Manchester United

Gareth Southgate announced his England squad this week ahead of the international friendlies against the Netherlands and Italy, and there were a few surprise names called up - one being Manchester United’s Ashley Young.

If you have watched him regularly throughout the season, then it’s not that much of a surprise, but to the outside viewer, they might well be asking why the England manager has recalled someone who last played for the Three Lions in 2013.

Young has been a typical Mourinho player since the Portuguese boss took over: hard working, never-let-die attitude, and the versatility to play in a number of positions when asked upon. Mourinho likes his players to have loyalty and the
Englishman has shown this through his open mindedness of playing in systems and areas of the pitch which were previously unfamiliar to him.

There have been a number of stellar performances shown by the former Villan, but none better and handled with more grace than the one aga

With the setup of the summer transfer window reportedly meant to be changing, where the business completed by the teams will have to be done before the new season starts, most clubs and managers will have to prepare themselves by creating a small list of targets before the current campaign is over.  

Sometimes, the best way to be effective within the market and be one step ahead of the other teams is by looking out for which individuals are close to being available on a free transfer. One of the huge factors to this, is that a potential club can negotiate and come to an agreement with a player that is in the final six months of his contract to go on to completing a move to his next destination on a summer Bosman move.

Here are the six European players that will become a free agent at the end of the season...

• Bundesliga – FC Schalke’s Max Meyer

Although the big sides in Europe tend to focus on bringing in central mid

In 2011, Manchester United set up with a team against Swansea in the Premier League that consisted of Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia on the wing, with Chris Smalling at centre back and Phil Jones at right back.

Wind forward six years and instead of Young and Valencia occupying the wing, they are now Manchester United's first choice left and right back, with Jones shifting inwards and creating a feeble partnership with Smalling.

While Valencia has been a useful asset more often than not for the Red Devils, it is astounding to think that this is the state of Manchester United's four-man defence six years into the future.

It has been alarming to see the lack of quality in Man United's squad, emphasised by Smalling's presence in the starting XI. José Mourinho might have spent a fortune already, but he, and the club, simply have to be ruthless this summer in clearing out the deadwood and recruiting smartly.

Here are the players that should be sold:<

The rivalry between Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho will go down as one of the biggest that the Premier League has ever seen. The personalities of coaches, the excitement and hype ahead of the London Derby has made it a thriller of an event to watch.

However, the story itself has not been the same due to the sacking of Mourinho by Chelsea’s board back in December 2015. Since then, the 55-year-old Portuguese has had his own battles with managers such as Antonio Conte and Pep Guardiola, but despite these, he has not forgotten to make an occasional dig towards long-term rival Arsene Wenger.

Following last month’s swap deal, which saw Alexis Sanchez join Manchester United whilst Henrikh Mkhitaryan travelled in the opposite direction, to Arsenal, both players are now part of an elite list of players that have played for Wenger and Mourinho.

It’s time to go through the players that have relished the chance of working under both managers...

5th January 2018.
There has already been plenty of press briefings this January, as the supposed rift between the Manchester United Board and Jose Mourinho widens.

The Portuguese boss has made it quite obvious that he does not have complete faith in the Board to complete and bring in the players he desires.

Mourinho wanted both Antoine Griezmann and Ivan Periši? last summer, but ended up with neither and now does not possess a true wide player that can offer the Red Devils a different means of attack.

Griezmann was perhaps out of the Board's hands, given his mind changed when Atlético Madrid's transfer ban was upheld, but the failure to recruit Periši? was due to Ed Woodward, Man United's executive vice-chairman, squabbling over a few million.

Mourinho said after the win at Everton: "I don't know about transfers.

"In this moment we are in trouble, in two to three weeks' time maybe we recover and we breathe in a different way, can we im

29th December 2017.
José Mourinho has been put under pressure in the past month after Manchester United's title hopes slipped through the cracks after a string of disappointing performances.

Manchester United may have improved drastically since last season, given they finished sixth and were poor overall, but it is being overlooked by the brilliance of Pep Guardiola's Manchester City.

No one can deny the excellence of the Citizens, who remain unbeaten in the Premier League. The Spanish manager has completed an overhaul of his squad and acted astutely in the transfer market to bring in the players he feels compliments the team.

Mourinho has not had the luxury of signing each and every one of his transfer targets, as both Antoine Griezmann and Ivan Periši?, two key players for the Portuguese boss, escaped his grasp.

Before the start of the season, it was clear to see why Mourinho wanted those players: Manchester United do not have orthodox wingers in

22nd December 2017.

As the January transfer window is just around the corner, clubs all over Europe will be discussing their plans to bring in the targets they have identified.

Historically, January has been a time period where you might find a bargain in the market, due to the player forcing his way out of the club, or because their contract is expiring in six months' time.

With that being said, here are the three best free transfers available in Europe right now:

Mesut Özil Arsenal

The German's next club, should he leave Arsenal, will realise that they have secured one of the biggest bargains of the last decade.

It has been surprising to see the Gunners allow Mesut Özil to run down his contract with no contingency plan involved, and so there is no surprise to see a number of teams interested in signing the World Cup winner when his contract expires next June.

Özil is in the position now, coming into January, where he can s

20th December 2017.
Despite the rising transfer market spend of Europe's biggest and best clubs, most prefer to keep their power dry in the January window, moving only if absolutely necessary, and even then often opting for stop-gap arrivals, with the major business saved for the summer.

But that might not be the case for Manchester United this coming January. The Red Devils, trailing neighbours Manchester City by 11 points at the top of the Premier League, could be about to address a number of their squad's deficiencies in the mid-season window, reportedly on the lookout for a full-back and a winger, with departures not ruled out either.

According to manager José Mourinho, United, whose most notable January successes of the recent past include Patrice Evra, Nemanja Vidi? and Juan Mata, will swoop if a key target becomes available. "I'm not a big defender of the January market but there are players and situations that sometimes you have the chance to do and you s

12th December 2017.
After years of English teams failing to perform in a competitive manner in the Champions League, this could be the first season of their return to past glory. The last team from the Premier League to win the elite European competition was Chelsea, in 2012, a long six years ago.

Since Chelsea's triumph in the Allianz Arena against Bayern Munich, only Manchester City have reached a semi final, which was staged against eventual winners Real Madrid. On paper, a 1-0 aggregate loss looks kind, but the truth of it is, is that Real Madrid dominated both legs and it was a non-event, at no point did the Citizens look genuinely threatening.

It has been disappointing to watch English teams fail so miserably in the Champions League, but there could be a changing of the guard, as there usually is in cycles. As the draw for the knockout rounds was made this week, England have five representatives to restore some honour and pride back into the division.

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