Tag Futebol

The hype and interest surrounding Iker Muniain is warranted. At Athletic Bilbao, the young forward has been on the scene for a number of years—making his debut at the age of 16. But as Muniain hopes to prepare himself for another string of eye-catching performances at this summer’s Olympics, should there be any reason for the young Spaniard to leave La Liga in the near future?

Muniain, along with the rest of the Bilbao team, gave an outstanding performance at Old Trafford in the Europa League last season. It was a performance and stage that opened up his talents to a wider audience. Yes, he’s probably Spain’s best young talent among their seemingly endless supply, but Muniain displayed the kind of ability and mentality that is needed in English football. Has was hardly fazed by the occasion and the history of the opposing team, and he looked to force his authority on the game as much as possible.

Manchester United will of course hold an interest in the player, as will a number of the other big clubs in the Premier League. But really, what can English football offer a leading product of the current greatest nation in world football? The exposure will naturally be bigger in England, but there are few doubting that Real Madrid would be leading the race should Bilbao decide to part with their forward.

Despite having a deceptively strong frame, there would be questions raised as to whether Muniain could prevent himself being thrown around in the rough and tumble of English football. He’d be guaranteed success at any of the major clubs who are likely to chase his signature, but as the question has been asked of Lionel Messi; could Muniain do it on a cold Monday night in Stoke? The truth is, he’s done it on the rain-soaked pitch of San Mames. A game that resulted in a 2-2 draw against Barcelona. He’s got the talent and mentality to succeed in difficult conditions, but his potential is better than just a comparison to the difficulties of England’s heaviest hitters.

But why would one of the best young talents in football want to be exposed to a league where Stoke are the benchmark for success? In La Liga, whether he stays at Bilbao for the foreseeable future—which is likely—or he moves to one of big two in the league, he’d be allowed to develop his natural ability, rather than adapt his game to a style that is a little more rough around the edges.

Muniain is naturally capable of playing on either flank, with a great tendency to drift inside. His aggressive style of play would certainly not be lost in English football, and he is more than capable of taking care of himself. But in England, he’d become just another one of those expensive imports.

Manchester City—who are sure to exert their power in the transfer market—would snap him up, as they have done with every other flavour of the summer. He’d run out a good season with the club, only to then be cast aside when the next hot thing pops up. At Chelsea, where would he fit in over the long-term? The club have bought ambitiously but also with a great deal of focus on players who play in the same position. Big money awaits Muniain in England, but I’d like to think he’s got a little more integrity than just chasing a weighty pay packet. Most will disagree, unfortunately.

Remaining in Spain, however, would accelerate his progression into the Spanish national team. He’s been selected for the senior squad by Vicente Del Bosque, but his youth and the excellence ahead of him meant there was little chance of a call-up to the Euro squad.

Muniain has admitted to idolising Raul Gonzalez as a youngster—something which could open up another route to the Bernabeu in the future. The likelihood, however, is that Muniain would be greatly appreciated in Spanish football—where he belongs. La Liga’s problems may be rooted to the financial disparity in the league, but Spanish football still holds a large volume of the world’s best players. The quality of football also remains a constant in the league, as well. England may have variety, but Muniain is better suited to the obvious technical aspect that Spain excels in.

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Naturally, however, this is all misguided Spanish propaganda. Because, obviously, all the best players want to play in England, regardless of their nationality and preference.

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First things first, is it Goetze or Gotze? There seems to be no real answer online, but one thing that is certain is that Borussia Dortmund midfielder Mario Goetze is the real deal and looks like a real top talent. The 19 year old German has been tipped by many to be a real star and with that tag is many propertied moves to some of the biggest clubs in Europe and in this case it is no different.

The creative midfielder is held in high regard because of his pace, supreme technical ability and his creative flair, the German football system is really cranking out some fantastic talents of late. He made his debut during the 2009-2010 campaign but it wasn’t until last year that he became a mainstay of the team and the lynchpin of the side. He helped the side to the Bundesliga title last season and managed an impressive return of 8 goals and 15 assists. It was widely rumoured that he would move on this Summer with Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger paying particular interest, it was even reported that Arsenal made an offer for the player towards the end of the most recent transfer window amounting to £35million however it was rejected out of hand.

The player and his agent have moved to deny any possibility of a move in the near future, talking to Goal.com he said:

“Mario will stay at Dortmund, for sure, the next two years….There is no chance of him going to another club this window….This is because he is so young and it is too early in his career for him. The club, the player and his family, we are all of one mind that it is better for him to stay there because he is happy at Dortmund.”.

It is pretty understandable that the player would want to stay for this season at least, the opportunity to represent the club he joined when he was 8 in the Champions League will be a highly attractive proposition. Whether however he will remain for 2 years as his agent predicts remains to be seen I would imagine there be lots of intense speculation over his future next summer. With Bayern Munich also supposedly really interested in his future there could be a three way tussle ready to unfold.

It really isn’t overly surprising either, Goetze is a quality player and for my mind a better player than his compatriot Mesut Ozil who is also a supremely talented footballer. The German FA’s technical director and former legend in his own right Matthias Sammer has claimed that the youngster is one of the best talents the country has ever had. The plaudits don’t stop there Franz Beckenbauer has compared the German with a certain Argentine winger:

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“It is not possible to stop Mario Goetze….He has the same assets as Messi…There is no one playing better than him….He runs through opponents as though they aren’t there….He is an instinctive footballer, just like Messi.”.

Clearly with such high praise comes a high price tag, when you consider that Ozil cost Real Madrid €15million it seems highly likely that any deal for Goetze will cost an awful lot more with a particularly intense transfer battle to go with it. Clearly he is just the sort of player that both sides would find extremely useful, Arsenal may have splashed the cash on Mikel Arteta and wrapped up a loan deal for Yossi Benayoun, but long term they need to replace Nasri and Fabregas and Goetze would go a long way to sorting out those problems.

United too have made no secret this Summer of their quest to sign some creative midfield talent, they have looked to sign Samir Nasri, there were murmurings that they were interested in Luka Modric but their primary target was clearly Wesley Sneijder and now that any move for the Dutchman appears to be dead in the water it is very conceivable that they might switch their attention to the German that they supposedly offered £1.5million to Dortmund just to have first refusal on the player.

Personally I would love to see the midfielder in the Premier League, he is a tremendous talent and the more we have in this country the better, he is destined to be a star not only at domestic level, but also on the world stage, he may have remained put so far, but next summer could be a different story.

Article courtesy of Joe T from This is Futbol

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has finally put the club’s supporters out of their misery and named his number one choice goalkeeper for the foreseeable future, and rather surprisingly it’s young Polish stopper Wojciech Szczesny who has come out on top in the battle for the number one jersey. But does he have what it takes to make the role his own over the next few months?

Casual observers have long since calculated that the one major flaw in Arsenal’s starting eleven, their Achilles heel, was the fact that they didn’t possess a top notch ‘keeper – at least one of sufficient enough calibre to enable the club to challenge for honours at the end of the season.

When Manuel Almunia was the undisputed first choice last season, he was an obvious weak link. If you took into account every other side in the top flight last term, Almunia would have struggled to get into almost every other team’s starting eleven, baring perhaps the completely hopeless Brian Jensen at Burnley. Far too often, the Spanish goalkeeper let down  a manager that had placed enormous faith in his abilities, when seemingly no one else did.

Wenger stated that: “At the moment Wojciech is no.1. He has done nothing for me to take him out, but I can rotate the goalkeepers. In the cups I play sometimes different goalkeeper as well.” As far as statements of support go, it’s hardly glowing in it‘s wording is it? But it’s not in what Wenger has actually gone on record as saying that‘s most interesting here, it‘s the fact that he‘s finally given a definitive answer at all that‘s the most intriguing thing of all.

Wenger is famously cagey when dealing with the press. This guarded nature only leads to uncertainty on the terraces about what their manager is truly thinking at times; it’s fair to say that over the goalkeeping issue at least, Wenger has kept the Emirates faithful guessing over the last year or so as to where his loyalties truly lie and who his preferred first choice number one is.

Shortly before the start of the season Wenger questioned Almunia’s mental strength, which at the time looked as if it may end the ‘keeper’s stay at the Emirates. Wenger conceeded that “Manuel Almunia is a talented goalkeeper. In training he is superb, the only problem is that he gets nervous during big matches, thereby making silly mistakes.” At a huge club such Arsenal, displaying mental fragility is a huge blot against your record and it seemed as if Almunia had tried Wenger’s seemingly infinite patience for the very last time.

Lukasz Fabianski has been unlucky with injury this season after finally establishing himself in between the sticks at the beginning of the season. His error-prone ways looked to be a thing of the past. During what has to be regarded as Fabianski’s first real extended run in the first-team since signing for the club in 2007 from Legia Warsaw, the Pole looked a decent goalkeeper, capable of making crucial saves when it mattered – but he’ll have to force his way back into the starting eleven all over again now when he comes back from injury, and a frustrating period on the sidelines beckons once more for Fabianski.

Szczesny looked to be at loggerheads with the Arsenal management earlier on during the season after supposedly threatening to quit the club in November unless he secured more playing time. Szczesny stated: “There were some offers, but I’m not interested right now. It’s not that I don’t want to extend the contract, I just don’t want to hold talks at this point. I have enough money to live and I can’t complain about that, but I will only be happy if I play. Everything depends on how many games I play.”

A strong statement it has to be said, especially for a precocious 20 year-old ‘keeper; a position widely regarded to be the most difficult to break into any side at a young age. At the time, Szczesny was most definitely the club’s third-choice goalkeeper and this looked to be tantamount to career suicide, but since November he’s been the least injury-prone of Arsenal’s stoppers, and as a result, he’s forced his way into Wenger’s plans. It seems with the goalkeeping situation at Arsenal, it is at times, quite literally the survival of the fittest.

But with 9 appearances to his name so far this term, a run which has included 6 clean sheets, Szczesny has grabbed the opportunity with both hands and he looks to be displaying a maturity well beyond his years.

In the same press conference Wenger didn’t completely rule out Manuel Almunia either however, saying: “Manuel is under contract and as long as he is at the club, we are happy to have him. I like him as a man and as a player and I have shown that in my decisions. I am happy to have him here.” This show of support may have been aimed squarely at any potential suitors of Almunia’s this transfer window though, as Wenger seeks to ward off anyone interested in the Spaniard and ensure that he ends January with the same squad that he started the window with.

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Szczesny is certainly a supremely confident individual, and perhaps he possesses an inner mental strength and confidence in his own ability that was sometimes lacking in Almunia and to a lesser extent Fabianski. It will be interesting to see if Wenger will consider dipping into the transfer market in the summer or whether he’ll seek to retain the young Pole as number one. Szczesny seems to have Wenger’s backing for the time being, a statement of support is a rarity from Wenger in the press and this is worth noting – but with injuries so prevalent in Arsenal’s squad, I wouldn’t bet against the number one jersey switching hands again before the end of the season.

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Holy Crap – it’s live fantasy football! Which THREE will you pick for Everton v Chelsea today? Picklive: Watch and bet live – spices up any game!

Everton fans have been discussing this weekend’s massive clash with neighbours Liverpool, and it doesn’t seem like they’re too confident.

The Toffees welcome Liverpool to Goodison Park this weekend with the two clubs enduring contrasting fortunes.

Everton’s 3-1 loss to Manchester City encapsulated everything that has gone wrong since Sam Allardyce took over, with the side displaying little attacking intent and even more worryingly showing little heart or pride.

Liverpool’s weekend was in a way also representative of their season, as their new-found grit and ability to grind out results was on display in their comeback win against struggling Crystal Palace.

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In the past, any separation between the sides in the league table has always gone out the window on derby day, but the Goodison faithful aren’t feeling too confident going into this weekend’s clash.

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Liverpool came out on top in the recent FA Cup fixture courtesy of a Virgil van Dijk header, but Allardyce showed how capable he is of frustrating the Reds in the 1-1 league draw at Anfield.

Everton fans aren’t expecting much from this Saturday’s clash though, and some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…

Defeat in the FA Cup has heaped the pressure onto Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal.

A goal from Danny Welbeck – a player he chose to move on – dispatched the Red Devils and condemned them to a second successive season without silverware.

The former Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss has improved the dismal league form shown under David Moyes though, enough to put the club in the mix for a return to the Champion’s League.

With the Old Trafford outfit currently in the precious fourth position, only narrowly ahead of Liverpool, many in Manchester believe improvement has been much too slow.

This painful progress is all the more difficult to stomach given the resources spent so far on shaking up his inherited squad.

It looks likely that van Gaal will be given time and further investment. With new signings therefore imminent, here are THREE current stars that should be looking for an Old Trafford exit…

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Juan Mata

It’s been a tough few of years for the Spanish international midfielder. Go back a couple of seasons and he was, without doubt, one of the exceptional creative forces in the Premier League.

Mata is sheer class in terms of his technique, vision and link-up play but a ruthless Jose Mourinho returned to Chelsea and the schemer fell victim to his rebuilding mission.

Shipped to United for a hefty £37 million, his arrival was then heralded as the necessary spark to ignite the lethargy Old Trafford was enduring under Moyes.

As the side struggled though, so did Mata and he must surely have viewed the prospect of van Gaal with optimism. Nearly a year on, things are only slightly better.

The 26-year-old has improved his form and made important contributions but his place is far from assured thanks to the coach’s seemingly endless search for a suitable formation.

At times United have deployed three strikers which has limited the space for more attacking midfielders.

In the midfield itself Angel Di Maria and one of either Daley Blind or Michael Carrick will always be included. Then there is Wayne Rooney, who will start ahead of the former Chelsea man, regardless of how far up or down the field he is required.

Mata needs to find a new club where he can become the fulcrum of the attack, to shine at his brightest and reclaim his place in the Spanish national side.

Robin van Persie

Perhaps a surprising choice, the Dutch ace is in just as much need of a move as rival forward Radamel Falcao.

While the Colombian will need to head for pastures new due to his own lack of performance, van Persie might just need a transfer to make the best of his final few years in the game.

The former Arsenal hitman joined United in order to win silverware and was immediately rewarded, lifting his first Premier League title under Sir Alex Ferguson.

After a difficult time under Moyes last term, he, like Mata, must have been excited by the arrival of compatriot van Gaal.

Last summer’s World Cup with the Netherlands pointed to van Gaal’s ability to get the best from the forward. This season though, the boss has been hard on his own strikeforce and it seems he will be keen to invest in a shiny new goal-getter.

Van Gaal has shown loyalty to his countryman in the past but van Persie, 32 in the summer, may need to leave in order to guarantee game time next season.

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David De Gea

In all likelihood the young keeper will be named as United’s player of the season for the second successive year.

This deserved accolade, while a symbol of his stunning progress, is a worrying sign of the times for United.

Van Gaal probably owes the stopper his job due to a plethora of match-winning performances throughout the campaign.

The issue now facing De Gea is that his improvement has been so noticeable it now pushes him into the discussion about who might be the world’s best goalkeeper. Any pretenders to that throne, need to be playing in the world’s best club

United missed out on the Champions League last term and are far from secure in their chase for it under their current leadership.

Real Madrid however, will always be challenging for Europe’s biggest prize. With the curtain starting to come down on the career of their long-term stopper Iker Casillas, it looks like the stars might be aligned for De Gea to succeed him at both club and country.

In late November there were several who had consigned QPR to the dead and buried pile. Relegation from the Premier League appeared to be the only option.Then arrived Harry Redknapp. The West London outfit have now transformed themselves into a side capable of survival.

If the Hoops become another Harry Houdini success story they can start planning for the long term. The project at Loftus Road is an ambitious one but will it be one for Redknapp to carry out? Will he want to put all his eggs in one basket again and commit to the club for the foreseeable future if they get relegated? Would he stay even if they pulled off the miracle escape? I am not so sure.

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The 66 year old will not have forgotten how he left White Hart Lane under a dark cloud. There were few Lilywhite supporters that shed a tear when the axe was wielded upon him. They felt he had run his course and taken the club as far as he could.This must have left a bitter taste in the mouth. Will Redknapp risk being so cruelly discarded once again? He may be a hero at QPR now, that can all soon change.

The frustration at Tottenham towards Redknapp was born out of their manager batting his eyelids elsewhere at the England job. This would be a warning sign to be careful to not make the same mistake twice but this is not just your normal Premier League boss. Redknapp is a creature of habit. He must be painfully aware that he will not have many more chances to manage in the upper echelons of World Football again and can’t turn down taking a risk. This is why you can see him being motivated should a big job opportunity arise for him once again. The roles he would truly desire is set to a very small list of clubs, but what would happen should one of these come calling?

There may be several QPR supporters who think I am barking mad to suggest he would leave after giving him his chance to rebuild his name but they may forget the man we are discussing here.

Harry Redknapp is a football manager who is tactician on and off the field who has always thought of his career prospects first. He after all had no fear in walking out in Southampton when they were consigned to the Championship. Then when he saw a sinking ship on the horizon at Portsmouth, he did not hesitate to drive away to London. It is not necessarily fair to criticise him for this, even though several football fans will, but it does show what he is, ruthless.

There was always an inevitability that Redknapp would be back in the English top flight. The QPR position was the right fit at the right time. The R’s had not won a Premier League game all season and things could only get better. You also suspect that the close proximity of the January transfer wind which coincided with his appointment was a factor.The Winter Window gave the “wheeler dealer” plenty of scope to take punts on those who he saw as “proper” players up for a relegation scrap. He needed no regard for the future.

When Redknapp suggested he was keen on the Ukraine managerial position, just before his appointment in West London, it forced the hand of Tony Fernandes to move in. The QPR owner could not take a risk on one of the few managers that could lead them to survival not walking through the doors. Every man and his dog knew that Redknapp would never go to Ukraine. It was a show of power though that he will use whatever he can as leverage to preserve his managerial name and keep it in shining lights. It is certainly food for thought how often Redknapp though now mentions how great his working relationship is with Mr Fernandes so regularly to the media. Future employers always would want great communication with their manager.

Mark Hughes may have been lambasted for signing mercenaries in January, but Harry Redknapp did too. The difference was that the present QPR boss had a far easier sell to the players he brought in to ensure they were motivated. Loic Remy and Chris Samba have come in for ludicrous and large transfer fees, but if you look at the bigger picture they are in no lose situations.

If they play to their potential they could keep QPR safe which would be satisfying but regardless of how the R’s do they are putting themselves in the shop window.Would you be surprised if Redknapp admitted to those he signed that he was also using the club as a tool to put himself in the media spotlight once again? yes, but nobody would be shocked if that is what he is doing.

Remy and Samba know if QPR go down that they will be in demand and could earn themselves moves to clubs that did not even remember they existed six months ago. The situation is the same for their manager at the helm. Even if survival is attained in the summer, the squad requires a huge face lift. Does Redknapp have the stomach for that fight for the next few seasons? That is debatable. There could be several options which could lead him to push the exit door once more.

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The Chelsea manager’s position is seemingly up for grabs in the summer. He has seemingly switched across from one deadly rival to another before. They currently have Rafael Benitez at the Helm who they never suspected would be leading the Blues into battle and if Redknapp moved there you have seen stranger.

Arsene Wenger’s time at Arsenal may also be up in the summer and Redknapp’s CV would shine over others and North London is not foreign territory to him.

I may be speculating about clubs that the QPR boss could end up at, although there is one thing that I can be fairly certain on. This is that if he were to stay at Loftus Road for the long term I would be more shocked than if he were to pull of Premier League safety this campaign.

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With the summer transfer window just around the corner, fans of football clubs up and down the country are debating on which players should be recruited.

West Ham United have had a difficult few months, and they are not quite out of danger just yet in the Premier League.

Mathematically, the Hammers are still vulnerable to relegation, but they managed to extend the gap to five points over the weekend with a 3-0 victory over Southampton.

David Moyes’s side have seven games left to ensure their safety, and some supporters feel that the job is almost done.

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The club have a difficult run-in, though, as they will face Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City, with only the game against Pep Guardiola’s side at home.

Since the start of February, the team have picked up just two victories in the league, coming against Watford and the Saints.

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Despite the team not being safe just yet, some supporters have already turned their attention to the club’s potential transfer activity.

The discussion was had on Reddit.

Comment from discussion Given we now have a 93% chance of being in the PL next season, let’s talk this summer and transfers, r/Hammers..Comment from discussion Given we now have a 93% chance of being in the PL next season, let’s talk this summer and transfers, r/Hammers..Comment from discussion Given we now have a 93% chance of being in the PL next season, let’s talk this summer and transfers, r/Hammers..Comment from discussion Given we now have a 93% chance of being in the PL next season, let’s talk this summer and transfers, r/Hammers..Comment from discussion Given we now have a 93% chance of being in the PL next season, let’s talk this summer and transfers, r/Hammers..Comment from discussion Given we now have a 93% chance of being in the PL next season, let’s talk this summer and transfers, r/Hammers..Comment from discussion Given we now have a 93% chance of being in the PL next season, let’s talk this summer and transfers, r/Hammers..Comment from discussion Given we now have a 93% chance of being in the PL next season, let’s talk this summer and transfers, r/Hammers..

Recently recovered Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has revealed that he understands summer flop Mario Balotelli and that the two can create a formidable partnership heading into the second half of the season, Express reports.

Sturridge made his first start for the Reds this year against Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday, in which the Merseyside club triumphed in a 3-2 victory.

The England international supplied an assist for the first goal before earning the penalty converted by Gerrard, then made way for Balotelli.

The former AC Milan attacker managed to grab the winner eight minutes from time as Sturridge watched from the sidelines.

Manager Brendan Rodgers’ change to a 3-4-3 formation has seen Liverpool shoot up the table winning six out of their last eight games, but makes it difficult to deploy two centre-forwards.

However, Sturridge believes if he was to ever be fielded with Balotelli, he is certain that they can work together in order to break down their opponents.

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“When it’s Mario in there with me, I can move around and go into other areas because I know he will occupy the centre halves, so it’s different again,” he said.

“I am sure we can strike up a partnership in the future. I have no doubts about that.

“I’d say I can play with any player not just him. Whatever team the manager chooses to put out I will do my best whoever I have a partnership with. I try to adapt to whoever I am playing with and bring out the best in each other.

“We click when we are playing together.

“He’s been waiting for a while to break his duck and been working very hard in training, and now he has scored one in the league I am sure things will start to go his way now.

“It’s not easy to settle into a new team, a new area, a new lifestyle, with different people around you and so on and so forth.

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“People don’t ever take that into account. I just try to do my bit, although I’m not taking any credit for him scoring. I’m just happy he did.”

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For a player that was supposedly well on his way towards irreversible decline last season, even Patrice Evra’s fiercest critics would have a job digging into the Frenchman this term. The ex-Monaco man may have resembled a figure of uncertainty within the Manchester United back four last season, but from what we’ve seen so far, he seems back to his effervescent best.

While some were perhaps overzealous in their critique of a man who played 37 league games for a United side that ultimately only lost the title on goal difference, the 31-year-old was certainly lacking in the authority and assuredness that we’d become so used to seeing since he arrived in England back in 2006. And that’s putting it mildly.

But this season we’ve seen something resembling the real Patrice Evra back in a Manchester United shirt and he seems to have brought his shooting boots along for the first time in living memory, too. Evra has put away four goals so far this term and he’d probably have you know that tally should be five, following the awarding of United’s winner against Liverpool to his defensive counterpart Nemanja Vidic.

One bad season doesn’t make you a bad player and at times last term, while the frustration aimed towards him wasn’t by any means embraced by anything approaching the majority of the Old Trafford crowd, Evra’s performances last season were at times, some way off the high level of expectation he’d set for himself.

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With a lack of anything in the way of genuine competition at left-back, complacency was a word that seems to have been banded about at times torwards Evra last term and rumours linking Sir Alex Ferguson with a swoop for Leighton Baines seemed to gain in prominence as the campaign wore on. Was this the proverbial kick up the backside the Frenchman needed? Who knows, but either way United fans have been treated to a refreshed and reformed defender this term.

Yet while many seem happy to champion Evra as king of the left-backs once more, it’s worth noting that in the Premier League’s top ten, only West Bromwich Albion possess an inferior defensive record to the 29 goals that Fergie’s men have shipped so far. That’s ten more than second placed Manchester City, third placed Chelsea and dead equal with Martin O’Neill’s 14th placed Sunderland.

You hardly have to have even watched much of United this season to gauge that that their seven-point Premier League lead has been based upon irrepressible attacking gusto rather than solid defensive steel and a Robin van Persie-backed 56 goal haul for the side is homage to their irresistible form in front of goal.

Although Patrice Evra has hardly got off scott free for the barrage of flack that Fergie’s back line has taken over the last couple of months, the popular area of blame has tended to lie with an ever-changing central defensive partnership and an uncertain presence in between the sticks, with neither David de Gea or Anders Lindegaard yet to solidify themselves as number one at Old Trafford.

Yet while Evra hasn’t been without his faults this season, from a defensive perspective anyway, he’s been as good as any of his more vaulted peers within the Barclays Premier League.

Both the aforementioned Baines and even Chelsea’s soon-to-be out of contract Ashley Cole have been linked with moves to Old Trafford in recent weeks. Although it might surprise some to hear that Evra has won more aerial duels, made more successful tackles, blocked more shots and made more clearances than either Cole or Baines. Not bad for a man still dubbed to be something of a weak link in some quarters this season.

Indeed, Evra’s ability in the air this season has been a hugely underrated weapon in the United defense, with the left-back winning a dominating 48 out of 66 aerial battles, compared with Baines (8/18) and Cole (11/21). If the Everton and Chelsea duo are the yardstick as to which the league’s left-backs must be measured against, then Evra’s not doing too badly for himself, is he?

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Perhaps surprisingly, it’s going forward in which Evra hasn’t quite been firing on all cylinders. His personal contribution to Ferguson’s side with four goals can only be applauded, but in terms of his wider play, he’s maybe not quite the marauding force of old.

Out of his 56 attempted crosses, only 14 of them have hit the target, and while that statistic in itself can be somewhat misleading, Baines’ 66 accurate balls out of 205 attempts tell a story in itself. Still, the revered attacking prowess of Chelsea’s Cole has produced a sorry three accurate crosses out of an attempted 29.

Statistics will never tell the entire story but even if you’re looking to pick holes in Evra’s all round play, defensively the Frenchman has more than held his own amongst the generally more favoured duo of Leighton Baines and Ashley Cole. And for United fans, that’s all that matters.

Naturally, Patrice Evra is never going to be the player he was at the peak of his powers a few years ago, but fans need to move on from the season endured last term and start focusing on the present. Because if they do, they might just realize that for however unfashionable Evra is compared to the all singing, all dancing Leighton Baines, they still possess one of the finest left-backs in the country.

Manchester United revealed on Monday that Scott McTominay had been forced to withdraw from the Scotland squad through injury.

The 21-year-old made his Scotland debut against Costa Rica on Friday night, but the midfielder will not face Hungary on Tuesday after being forced to pull out of the squad.

The extent of the McTominay’s injury is currently unclear, but it does appear that he will struggle to be fit for United’s Premier League clash with Welsh outfit Swansea City this weekend.

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McTominay has developed into a key player for the Red Devils in recent weeks, with his impressive form seeing Jose Mourinho select the midfielder on a regular basis.

United posted the news on their official Twitter account on Monday morning, and the club’s supporters, who recently compared McTominay to Michael Carrick, were left furious that one of their first-team stars had picked up an injury during the international break.

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A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below: