‘Man United must sign two modern strikers’
MANCHESTER: Manchester United must sign two “modern” strikers who will bring real quality to the attacking positions when new manager Erik ten Hag begins his squad rebuild, interim boss Ralf Rangnick said.
Rangnick will step down at the end of the season and the new Austria manager, who will remain at Old Trafford in a consultancy role, said finding someone to share the scoring burden with Cristiano Ronaldo will be one of Ten Hag’s top tasks.
United are sixth in the Premier League and have scored 57 goals in the campaign, 27 fewer than leaders Manchester City.
Portuguese forward Ronaldo has scored 24 goals from 38 games in all competitions, including 18 in the league.
“Cristiano isn’t a central striker or does not want to play in that position,” Rangnick said. “It’s obvious the club needs at least two new strikers who give this team more quality and more options. I wouldn’t even call it wingers.
“Two strikers and modern strikers, that do not necessarily have to be wingers. If you look into international football, there aren’t many top teams who still play with two strikers. Most play with either three strikers or a false nine.”
Bournemouth promoted to Premier League
LONDON: Bournemouth beat Nottingham Forest 1-0 on Tuesday to earn automatic promotion to the Premier League after two seasons in the second-tier Championship.
Substitute Kieffer Moore scored the only goal of the game in the 83rd minute as Scott Parker’s side joined champions Fulham in the English top flight next season. It was only the Wales international’s third goal of an injury-ravaged Bournemouth career since his January transfer from Cardiff.
“First and foremost I’m delighted for the fans, and my players,” Parker told Sky Sports. “They deserve this position. It means a lot.”
Forest, who needed a win to leapfrog the Cherries in the table, will now have to try to end their 23-year Premier League exile via the play-offs.
Third-placed Forest and Huddersfield are guaranteed places in the play-offs with one match of the regular season to go, with a clutch of clubs chasing the final two places.
Celta’s Mina gets four years in prison
MADRID: A Spanish court has handed football player Santi Mina a four-year prison sentence for sexually abusing a woman in the southern town of Mojacar in 2017, court documents showed on Wednesday, prompting his club Celta Vigo to temporarily suspend him.
Mina, who had been accused alongside Ibiza footballer David Goldar, was also granted a restraining order and will have to pay compensation of 50,000 euros to the victim. Goldar was cleared of all charges.
Mueller extends stay with Bayern till 2024
MUNICH: Bayern Munich and Thomas Mueller have agreed to an early extension of his contract until 2024, the Bundesliga club announced on Tuesday.
The 32-year-old attacker has been with the club since the age of 10, progressing through every age group before turning professional in 2008.
Bayern’s 10th successive Bundesliga title was his 11th in the red shirt—no other player in the history of the German top flight has lifted the shield more times.
Mueller said: “I’m delighted to have extended my contract. The journey we’ve been on since I joined the academy in 2000 has been a fantastic success story up to now.”