‘Man U better prepared for league title charge’
Heart checks needed: Goldson
WASHINGTON, July 26, (Agencies): Manchester United are better equipped to fight for the Premier League title in the upcoming season but need to improve further to be a contender for the Champions League, manager Jose Mourinho has said.
In Mourinho’s first season at Old Trafford, United won the League Cup and the Europa League but finished sixth in the English top flight, 24 points behind champions Chelsea.
“This season is going to be more difficult but I think we have better conditions to fight for the Premier League,” Mourinho told the BBC.
“I think this season we are a little bit better equipped. We are against fantastic teams, against amazing investments.
“But I believe in our group, in our spirit, in our empathy, in our togetherness. I trust my boys and we are going to try.”
Having lifted the Europa League in May, United secured direct entry to the Champions League group stage but the Portuguese manager believes they are still behind the continent’s top clubs.
“We went to the Europa League as one of the top teams, we go to the Champions League and we are not one of the top teams,” Mourinho added.
“We have to be better, much better, for that objective. The base of everything is to find what I call a happy dressing room.”
Mourinho has added striker Romelu Lukaku and centre back Victor Lindelof in the current transfer window but is still hoping to sign two more players ahead of the new season.
“One midfield player would give me more options. The other is an attacking player through the wings to give me more attacking options,” he said.
The British media have linked United with Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic and Tottenham Hotspur’s Eric Dier as midfield options. Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic is Mourinho’s preferred choice to improve the attacking line, the reports have said.
United kick off their league campaign at home against West Ham United on Aug 13.
Meanwhile, Mourinho expressed surprise Tuesday at the three-match ban that UEFA handed defender Eric Bailly on Monday.
Ivorian Bailly was sent off for violent conduct in the second leg of United’s Europa League semi-final victory over Celta Vigo in May for his part in a melee in the final minutes of a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.
He was suspended for the 2-0 win over Ajax in the final, but will now also miss a further two games — including the August 8 European Super Cup clash against Champions League winners Real in Skopje, Macedonia.
“It was a red card in a semi-final, I think the punishment of not to play the final is enough, it’s a big punishment not to play the final, and I say that normally he would deserve a clean sheet and start the next season with a clean sheet and ready to play the Super Cup,” Mourinho said.
“But now he’s an important player for us who is not able to play the Super Cup and the first match of the Champions League group phase but not to play the Europa League final and the Super Cup is very, very harsh.”
Brighton defender Connor Goldson says clubs should carry out more checks on players in a bid to detect potential heart problems.
Goldson, 24, has not played competitively since January after the discovery of a swollen aorta.
Former Newcastle midfielder Cheick Tiote died in June after collapsing while training in China, and his fellow Ivorian Eugene Kouame died earlier this month after suffering a heart attack.
“You look at Tiote. You never know what can happen. Two players in the last few months is way too many,” Goldson told the Times on Wednesday.
“Football needs to do something. Every club needs to check at least once a year. Unfortunately players don’t get the scans.
“I never felt a thing. If my little story can make other clubs think they need to do a test, hopefully it can save other players.”
Goldson’s problem, which was discovered during routine screening by the club, meant he missed the closing stages of the Championship campaign as Chris
Hughton’s side returned to the top-flight for the first time since 1983.
He could return to league action when Brighton begin the new season at home to Manchester City on Aug 12, and he would do so feeling fortunate to be alive.
“The surgeon explained it’s like a balloon and it gets bigger and bigger and it can just pop — or you can be fortunate and it never goes,” he said.
“The average person has (an aorta of) 4cm and you’re at risk at 5cm. My last scan was 4.9cm. So I was very close.”
Manchester City’s new signing Benjamin Mendy has the potential to make a big impact next season but the defender must adapt to the demands of playing in the Premier League as quickly as possible, midfielder
Yaya Toure has said. The French left-back joined City on a five-year deal earlier this week from Monaco, where he helped them win the Ligue 1 title and reach the Champions League semi-finals last season.
Mendy is the third full-back to arrive at Man City in the close season following the arrival of Danilo from
Real Madrid and Kyle Walker from Tottenham Hotspur.
City are almost certain to rotate their full backs, with Danilo, who can play on both sides, acting as a cover for Mendy and Walker. Manager Pep Guardiola is also reported to be in the market for another right back to complete a very expensive set.
“I know Mendy, because he’s French and he’s been playing for my former club Monaco. I think he’s a fantastic player,” Toure told Sky Sports.
“You will see in the Premier League how powerful he is, how much energy he has. This guy is very exciting to see.
“I hope he’s going to be fine in the Premier League, because it is such a tough league, and we all know you need to adapt for a month or so, or some players go on straight away. “I hope he can adapt as much as possible because we don’t have time.”
Striker Tammy Abraham is determined to prove himself in the Premier League and said he will surprise people in the upcoming season during his loan spell at
Swansea City.
Abraham, who previously made only two top flight appearances with his parent club Chelsea, said he hopes to build on his 26-goal loan spell with Bristol
City in the Championship last season. “I would love to build on last season and do it at the top level,” Abraham told the club website.
“Everyone has seen me do it in the Championship, but I’d love to do it in the Premier League.
“People will be surprised because I’m so tall, but I do have quick feet and I have good pace to threaten defenders. Although I am tall I also like have the ball played into my feet.”
Abraham is confident he can quickly adapt to Swansea’s style of play under manager Paul Clement, who worked with the 19-year-old during his time at Stamford Bridge between 2007 and 2011.
“When the gaffer (Clement) came round to my house he described what he wants from this season,” Abraham added. “It fits my style of play as well.
“It is a nice place to get your head down and really focus on your game. That’s what I want to do this season.”