OLE AND FA WAR
+++ United accuse Southgate of not looking after Greenwood +++ But furious FA deny club’s claims +++
ENGLAND manager Gareth Southgate and the FA are furious over Manchester United’s claim that Mason Greenwood was called up for his senior debut and exposed to the media glare against the club’s wishes.
Greenwood was sent home in disgrace from Iceland along with Manchester City’s Phil Foden earlier this month after they were caught inviting girls into England’s team hotel in Reykjavik.
Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said yesterday that United had asked for Greenwood to be left out of the squad so he could rest following his breakthrough season at Old Trafford. Solskjaer is also upset that Greenwood was immediately put up in front of the media by the FA even though United have been careful to keep the 18-year-old out of the spotlight because of his age.
‘The club secretary put a request into the FA,’ said Solskjaer. ‘Maybe I should have got hold of Gareth’s number.
‘He’s not called me after either so next time I speak to him we’ll discuss it.
‘ He’s an 18- year- old who needs managing. The kid had a fantastic season and we asked specifically he should have had a rest. He needs it mentally and physically.
‘The first thing that happens is, one, he’s called up and, two, he’s right there in the press. OK, you call him up but you don’t have to put him in front of
When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer waved goodbye to his players before the shortest of summer breaks last month, the Manchester United manager could never have imagined what would happen next.
Mason Greenwood being sent home in disgrace after winning his first senior cap for england, harry Maguire banged up in a Greek jail and Paul Pogba going down with coronavirus must have left Solskjaer scared to pick up the phone.
To add to his problems, when the United boss and his players met for a team-bonding barbecue at Carrington on Thursday — three weeks before the close of the transfer window and 48 hours before today’s opening game at home to Crystal Palace — he only had one new signing.
Donny van de Beek will no doubt be a good addition for United but their supporters were expecting Jadon Sancho.
United’s inability to agree terms with Borussia Dortmund before losing out to Tottenham for Gareth Bale and Sergio Reguilon has dampened the mood around Old Trafford as Solskjaer’s side make a delayed start to the Premier League season.
have they got a chance of winning the title ahead of Liverpool and Manchester City?
‘Crazier things have happened,’ replied the norwegian, which may not be exactly what fans want to hear. But it has been a crazy time for Solskjaer in keeping with a crazy period in the history of english football.
The spat with Gareth Southgate and england over Greenwood dominated his press conference yesterday which is saying something when the other topic up for discussion was Maguire.
The United skipper has kept the armband while waiting for an appeal hearing in Greece after he was found guilty of assaulting police, verbal abuse and attempted bribery following an incident on holiday in Mykonos.
But it could take more than a year to come to court and Solskjaer will monitor Maguire, admitting the issue is bound to weigh on his mind. ‘Knowing harry, he’s a very strong character so hopefully he can put that apart,’ he said.
‘But naturally, as a human being, it will be in the back of his mind what’s happened this summer. You have just got to see how it develops with harry. I think he will be able to focus but you can’t predict how people react.’
Pogba has recovered from his illness and is in contention to play today but, if anything, Van de Beek’s signing has only complicated the issues in midfield. Can the Dutchman play alongside Pogba and Bruno Fernandes?
‘Of course, the three of them can start together,’ said Solskjaer. ‘You’ve got Scott McTominay, Fred and nemanja Matic in midfield as well — it’s not just about three players in a squad.’
The other big selection issue is in goal with Dean henderson mounting the biggest challenge to David de Gea in the decade the Spaniard has been at United.
De Gea is said to be confident that he will start against Palace, but Solskjaer hinted that he is no longer an automatic no1 and that the two keepers will be left to fight it out on merit.
‘You keep your place in the team or you play when you play well — it doesn’t matter if you’re a keeper or a striker or full back,’ he said. ‘You need competition to push each other so we can get the best performance out of one of them.’
And what of the transfer situation? Solskjaer tried to be positive yesterday but he wanted more than one new signing by now. In fairness to United, the £40 million paid to Ajax for Van de Beek is one of the biggest deals so far in this transfer window.
It means the net investment in new players under Solskjaer is £240m, in step with Manchester City and Chelsea and more than the other big european clubs.
But it’s clear the pandemic has had a major impact on United’s spending at a time when they were already at odds with Dortmund over Sancho’s £108m valuation.
‘You can’t ignore the impact of the coronavirus, that’s really changed the market,’ said Solskjaer. ‘It has been in a period that negotiations will happen.
‘The financial uncertainty of that has added to the difficulty of predicting where we’re at.’
even so, Sportsmail understands that United were still in contention to sign both Bale and Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish on Monday.
But Bale is now at Spurs and Grealish — who shares the same agent as the Welshman — signed a new contract at Villa after it became clear United would not pay £80m for him.
Frustrated United keeper Sergio Romero, part of the same stable of players, has remained at home in Argentina waiting for a move after henderson’s return shunted him to third in the pecking order.
‘Of course, I want players in the building that we want to work with and who want to be here,’ said Solskjaer, possibly referencing the fact that Sancho has hardly beaten down the door to exit Dortmund.
‘There are still a few weeks left of the window,’ said Solskjaer.
‘It might happen that we get someone in. I work with the club and they know what I feel this team needs. We sit down and we discuss but sometimes it doesn’t happen as planned. Life isn’t a straight line here.’
If Solskjaer didn’t appreciate that before the events of the past month, he certainly does now.