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Abdul: He is exactly the signing Chelsea need. Mike Penders is a goalkeeper for the future, but Xabi Alonso knows very well that he needs to deliver early. Joe: To be fair, any goalkeeper in the league would be an upgrade on Sanchez.
Yorke not convinced by United’s summer transfer business (PictureL Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images) Dwight Yorke has questioned the logic behind Manchester United’s move for Carlos Baleba, left ‘confused’ by the club’s decision to prioritise signing a third midfielder. With Casemiro leaving the club and Manuel Ugarte sidelined with a long-term knee injury, United have brought in three new options in midfield. Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans arrived from Chelsea and Aston Villa respectively with the rebuild completed this week with Carlos Baleba joining from Brighton. As they did with their attack last summer, midfield has been United’s top priority with close to £150million spent on the revamp. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. But Saturday’s season-opening defeat to Hull City demonstrated there are still problems to be solved elsewhere. United’s defence looked off the pace, conceding twice on set pieces against the newly-promoted side despite Harry Maguire, Ayden Heaven, Leny Yoro and Luke Shaw all having full pre-season campaigns under their belts. United legend Yorke, part of the famous Treble-winning squad, fears United have spent too much time and money focusing on midfield in what has been a very ‘weird’ transfer window for the club. ‘Carlos Baleba to Man Utd? It’s been a very weird transfer window,’ Yorke told Reviant. Baleba has signed a long-term deal at Old Trafford (Picture: Manchester United via Getty) ‘Man Utd seem to be concentrating a lot on the central area of the park, where we already have plenty of players. ‘Don’t forget Ugarte, who is injured. We know Casemiro did a pretty good job toward the end of last season, thanks to his experience, but I’m not sure why we are concentrating on that position so much. Baleba is United’s third recruit in midfield (Picture: via Getty Images) ‘The defensive areas of the pitch are the ones that stand out, and we haven’t been able to address those. So, we’ve added another young player who is still unproven in Carlos Baleba. ‘He showed good signs in the past, but from my understanding, we aren’t signing him based on his recent form, but his form of a couple of seasons ago. ‘I’m a bit confused by it myself, but I do believe we are focusing way too much on that central area rather than other aspects of the team.’ Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
Wayne Rooney really likes the look of Manchester United’s new signing (Picture: Getty Images) Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has gone big on new signing Carlos Baleba, expecting him to ‘improve the team massively.’ The 22-year-old has arrived from Brighton in a deal worth an initial £65 million, which could rise to £70m. The Cameroon international has signed a five-year deal, with an option for it to be extended by a further year. Baleba completes a significant overhaul to the Manchester United midfield after the departure of Casemiro at the end of last season. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans have also arrived from Chelsea and Aston Villa respectively, with both starting in the 2-0 defeat to Hull City on the opening weekend of the Premier League season. Bruno Fernandes is the club captain and remains a guaranteed starter, while Kobbie Mainoo came off the bench against the Tigers on Saturday. Rooney feels Baleba is a key piece of the puzzle for Manchester United as they look to return to former glories, predicting the young midfielder to ‘massively’ improve the side. Carlos Baleba was unveiled as a Manchester United players on Tuesday (Picture: Getty Images) ‘I really like him, I think he’s a really good signing,’ the former forward said on Stick to United with Wayne Rooney. ‘We need another midfield player with a bit of physicality and I know he’s not six-foot-four or whatever. ‘But he covers the ground really well, he’s aggressive, he takes the ball, and is what we need. He’s a very good player who will improve the team massively. ‘It will be interesting with (Youri) Tielemans, (Andrey) Santos and (Kobbie) Mainoo, but this is what it should be. Competition for places. If you don’t play well, you don’t play.’ Baleba has signed on until 2031 (Picture: Getty Images) Another Manchester United legend, Dwight Yorke, offered a different take on the new arrival, saying he is confused by the signing. He reckons the Red Devils should be spending money in other positions rather than draining their transfer budget all on one area. ‘Carlos Baleba to Man Utd? It’s been a very weird transfer window. Man Utd seem to be concentrating a lot on the central area of the park, where we already have plenty of players,’ Yorke told Reviant. Manuel Ugarte is out after a serious injury at the World Cup (Picture: Getty Images) ‘Don’t forget [Manuel] Ugarte, who is injured. We know Casemiro did a pretty good job toward the end of last season, thanks to his experience, but I’m not sure why we are concentrating on that position so much. ‘The defensive areas of the pitch are the ones that stand out, and we haven’t been able to address those. So, we’ve added another young player who is still unproven in Carlos Baleba. He showed good signs in the past, but from my understanding, we aren’t signing him based on his recent form, but his form of a couple of seasons ago. ‘I’m a bit confused by it myself, but I do believe we are focusing way too much on that central area rather than other aspects of the team.’ Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
United’s transfer business isn’t over (Picture: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images) Manchester United are reportedly also lining up a late offer to sign Eduardo Camavinga from Real Madrid and Barcelona star Alejandro Balde. A left-back has been on United’s radar all summer with Balde emerging as an option late on in the summer transfer window. Reports in Spain claim the 22-year-old is prepared to leave this summer having been left unconvinced by his long-term prospects under head coach Hansi Flick. Balde’s agent Jorge Mendes has held talks with United officials who would prefer to negotiate a season-long loan deal with an option to make the move permanent. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. Barcelona would prefer a permanent deal, however. Spanish radio show El Larguero report United are now preparing an offer worth €30million (£25m) for the La Masia youth product, an offer that could be enough to tempt the Spanish champions into business. United’s business in Spain might not be done there with the report also claiming a bid for Real Madrid star Camavinga is now being readied. A midfield rebuild at Old Trafford looked to have been completed with the arrival of Carlos Baleba in a move that was confirmed by the club on Wednesday. Balde and Camavinga still of interest (Picture: Getty) He joins Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos as the new recruits in midfield. United have explored a move for Camavinga this summer with questions over his role under Jose Mourinho emerging. Baleba’s arrival in Manchester appeared to signal the end of United’s recruitment drive in midfield but interest in Camavinga remains, according to the report. Baleba’s arrival was confirmed on Wednesday (Picture: Getty/Man Utd) Amid uncertainty over his future throughout the summer, reports in Spain have claimed the France international is eager to stay at Real and prove his worth. Balde meanwhile started 31 matches in all competitions last season with Barcelona signing Joao Cancelo on a free transfer this summer. He also faces competition from Xavi Espart who Flick has turned to at left-back. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
It is not often easy to be the back-up shot-stopper for a club like Real Madrid, who have a first-choice keeper like Thibaut Courtois in the ranks.The Belgium international is widely regarded as one o...
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes was named the Professional Footballers' Associations Men's Player of the Year at the PFA awards. Fernandes, who last season broke the record for the most assists in a single Premier League campaign with 21, is the first United player to win the award since Wayne Rooney in 2010. Although it was another trophy-less campaign for Manchester United, Fernandes enjoyed individual success, surpassing Kevin de Bruyne and Thierry Henry's record of 20 assists in a Premier League campaign.
Bruno Fernandes was named PFA Players' Player of the Year, and alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, is now one of only two Portuguese players to win the award. Bruno Fernandes has joined Cristiano Ronaldo as the only Portuguese players in history to win the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award, cementing an exclusive club within English soccer’s most prestigious individual honor. Manchester United’s captain was crowned the 2025-26 winner at the PFA’s annual awards ceremony. The award came off the back of a standout campaign in which Fernandes registered a record-breaking 21 assists in the Premier League, to go along with nine goals, as United rebounded to finish third in the table. He became the first United player to win the award since Wayne Rooney did so in 2010. Ronaldo, for his part, won the award in back-to-back seasons during his first spell at Old Trafford, claiming it in 2006-07 before repeating the feat in 2007-08. That consecutive double placed him alongside Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne as the only players to have won the award in successive years. With Fernandes’ triumph, Portugal now has two representatives on an honor roll that dates back to the 1973-74 season, a list voted on exclusively by fellow professionals across the English game. Premier League Player of the Season.Man Utd Player of the Season.FWA Footballer of the Year.PFA Players’ Player of the Year. The 2025-26 season belongs to Bruno Fernandes. pic.twitter.com/8Rx1uuKbMx— Premier League (@premierleague) August 25, 2026 Cristiano Ronaldo’s numbers in his back-to-back PFA-winning seasons In 2006-07, Ronaldo scored 17 goals and added 8 assists in the Premier League, finishing with 23 goals in all competitions as Manchester United won the title. That season also saw him complete a rare individual sweep, adding the PFA Young Player of the Year and Football Writers’ Player of the Year awards alongside the PFA Players’ Player of the Year, an unprecedented trio at the time. He topped that the following year. In 2007-08, Ronaldo scored 31 goals and added 6 assists in the Premier League alone, finishing with 42 goals in all competitions, numbers that earned him the Premier League Golden Boot. United won both the league title and the Champions League that season, and Ronaldo capped it off by winning the Ballon d’Or, cementing his status as the best player in the world during his first spell at Old Trafford.
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