmly.

Sports journalism can be absolutely muck. I'm not even bothering to link the article as I can't sleep knowing I've helped contribute to their views.