Euro Championship · Defender · #4 · Netherlands · 26 yrs
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Amad Diallo is not in the matchday squad today (Picture: Sportimage) Amad Diallo has been left out of the Manchester United squad for their opening match of the new Premier League season. The Ivory Coast international started all four of United’s pre-season matches in August following his post-World Cup break and was not considered an injury doubt this week. But he does not make the squad today at the MKM Stadium. Bryan Mbeumo starts on the right of United’s attack alongside Bruno Fernandes with Patrick Dogu on the opposite flank. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. Matheus Cunha starts up front with Benjamin Sesko not deemed fit enough to start having missed the entire pre-season campaign. Mason Mount also misses out as he recovers from a hamstring injury he suffered in pre-season. Matthijs de Ligt is also still working his way back after a long-term back injury while Manuel Ugarte is a long-term absentee. United have not disclosed a reason for Amad’s absence as of yet but reports ahead of kick-off have confirmed he missed out due to an injury. Amad is being assessed (Picture: Colorsport/Ken Sutton) ESPN report the Ivorian is being assessed after a ‘niggle’ he picked up in training this week. After confirming team news, the club website said: ‘Mason Mount, rated as a doubt beforehand, misses out, as does Amad. ‘But Benjamin Šeško is on the bench after being unavailable for pre-season. Karl Darlow is also included for the first time, since signing in the summer, as he is the back-up keeper to Senne Lammens.’ Marcus Rashford meanwhile starts among the subs having been handed the no9 shirt upon his return to the club. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
Sesko could have some role to play this weekend (Picture: Manchester United) Manchester United begin their Premier League campaign away to newly-promoted Hull City this afternoon. Summer transfer business at Old Trafford is not done yet with the club working on getting a deal for Brighton’s Carlos Baleba over the line. But Michael Carrick has refreshed his midfield options with Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans arriving from Chelsea and Aston Villa respectively. Santos featured heavily in pre-season with Tielemans joining up three weeks ago. Kobbie Mainoo only returned to training at the start of last week following his summer break having also picked up an injury at the end of England’s World Cup campaign – where he didn’t see a minute of action. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. Should Mainoo still be working towards full fitness, we could see the new partnership of Tielemans and Santos anchor the midfield at the MKM Stadium. Mason Mount started in central midfield on the final day of last season and impressed again in that role during pre-season. But an injury has again derailed his prospects with a minor hamstring tear sidelining him. Benjamin Sesko is another who endured a frustrating pre-season, not playing a single game as he continued his recovery from a shin injury he suffered back in May. The Slovenia international has returned to training and is ‘close to getting some minutes’ according to Carrick, suggesting he is not going to start this afternoon. Matthijs de Ligt is also back in training but his return would appear to still be some way off. The Netherlands international has not played since November last year, undergoing back surgery in May. Sesko has returned to training (Picture: Getty) Manuel Ugarte is a long-term absentee as he recovers from the ACL injury he suffered at the World Cup with Uruguay. Man Utd XI to face Hull – Metro prediction While Matheus Cunha can also play there, Bryan Mbeumo would appear to be the most likely candidate to lead United’s attack today. The Cameroon international looked very sharp in pre-season and regularly played through the middle under Carrick last season as Sesko settled into a super-sub role. Marcus Rashford is another with not much of a pre-season under his belt, playing his first minutes off the bench against AC Milan last weekend. He may settle for a role off the bench today. The fit-again Patrick Dorgu is also an option on the left. Ayden Heaven was the only centre-half to start all six of United’s pre-season games with Harry Maguire and Leny Yoro also featuring prominently. Hull vs Man Utd TV channel, live stream and kick-off time You can watch the match live on TNT Sports 1 with streaming also available through the HBO Max app. You can also follow all the action with Metro’s LIVE matchday blog. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
Sesko hoping to be fit to lead United’s attack this season (Picture: Getty) Michael Carrick did what was asked of him in getting Manchester United back into the Champions League last season. The job is now to take the next step. United had among the lightest schedules in the Premier League last season with no European football on offer and did what was largely expected of them in securing third place. A rebuild in midfield began with Casemiro departing and after missing out on Elliot Anderson and Mateus Fernandes, Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans arrived. Carlos Baleba could join them but should that deal go through at Old Trafford, he will do so with an injury that will sideline him until September. There were familiar injury problems for certain players last season with Matthijs de Ligt and Benjamin Sesko not involved in pre-season ahead of their league opener against Hull City on Saturday. So who is ready for the battle ahead? Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. Benjamin Sesko’s troublesome shin problem Following his £74million arrival from RB Leipzig last summer, Sesko finished his maiden campaign in Manchester with a respectable haul of 12 goals – the last of which coming in the 2-1 win over Liverpool that saw United tighten their grip on third spot. The Slovenia international took a nasty tumble down the infamous Old Trafford slope after a shove from Ibrahima Konate and did not feature for the rest of the season. While there was no suggestion it was a serious issue at the time, Sesko has not played since, missing every one of United’s pre-season matches. Sesko took a nasty tumble down the Old Trafford pitch (Picture: Getty) Sesko travelled with the squad to Dublin for the friendly game against Leeds, training with the squad since. But with no minutes under his belt, it remains to be seen what role he will have to play in the opening weeks of the new season. Stephen Smith, CEO and founder of Kitman Labs which specialises in injury welfare and performance analytics, explains shin problems can be challenging at the best of times. One concern at the forefront of United’s mind will be the risk of recurrence which was likely to have been a factor in his lack of pre-season involvement. ‘Things like bone stress reaction or irritation of the outside of the bone are generally painful and slow to heal,’ Smith told Metro. ‘Once he aggravated that [against Liverpool], the healing clock reset. ‘Recurrence risk for injuries like that is very real. Bone stress injuries that aren’t given enough time in recovery… it is well documented that they have the tendency to re-present and re-present more seriously as stress fractures. So the schedule with him is cautious.’ Sesko has missed the entire pre-season (Picture: CameraSport via Getty Images) It presents another dilemma. Match fitness and match sharpness are two very different things and with no minutes under his belt, when will Carrick consider him ready to start a game? ‘Returning just before the season opens with no preseason matches is not ideal but it is manageable if he has been doing significant conditioning work in the background and the bone has healed rather than just being symptom free,’ Smith said. ‘The summer is a double-edged sword. He needs the rest to recover but they also need to progressively load things to be ready for the season. So the shin can be healed but you need to be fit enough to cope with the demands of the game to ensure something else doesn’t happen. It is a balance the must manage.’ When will we see Matthijs de Ligt again? De Ligt was ever-present in United’s starting XI before he sat out of the win over Crystal Palace last November. ‘For Matta, it is a small thing,’ Ruben Amorim optimistically predicted. ‘I expect to have Matthijs [back] next game.’ The Netherlands international has not played since with radio silence over his fitness for much of the campaign. In
Arsenal and Tottenham are still looking for attacking reinforcements (Picture: Getty) Tottenham have been urged to hijack Arsenal’s pursuit of Victor Osimhen to bolster Roberto De Zerbi’s attacking options ahead of the new season. Spurs have already strengthened significantly since last season after they narrowly avoided a disastrous relegation from the Premier League. The north London club have already broken their transfer record twice to sign two key midfielders, with Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali arriving from West Ham and Newcastle United for a combined £185million. Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke arrived for £52m, while Marcos Senesi, Andy Robertson and Martin Dubravka were all brought in on free transfers to add much-needed depth to their backline. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. With just under three weeks to go until the end of the summer window, Tottenham have now made it a priority to add depth in forward areas. The club have long been linked with a move for City winger Savinho, while they have also been credited with interest in Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo as well as Chelsea winger Pedro Neto. But former Spurs defender Toby Alderweireld believes the club need to focus on a centre forward and urged them to consider an audacious deal for Galatasaray striker Osimhen, who has attracted interest from Arsenal in recent days. Arsenal have been linked with Victor Osimhen (Picture: Getty) ‘Spurs could use a striker like Victor Osimhen – they need his goals because it’s what they lacked last season as well,’ Alderweireld told Hajper. ‘The only concern for clubs like Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United is maybe his age. ‘He’s not the youngest player anymore and it seems like everyone wants to find a 23-year-old superstar who can bang in goals for the next seven or eight years, and I understand that, but you also need a good mix. ‘That’s why it can be important to sign proven players who know how things go so they can bring on the younger, potential superstars alongside them, because they can set the best example. Roberto De Zerbi’s side want more attacking firepower (Picture: Getty) ‘I think about my time at Ajax. The mix was on another level. We had Dušan Tadic and Daley Blind and Frenkie De Jong and Matthijs de Ligt coming through. That’s what you need.’ Osimhen has scored an impressive 61 goals in 75 matches for the Turkish side, and made his move from Napoli permanent for £65m last summer after an initial season-long loan. But reports over the last week have suggested that a move to Arsenal has been floated after Galatasaray approached the Gunners to discuss deals for Gabriel Martinelli and Ethan Nwaneri. At present, there are said to be no ‘active negotiations’ over a deal for Osimhen, although Mikel Arteta’s side have been keen all summer to add more attacking firepower to their side. Speaking last week about Arsenal’s reported interest in his services, Osimhen said: ‘There are always rumours during the transfer windows. ‘I’ll focus on my job. I’m focused on my work. We’ll see and think about what comes next then.’ For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
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