Manchester United players gifted their shirts to a former teammate’s son and then ‘nobody embraced’ Andre Onana ‘tightly’. He is pretty much done and Ruben Amorim will sell him promptly.
Own goals and wraths
Fair play to Andre Onana for injecting some extra drama into the Europa League tie between Manchester United and Lyon, first with his comments before the game and then with his performance during it.
Not a single newspaper back page ignores the schadenfreude on offer and quite right.
But this is wonderful nonsense from The Sun website:
‘Man Utd stars and staff risk Andre Onana’s wrath with touching gifts and gestures to Matic despite his row with keeper’
Onana ‘could very well be irked’ by such brazen betrayals as some staff members posing for a picture with their friend and old colleague, or a few former teammates gifted Matic’s son their shirts. But crucially they don’t have a single sodding clue what his thoughts on the matter are and it’s just complete guesswork.
I knew you were trouble
The bad news only continues for Onana in the Manchester Evening News with this headline:
‘What Manchester United players did with Andre Onana after Lyon draw shows he is in trouble’
It really might be over for the Cameroonian; Mediawatch didn’t realise Altay Bayindir ‘patted’ him in the centre circle’ and while ‘players consoled him’, ‘nobody embraced him tightly and ‘some seemed reluctant’.
That’s him pretty much done
Ru the day
Over at the Daily Mirror website, ‘Amorim explains plan for Onana after latest Man Utd nightmare at Lyon’.
And it turns out the manager of Manchester United will continue to “choose the best 11 to play”. More as we get it.
The big reveal
‘Leny Yoro reveals how Manchester United dressing room reacted to late Lyon equaliser’ – Manchester Evening News.
They were f**king ecstatic.
MORE MAN UTD REACTION ON F365
👉 Forget Ronaldo to Obertan – De Gea to Onana is ‘single biggest downgrade’ and Amorim must ‘drop’ him
👉 Scholes claims Amorim is lying as pundit predicts his actual verdict of Man Utd squad
👉 Man Utd: ‘2/10’ star deemed ‘complete failure’ by French media after ‘catastrophic’ performance
Hello, darkness, my old friend
The big news on Friday morning obviously emanates from Liverpool, with Mo Salah signing a lovely new contract.
As with any transfer, speculation and rumour is always more interesting and eye-catching than confirmation. Once a deal goes through the intrigue in a story diminishes significantly.
So how is it possible to stand out in a sea of ‘Mo Salah extend Liverpool contract’ stories? The Daily Mirror website have the answer:
‘Mohamed Salah breaks silence on new Liverpool deal and hints at length of new deal’
The quotes with which Salah decided to ‘break his silence’ were included in the exact same story Liverpool used to announce the extension. His silence lasted four paragraphs.
I’ve come to talk with you again
Mind you, this is from the MailOnline:
‘Arne Slot breaks his silence after Mohamed Salah signs new two-year Liverpool deal’
At least the quotes aren’t lifted from the official Liverpool website story confirming the contract, but they do come from the press conference Slot held about an hour later in which he was asked about Salah’s new deal publicly for the first time.
It must have required monastic dedication to keep his counsel until then.
Turn-off
And then there is this from the MailOnline:
‘Mo Salah reveals reason behind contract U-turn as he signs new two-year Liverpool deal despite admitting he was ‘more out than in’ at Anfield club’
A player saying in November he was “probably more out than in” because his contract was set to expire at the end of the season and he hadn’t received an offer to renew, then signing a new deal five months later, is not a ‘contract U-turn’. It’s a negotiation process and that is fine.
READ MORE: Outrageous stats of Mohamed Salah as Liverpool legend signs new contract
Were you watching, Trent?
An actual ‘contract U-turn’ would be Trent Alexander-Arnold staying at Liverpool, such is the general assumption – and in some corners outright claims – he will join Real Madrid when his deal runs out in the summer.
Liverpool fan Andy Dunn wrote his Daily Mirror column before the Salah contract was confirmed but it has been timed to perfection to capitalise on that feel-good factor in suggesting Alexander-Arnold might end up staying at Anfield.
He thankfully says ‘it would be too simplistic to suggest’ Alexander-Arnold ‘might be having second thoughts’ based purely on the defeat to Arsenal. Real Madrid once shattered the world transfer record to sign Cristiano Ronaldo at the end of a season in which they won only the Supercopa de Espana and were eliminated 5-0 on aggregate by Liverpool in the Champions League. It won’t be a factor and Dunn isn’t foolish enough to pretend otherwise.
But he does call it ‘a reality check for those who have put this Real Madrid team into some sort of rarefied bracket’, adding that: ‘Perhaps Real Madrid are not as irresistible as many seem to think. Perhaps there is still time for Trent to have a change of heart.’
And at this stage it seems a little bit like he’s suggesting Alexander-Arnold might be having second thoughts based purely on the defeat to Arsenal.
The case to stay at Liverpool is compelling: they are ‘very good’ and offer ‘stability’, which sounds more like one half of a couple in their 40s trying to make things work after an affair than it does an elite football club trying to keep a 26-year-old who has won everything with them.
And Dunn comes so close to a lightbulb moment when he writes that ‘having been at Liverpool since he was a boy, a move to Madrid would represent an exciting challenge for Alexander-Arnold’.
How weird that he might favour that over ‘stability’. The continuing struggle at Liverpool with the concept a player may want to try something different in their short career is fascinating.
