Cunha will bring confidence and goals to United

Ruben Amorim has correctly identified that one of the reasons Manchester United finished a lowly 15th position last season was the failure of Rasmus Hojlund and Alexandro Garnacho to maximise opportunities to score when moving forward inside the penalty area or just outside. United’s current strike force scored only 44 goals in the league and no one reached double figures.

Amorim believes new signing, Matheus Cunha, will bring goals and confidence to United’s attackers as he is dangerous from almost anywhere within goal range. That is why United paid £62million for the Brazilian. Cunha had initially signed a four-year-deal with Wolves in February and he scored 33 goals in 92 matches after signing from Atletico Madrid in January 2023 on loan before the deal became permanent for £35million.

He became Wolves’ record sale and United would pay his release clause over two years. Cunha will likely play a No10 role in Amorim’s favoured 3-4-3 formation, which is slightly different to his Wolves’ position as striker, but the move will not officially be confirmed by United until he arrives back from international duty later in June.

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Manchester City let Frimpong slip through their fingers

When Liverpool came calling, Bayer Leverkusen full back, Jeremie Frimpong thought to himself, “Liverpool have shown their interest, and for me, it is a no brainer.” He could easily have been Manchester City’s answer to their right back problems after coming through the ranks and leaving six years ago, but instead, he will be at Anfield after Liverpool paid a bargain £29.5 million to bring him to the Premier League.

He joined City as a youngster but left because he couldn’t make the breakthrough to the most senior level. Since then he has enjoyed huge success at Leverkusen in Germany, winning a Bundesliga title medal under Xabi Alonso and playing regularly for his country. Remarkably, City told Frimpong that he was too small and the Premier League would be too physical for him.

Why Arsenal have not yet signed a striker

Arsenal are desperate to sign a new striker that would further boost their challenge for the title next season. Mikel Arteta will take his team to five pre-season matches so the new striker gets plenty of game time to settle in with the team and the playing style and formations.

Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko are the two main contenders to join, but a deal for either is proving to be slow and ponderous. The question is, the Gunners know they have to improve upfront, and therefore; why are they not moving negotiations along more quickly? I have been looking into this more deeply.

The players are due back from their summer break on July 7 when they will attend a short warm-weather training camp before embarking on a tour of Asia. This was mainly promoted by Arteta. They play AC Milan on July 23 in Singapore and Newcastle on the 27th and derby rivals Tottenham Hotspur on the 31st before flying home to London.

Sporting Director Andrea Berta is negotiating on several fronts, and currently, Slovenian Benjamin Sesko is more likely to arrive than Viktor Gyokeres, but he is also the younger of the two and still a little raw despite being more expensive than the Swedish international. Arteta and his staff will need to do a lot of work if he signs.

Arsenal are moving slowly because all the club management from Arteta to Sporting Director Andrea Bertha, who has an excellent relationship with Sesko’s bosses Leipzig’s Red Bull outfit, have to agree that the player who is signed is the right fit for the team and able to play off Saka, Havertz, Odegaard, Rice and Partey if he is still at the club in August. The problem with this strategy is that other clubs might beat them in the race for a signature.

Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Seiko are the standout candidates, but both are being tracked by other clubs such as Manchester United, PSG and Bayern Munich. Sesko would cost £92million, which has been agreed by the RB Leipzig Board of Directors. He is taller than Gyokeres, valued at £60million, and he would be able to play off Havertz and Saka.

Tricky decision for Tottenham

In a rather tetchy, irritable interview, Tottenham coach, Ange Postecoglou would not respond to the fact that although he won the Europa League competition, he might not be at the helm of the flagging Tottenham ship in August when the new season kicks off. He said in a prickly fashion, “I will be honest, I have been finding it really weird talking about my future when we have done something unprecedented. I have had to answer the questions because no one else at the club is in the position to do so; I guess. But I can’t answer your question about me and my future. Like I said, part of me is thinking ‘why am I even being asked that question?’ but it is what it is.” The coach is currently on holidays in Greece and watching his phone carefully for news on his future.

Why Delap chose Chelsea over United

Ipswich Town striker, Liam Delap had a choice to make head north to Manchester or Newcastle or move to London and join Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea won the day.  The 22-year-old had a £30million release clause in his contract, which was activated after the Tractor Boys were relegated back to the Championship League. Liam decided that Chelsea’s Enzo Maresca played the type of football that would best suit him. He was also convinced by the Blue’s officials that the club could win trophies under Maresca.

He acknowledged that Chelsea had the quality of players he was looking for and has accepted that he would alternate with Nicolas Jackson on a rotation basis to lead from the front. Liam was also pleased that Chelsea intend to compete in four major tournaments next season so he will have plenty of chances to shine. Maresca and Delap have history together from their time at Manchester City’s academy system and he has also played with Cole Palmer and Romeo Lavia.

United players upset at Asian mini-tour

Manchester United players were very unhappy with their recent post-season mini-tour of Asia, where they played in Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong. The players’ hearts were not in the games at all and were undertaken under protest. One senior player made a complaint to the management that his family holidays, booked and paid for, would have to be cancelled. Another said he would not go, and would pretend to be injured to avoid travelling 14,150 miles to Malaysia and Hong Kong.

Responding to the players’ attitudes, United brought forward the flights, which meant leaving only hours after the final game against Aston Villa. Consequently, the players did not have time to withdraw from the trip.

My sources tell me that United players were very angry after a 60 game season and especially as this mini tour is simply about making money for the club. Playing with such poor attitudes, United embarrassingly lost in Malyasia but won a cup in Hong Kong, which was so meaningless that a press officer carried the trophy off the field and back to the dressing room.