Jose planning Willian move
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is planning a “transfer raid” on his former side Chelsea, with winger Willian in his sights. Willian shone under Mourinho and last season was named as the club’s Player of the Season. However with Pedro and Victor Moses in fine form on the right of Antonio Conte‘s 3-4-3 chances are limited at the moment and Mourinho believes he can persuade Willian to join him. The fee quoted in the piece by the Star is £40 million.
Paper Round’s view: As pointed out in the article, there are legitimate reasons for Willian not playing recently. He has suffered injuries and spent time in Brazil following the death of his mother. To suggest that Conte would be so happy to lose Willian seems strange. One injury to Pedro or even Eden Hazard and Willian will once more be a vital player in this system. One of the striking things about Chelsea’s formation, and recent success, has been how reliant they are on a number of key players. They will need as strong a squad as possible to maintain this form and that will mean having players like Willian around.
Bellerin boost for Wenger
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been given good news as Hector Bellerin is set to return to training early. Bellerin suffered an ankle injury following a tackle from Danny Rose in the North London derby and there were initial fears that he wouldn’t be back until 2017 at the earliest. However the Spaniard will return to light training next week and could be ready to play first team football again in mid-December. This means he will be available for the testing winter period.
Paper Round’s view: There’s an argument to be made that Bellerin is Arsenal’s most important player, such is the unique style of his play. Bellerin is one of the best full-backs in the league and having him back for games such as Everton and Manchester City away could be crucial.
New position for Toure?
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola could turn to Yaya Toure to fill the club’s defensive crisis as they deal with another injury suffered by captain Vincent Kompany. The Belgian’s injury leaves Guardiola with just Nicolas Otamendi and John Stones. Guardiola reportedly sees Fernandinho and Toure as possible options to fill in but is reluctant to lose the former’s control in midfield. Toure actually played centre-back for Guardiola in Barcelona’s 2009 Champions League final victory against Manchester United and could see himself added back into City’s European squad for the knock-out stages.
Paper Round’s view: In theory this is a relatively sensible option for City. It prevents them overspending or getting the wrong player in January, and then they can target players like Aymeric Laporte or Leonardo Bonucci in the summer, as mentioned in the article. However if Guardiola wanted an emergency centre-half surely Aleksandar Kolarov, who has been playing there this season, or Bacary Sagna are more logical options? Especially given Toure’s prowess in front of goal in the 2-1 win over Crystal Palace on the weekend.
English football rocked further by fresh abuse revelations
There is fresh news regarding the abuse scandal that has rocked English football over the past few days. Since Andy Woodward came forward with his story in the Guardian other footballers have also felt comfortable enough to tell their story, with authorities reporting many more have come forward as well anonymously. Now the Mail report that Manchester City have launched an investigation into the club’s links to Barry Bennel, the offender in Woodward’s story who has been jailed on three occasions, and coached youth teams connected with City.
Further to this the Guardian report that a former Newcastle United player has contacted the police to report that he was abused as a young footballer and named George Ormond, who has already been convicted, as the offender.
If you need to contact the NSPCC hotline it is be available 24 hours a day on 0800 023 2642.
8 team T20 format losing support
Chances of an 8 team T20 competition, similar to the Big Bash, suffered a blow with the news that an independent report, carried out by Surrey, has revealed that counties wouldn’t necessarily earn more money with the new format.
Paper Round’s view: Paper Round feels that whilst a Big Bash style tournament is probably a good idea the demise of the Australian cricket team in the test arena is worrying. There’s obviously no certainty this would happen with England but given their performances in short form cricket there doesn’t seem to be too much to worry about. With the likes of Jason Roy, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes England have some of the most talented T20 cricketers in the world. Focusing on the long-form game domestically might be a better idea.
