Category: Premier League

Friedel: If Turner can’t start at Arsenal, he’s got to go

The USMNT starter has made just six appearances this season

Brad Friedel has told U.S. national team goalkeeper Matt Turner that if he can’t win the starting role at Arsenal, he has to leave the club.

Turner made the move to north London last summer from the New England Revolution, slotting in as Arsenal’s backup behind Aaron Ramsdale.

The 28-year-old has impressed when given the chance with Arsenal, but has made just six appearances and is still awaiting his Premier League debut.

Turner’s stock rose even higher after a strong World Cup with the USMNT, as he looks capable of starting for a number of clubs in Europe’s top five leagues.

Friedel, who coached Turner with the Revolution in 2018 and 2019, has encouraged the goalkeeper to seek out pastures new if he can’t overtake Ramsdale by next season.

“When I wasn’t playing consistently when I was at Liverpool I had to get out,” the former USMNT goalkeeper told sportingpost.com. “Even though I loved the club and it was the team I supported, I had to leave for my career. You have such a short career as a professional footballer and you need to play as many games as possible inside that time.

“Look at Matt’s competition for the national team spot. He was the number one then and he’s gone all this time without playing, but Zack Steffen, who wasn’t getting a game at Manchester City, is now playing well for Middlesbrough. They are possible promotion candidates and all of a sudden with Zack playing at a high level in the Championship and potentially in the Premier League and he’s playing every week whilst Matt is on the bench, then you’re looking at another change in who is the number one keeper for the U.S. national team.

“I think that Matt, no matter what, even though Arsenal are an incredible club, has to find consistent football somewhere. This season, fine, but if he’s not going to be the number one he has got to go. The only issue is that he’s on a long contract and if you’re Arsenal, why would you let him go? You’ve got an incredible goalkeeper, an incredible guy, a great worker, you have one of the best number twos on the planet.”

While Turner remains a backup, the next three keepers on the USMNT depth chart are all starters with their current clubs: Steffen (Middlesbrough) and Ethan Horvath (Luton Town) on loan in the Championship and Sean Johnson at his new club Toronto FC.

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Pulisic back in training, nearing return to sinking ship that is Chelsea

The USMNT star will return to a club currently on a run of two wins from 14 games

Christian Pulisic is back in training for Chelsea as he nears a return from a knee injury suffered last month.

Pulisic was forced out of Chelsea’s game against Manchester City on January 5 and has not played since, with manager Graham Potter saying at the time he expected the American to be out “a couple of months.”

The 24-year-old was back with his teammates on Wednesday, with Mason Mount posting a picture on Instagram of the pair on the training pitch.

The Evening Standard says that Sunday’s game against Tottenham will come too soon for Pulisic, but Chelsea is hopeful he’ll be back for the following weekend’s game against Leeds.

Pulisic was injured with Chelsea languishing in 10th place in the Premier League and the club is still in 10th place, even after a January transfer window that saw the Blues spend more on players than each of the other four top leagues in Europe.

Potter is under huge pressure after just two wins from 14 games, and will be happy to welcome Pulisic back despite Chelsea having signed several expensive players in his position since his injury.

Pulisic only started five games for the Blues prior to the World Cup break, but started all three games after he turned in a strong tournament with the USMNT in Qatar.

The club isn’t exactly lighting up the scoreboard in Pulisic’s absence, with a paltry three goals in the eight games since his injury.

The latest nadir came last weekend as Chelsea contrived to lose 1-0 at home to Southampton, which entered the game bottom of the Premier League.

Pulisic may be back soon but if Chelsea doesn’t get a result against Spurs, the USMNT star could be playing for his third head coach of the season by the time he returns to the pitch.

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Reims president: It’s impossible for us to sign Balogun

The 21-year-old is pricing himself out of a long-term stay at the Ligue 1 club

Reims president Jean-Pierre Caillot knows he and his club will have to enjoy Folarin Balogun while they can.

Balogun has turned in an incredible season on loan from Arsenal, and is currently tied for the most goals in Ligue 1 with 15. 

The forward’s campaign has led to plenty of speculation over his future as he gets set to return to Arsenal at the conclusion of the season. The Gunners will mull over whether to cash in on the 21-year-old, offer him a first-team role in 2023-24, or send him on another loan — presumably to a bigger club than Reims.

In an interview with  France Bleu, Caillot was realistic about his club’s prospects of landing the USMNT-eligible striker on a long-term basis, though he admitted he still holds out faint hope of bringing him back on another loan next season.

“I think [signing him permanently] is impossible,” Caillot said. “The rules of the game are clear: these are boys that, when they join us, know that they’re here to improve and that it’s a step for them. So even if I’m not deciding for him, either Folarin will return to his club (Arsenal) to have his chance, he’s loaned out, or transferred to a very big club.

“He is a player that should go even higher. So obviously we’ll ask him if he feels good here, and at his club, but I think that now, he will need to take a step up.

“We are already working on life after Balogun, the day when he will leave our club. But if he and the club are open to another year at Reims, we’ll do everything to make it happen.”

While Balogun’s club future remains in the air, his international destination has also become a major talking point. The forward has most recently represented England at the Under-21 level, but has said he remains open to playing for his birth country of the United States or Nigeria.

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Man City still owns Arsenal — and the Premier League

The champions now have 11 straight league wins against Arsenal

Manchester City struck a major blow in the title race on Wednesday, defeating Arsenal 3-1 in a top-of-the-table clash at the Emirates Stadium.

Kevin De Bruyne opened the scoring before Bukayo Saka equalized from the spot before halftime. But second-half goals from Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland settled the match.

With the win, City has overtaken Arsenal atop the Premier League table, though the Gunners do still have a game in hand.

That won’t be much solace for Mikel Arteta’s men, however, who have now picked up just one point in their last three Premier League games.

If Arsenal is going to win the Premier League for the first time in 20 years it clearly will have to go through City, the back-to-back champions and winners of four of the last five league titles.

Going through City seems an especially daunting challenge for Arteta’s side, however, because the Gunners simply can’t seem to beat Pep Guardiola’s men in the Premier League.

“Psychologically there is a marathon still out there,” Arteta said after the game. “So psychologically [the title] is very far. I said it three months ago and I said it today, it’s about tomorrow. The most important thing is how we are tomorrow and focus on that because the rest of the things, we don’t know what is going to happen.”

Whether he realized it or not, Arteta’s mention of psychological issues was fitting. Even Man City seems to realize they are inside of the Gunners’ heads.

“It was a massive win for us,” City defender Manuel Akanji told Football Daily on Thursday. “Yeah, it also does something probably in the head of the Arsenal players. But in the end we can only focus on ourselves. That’s what we did yesterday, we showed a good performance. It wasn’t an easy game, but I’m really happy we got out with the win.”

There is a long road ahead still and Arsenal does have a slight advantage due to its game in hand. But it is clear the momentum in this title race is fully with the champions.

Arteta’s biggest task now won’t be related to tactics or lineup decisions. It will be convincing his players that they still have what it takes to actually overcome City.

“I have more belief [to win the league than before the game] because I see a team going head-to-head with them,” Arteta told Amazon Prime after the game. “You have to go to the next one and in three days we have another game. I have more belief in my players.”

Watch Grealish’s winner at Arsenal

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Driussi turned down Premier League offer to stay with Austin FC

The Argentine star finished as MVP runner-up in 2022

Austin FC star Sebastián Driussi has said he rejected the chance to move to the Premier League in favor of signing a new contract with the MLS side.

Amid interest from abroad, Driussi signed a extension on Tuesday with Austin FC through the 2025 season with an option for 2026.

The Argentine playmaker turned in an outstanding 2022 campaign, scoring 22 goals and adding seven assists as Austin FC reached the Western Conference final.

Driussi was on a base salary of $2.2 million in 2022, per MLS players’ union figures, which was good for the 25th highest in the league. He will now reportedly be among the top earners in MLS.

At a press conference to announce his new deal, the 27-year-old admitted he had options in England — with Leeds strongly linked prior to the January transfer window closing.

“As you know, there was a very important offer from a club in England,” he said. “But, well, my head was always in Austin.”

“There was plenty of interest for Sebastián around the world in many different leagues,” head coach Josh Wolff added.

“I think he was quite honest with us [that] this is where he wanted to be. Ownership recognized that; Anthony Precourt made it a real emphasis in the offseason to get this contract done and get the commitment from the club to him but also Sebastián’s commitment to us.

“In the end, it’s a decision that Sebastián has and he has full control of that. So I think his intentions were quite clear to us; his ambitions are with Austin FC. What the future holds beyond Austin FC, when that happens, if it ever happens? We will see.”

Driussi finished second in the race for the 2022 MLS MVP, as Nashville SC star Hany Mukhtar took home the award.
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Jesse Marsch remains unemployed, won’t take over at Southampton

Marsch was set to take over just a week after he was sacked by Leeds

The Jesse Marsch era at Southampton is over before it even started.

The American manager was nearing a deal to take over the struggling Saints but talks have broken down, according to multiple reports on Wednesday.

At issue was the length of Marsch’s proposed contract: Southampton wanted to bring him in on a six-month deal with the option to extend, while the manager was looking to sign onto a more long-term contract.

Marsch traveled to Southampton on Tuesday to complete the deal, but the club’s managerial search will now continue.

Marsch was nearing the Saints job just over a week after he was sacked by Leeds amid a winless run that saw the club near the Premier League relegation zone.

The 49-year-old was seen as an ideal candidate to take over for Nathan Jones, who was sacked following the club’s 2-1 home loss to a 10-man Wolves.

Jones had won just once in eight Premier League games during his tenure, which lasted just barely more than four months. Jones himself had been appointed in November after Ralph Hasenhüttl’s four-year run at St. Mary’s came to an end with Southampton taking just 12 points from the club’s first 14 Premier League matches.

That situation never improved under Jones, and the Saints sit at the very bottom of the table, four points from safety.

Marsch’s high-octane style closely mirrors Hasenhüttl’s, with Southampton believing the American would have given them a chance for survival as he would have instilled a style that the club’s players were already familiar with.

But now it appears Southampton assistant Rubén Sellés will have a shot at leading the club on a caretaker basis, as the Saints face a daunting away trip to Chelsea on Saturday.

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Cristiano Ronaldo’s nightmare return to Manchester United is over

The nightmare for all parties is finally over

The latest turn in Cristiano Ronaldo’s bizarre second spell at Manchester United has arrived, and it’s a doozy.

Man United announced on Tuesday that Ronaldo “is to leave Manchester United by mutual agreement, with immediate effect.”

The decision to part ways comes after the 37-year-old was emerging as an increasing problem for the Red Devils. He doesn’t fit into Erik ten Hag’s system — or really any modern system, since he doesn’t high-press and is no longer fast enough to lead the line for a counter-attacking team — and has not handled the situation with grace.

Among other examples, Ronaldo left the stadium early after being substituted at halftime during a preseason friendly; openly admitted that he’s keeping a detailed journal of whether he thinks a given reporter is being truthful or not; had a proposed move publicly turned down by numerous big-name clubs; did an interview with Piers Morgan that seemed specifically designed to force Man United to kick him to the curb; and left the bench before full time to storm into the locker room during his team’s game against Tottenham.

With that in mind, Man United’s press release was understandably curt.

“The club thanks him for his immense contribution across two spells at Old Trafford, scoring 145 goals in 346 appearances, and wishes him and his family well for the future,” read a club statement announcing the news. “Everyone at Manchester United remains focused on continuing the team’s progress under Erik ten Hag and working together to deliver success on the pitch.”

And that was it. One of the all-time great players in the game burned his bridges so thoroughly that a tradition-laden club like Manchester United, known to pay lavish tribute to anyone that played there for a long spell, effectively hustled Ronaldo out the door while most eyes were on the World Cup.

It’s an ugly end for player and club, but then again his entire return to Man United has been a disaster. There was no other way this was going to end.

What’s next for Ronaldo?

Ronaldo made it clear over the summer that if he were to leave Man United, he required Champions League soccer.

The problem is that most of the clubs that can both offer that and and meet Ronaldo’s salary demands have ruled themselves out. It looks like the Portugal attacker is going to have to settle for either a move to a club that can keep him in the best competition in the world, or one that can shell out his wages without going bankrupt. He’s almost certainly not going to get both.

Inter Miami has been floated as a possible landing spot, and Ronaldo being a free agent would certainly grease the wheels on a move to MLS. Over the summer, there were also reports of Ronaldo turning down an offer worth roughly €275 million to play in Saudi Arabia, which is a level of interest that indicates a suitor that could circle back now that their target is without a club.

Wherever he ends up, the team that signs him is going to have to hope that Ronaldo’s ability to score a ton of goals (which, in fairness, is still extremely sharp) will overshadow the problem of fitting him into a new locker room, his disinterest in defensive work, and all the rest of the off-field baggage that seems to come with him.

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Cristiano Ronaldo went on Piers Morgan and self-immolated

Ronaldo claims to love Manchester United, but he’s got a funny way of showing it

There are only two possibilities regarding Cristiano Ronaldo’s interview with Piers Morgan, and neither of them are good: He either thinks it will make him look better, or he doesn’t care how bad he looks.

Ronaldo, currently struggling with any hint of an idea he’s no longer the player he was in 2010, decided to self-immolate on Morgan’s TalkTV show in an apparent attempt to force his way out of Manchester United.

The problem, among many with this particular interview, is that in order to force his way out, Ronaldo has to have somewhere to go. And who would want the kind of player who flames his coach, his club, and, yes, himself, in such spectacular fashion?

Tears with Piers

Ronaldo decided it would be beneficial to say of his current head coach Erik ten Hag: “I don’t have respect for him because he doesn’t show respect for me, If you don’t have respect for me, I’m never going have respect for you.”

Really, would anyone blame Ten Hag if he did see some of his respect for Ronaldo ebb away recently? This is a player who has now not once, but twice left the stadium in the middle of a game this season.

The most galling of Ronaldo’s statements though, was when he was asked if the club was trying to force him out.

“Yes. Not only the coach, but the other two or three guys around the club. I felt betrayed,” the 37-year-old said.

“People should hear the truth. Yes, I feel betrayed. Some people don’t want me here not only this year, but last year too.”

Of course, Ronaldo is the one who has transparently been trying to force his way out for months. The problem, as mentioned, is it’s hard to offload a disgruntled former superstar who still thinks he’s Ballon d’Or quality and makes £500,000 per week.

The timing of the Morgan interview was obviously premeditated. Ronaldo is leaving for the World Cup and, with several weeks before he returns to United, he must be hopeful that an exit can be engineered in the meantime.

But the timing looked even worse after events earlier in the day.

Alejandro Garnacho, nearly 20 years Ronaldo’s junior, scored a dramatic late winner against Fulham to keep United in the top-four race on Sunday. The Argentine looks like a possible future superstar, the kind of player Ten Hag can build his project around.

Later in the day, United wasn’t basking in the glow of a big win, but instead scrambling to contain the fallout from the damage wrought by its former superstar.

“I love Manchester United, I love the fans, they’re always on my side,” Ronaldo said.

He may claim to love United, but the last few months have shown Ronaldo loves Ronaldo more. And about the fans being on his side? That may have been the case before but sooner or later, Ronaldo will be forced to understand the world he occupies has changed.

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Pep Guardiola told Tim Ream he’d be playing for him if he were 24, not 34 (he’s 35)

The Man City boss is a big fan of Ream — now he just needs to get his age right

Tim Ream is winning a lot of new fans with his displays for Fulham this season, including Man City head coach Pep Guardiola.

Now Pep just needs to work on getting Ream’s age right.

Ream was included in the U.S. national team’s World Cup squad on Wednesday, as Gregg Berhalter rewarded the defender for his excellent campaign in the Premier League.

Speaking on ESPN’s “Futbol Americas” after releasing his roster, Berhalter recounted a conversation between Ream and Guardiola after last weekend’s Premier League match between Man City and Fulham.

“Tim Ream just played against Man City and after the game, Guardiola walks up to him and says, ‘If you were 24 instead of 34, you’d be playing for me,'” Berhalter said.

“So Tim said, ‘It’s too bad I’m not 34, I’m 35.'”

‘Have you watched any Fulham games lately?’

Despite his strong campaign with Fulham, Ream was a somewhat surprising inclusion on the World Cup squad because he hasn’t played for the USMNT in more than a year.

Asked at a press conference about selecting Ream, Berhalter responded:  “Have you watched any Fulham games lately? Then you know why we brought him in.

“He was in the Premier League three years ago, and he struggled, the whole team struggled. And he went to the Championship and he started performing better, and they got promoted. And now he’s in the Premier League, and he’s a top performer for his team. It’s really hard to ignore stuff like that.

“And by the way, he’s been a guy that’s been with us since day one. So to me, all the pieces were aligned to bring him back into the squad. Based on what we’re seeing, the level he’s playing at, he’s ready to play in a World Cup for sure.”

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USMNT defender Chris Richards announces he’ll miss the World Cup

The Crystal Palace center back has not played since August due to a hamstring injury

Chris Richards will miss the World Cup due to a lingering hamstring injury, he announced on Instagram on Tuesday.

Richards has not played for Crystal Palace since August due to the injury, and hasn’t played for the U.S. national team since January.

Crystal Palace head coach Patrick Vieira said over the weekend that Richards had yet to resume team training, putting his status for the World Cup in serious doubt with just two weeks remaining until the USMNT’s first match.

On Tuesday, one day before the USMNT announces its World Cup roster, Richards confirmed himself that he will not be going to Qatar.

“Gutted that this injury has ruled me out of the World Cup but I know that the boys will go crazy regardless,” he said. “I’ll be rooting for y’all the whole way. Go out and make history.”

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USMNT center back options

Richards was almost certain to make the roster had he been healthy, and was a candidate to start next to Walker Zimmerman at central defense.

The 22-year-old joins Miles Robinson as World Cup roster locks who will be forced out of the tournament with injury. Robinson tore his Achilles in a game with Atlanta United in May.

His absence makes it more likely that either Aaron Long or Cameron Carter-Vickers will partner Zimmerman when the USMNT begins the World Cup on November 21 against Wales.

With Richards out another defensive roster spot will also open up, which could be filled by Fulham’s Tim Ream.

Ream hasn’t played for the USMNT since September 2021, but is in the midst of a stellar campaign in the Premier League. According to a report from the U.S. Fútbol Podcast, Ream has been selected for the World Cup squad in Richards’ place.

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