AL’ BE A MAJOR PLAYER

So now the circus surrounding Ronaldo is in full swing again and Ten Hag is walking the high wire, having found himself at loggerheads with the Portuguese legend.

He has more important things to focus on than someone sulking because he can’t get what he wants.

The new season is about to begin and it’s a monumental one for Ten Hag’s managerial reputation and credibility.

United don’t need Ronaldo, they just think they do.

Choking

The narrative is now about one man who is no longer the future, instead of being about a group of them who still are.

Fergie must be choking on that glass of his favourite red wine.

Ronaldo returned to Manchester last summer to huge fanfare and didn’t disappoint. He scored twice on his second coming in a 4-1 drubbing of Newcastle.

He kept on scoring too in his bid to rewrite history, but when those around him let him down he decided he wanted out.

There are two certainties with Ronaldo. One is that he will score goals, the other is that he’s high maintenance.

United — and Ten Hag — are now discovering the latter to their cost.

He has to go, so let him leave.

MIGUEL Almiron is desperate to save Newcastle a wad of cash by playing like a new big-money signing this season.

The Paraguay international is favourite to play on the right side of the Toon attack in Saturday’s Premier League opener against Nottingham Forest.

Almiron claims that he feels like a new player under boss Eddie Howe.

Confident

“I feel a lot more confident,” he declared. “The manager has shown more faith in me too.

“I’m playing a lot more on the righthand side and feel a lot more comfortable there. Obviously, I still need to keep working on my goalscoring and providing more assists.

“We are all now aspiring to greater things and aiming higher.”