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Ratcliffe is set to take over the sporting side of the club and therefore, tasked with helping Man United be competitive on the pitch. New signings will need to be made in order to do that and having wasted plenty of money throughout recent years, Mitchell will likely help them make smarter decisions.

It is wise that the British businessman doesn’t make these decisions himself, as Todd Boehly did upon his arrival at Chelsea, and it looks like he will put together a strong recruitment team as part of the process to take Man United back to the top of the English game.

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Exclusive Jonathan Johnson column: What Man Utd can expect from Sir Jim, new Real Madrid deal imminent & more

Jonathan Johnson — Thu, 19 Oct 2023 16:25:00 +0000

Hello and welcome to my latest column for CaughtOffside – click here to subscribe to the Daily Briefing for more from myself, Fabrizio Romano, Ben Jacobs and our other columnists!

What Manchester United fans can expect from Sir Jim Ratcliffe

We’re seeing Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS move closer to purchasing a 25% stake in Manchester United, but as much as fans of the Red Devils might not want to read this, their ownership of Nice hasn’t been a huge success.

We have to recognise that when INEOS came in they had a very ambitious project to challenge PSG at the top of Ligue 1 and they haven’t done that. They haven’t really made any kind of progress domestically or in Europe, so it’s been a very frustrating period for the club’s fans.

Ratcliffe’s continual flirtation with clubs in England has also been a source of frustration to the Nice fan-base, as it’s not just Manchester United he’s shown an interest in, but also Chelsea and Liverpool in the past. Had it just been Man United, given his childhood support of the club, then I think fans might have been a bit more understanding, but given that there’s clearly been a long-running interest in buying a Premier League club, I think the Nice fans have tired of it.

More recently, Nice have made some encouraging changes – they’re the only team unbeaten in Ligue 1 and they’re going very well under highly-rated new manager Francesco Farioli. They’ve got a couple of real gems in their ranks as well, but overall you can’t paint a picture of Ratcliffe’s reign and make it look like a success. It’s been largely a tale of frustration and wasted potential.

It looks like we could see Paul Mitchell brought in as sporting director at United if the INEOS deal goes through, and it’s no surprise to see him being linked with a big Premier League job after leaving Monaco.

Even if things didn’t go quite as well for him at Monaco as he perhaps would’ve hoped, I do rate Mitchell. He did a very good job of streamlining a very bloated squad, and also did well to strengthen that connection with their Belgian feeder club Cercle Brugge.

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In terms of form and achievement on the pitch, Mitchell probably didn’t quite deliver what was hoped for, with the club being out of the Champions League undoubtedly a failure. They’re doing better this season, so it could be argued that that’s some redemption for Monaco after the foundations laid by Mitchell.

Mitchell’s time at Monaco isn’t everything though, as he has other work he can look back on proudly, particularly with RB Leipzig, and I’m not surprised he seems set to return to the Premier League. He’s been linked with the likes of Chelsea and Newcastle in the past and he remains one of the top names in that line of work.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Mitchell took on an even bigger role than just sporting director, perhaps in a multi-club environment with a role at Nice as well as United. Let’s see how that works out, but overall his appointment is a bit of a no-brainer for United, who have room to improve in terms of their recruitment and the overall structure of the club – I think that’s the kind of challenge he’s been looking for for a while.

Eduardo Camavinga close to well-earned Real Madrid deal

Eduardo Camavinga is close to signing a new contract with Real Madrid in a deal which should be officially announced quite soon. He’s certainly had an interesting development at the club since his move from Rennes in 2021.

Eduardo Camavinga in action for Real Madrid

He joined at such a young age, but Camavinga hasn’t just been there to make up the numbers – he’s proven himself more than adept when trusted in his preferred midfield position, and he’s also developing as a left-back, which has been really intriguing. He’s been used there for Real Madrid and increasingly for France as well, because that’s an area which, within the French talent pool, there actually isn’t as much quality in the two full-back areas as there is in midfield or indeed any other position on the pitch.

I think Camavinga has developed well in both roles, so I think it clearly points to a big future in the national team, wherever he ends up playing in the long-term.

Camavinga’s new contract has been in the works for some time, with further details here from Fabrizio Romano, and it’s well deserved. He wasn’t a proven player yet when he joined, but he’s got a couple of titles under his belt and I think has earned himself a new deal to reflect his growing importance to the team.

He looks completely at ease in the environment he’s in, so hopefully once this new deal is signed he can continue to focus on developing, as it seems he’s in the best place for that at this moment in time.

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Exclusive: “The kind of challenge he’s been looking for” – French football expert on Paul Mitchell to Man Utd

Mark Brus — Thu, 19 Oct 2023 13:30:00 +0000

Former Monaco sporting director Paul Mitchell could be set to move to Manchester United if Sir Jim Ratcliffe is successful in purchasing a 25% stake in the Premier League giants.

Discussing this in his exclusive Daily Briefing column, French football journalist Jonathan Johnson provided some insight into how well Mitchell had done during his time in Ligue 1 with Monaco, and what he could bring to Man Utd.

Johnson admitted that Mitchell had perhaps not had the success he will have hoped for at Monaco, though he had some positive impact at the club, whilst also having impressive stints at RB Leipzig and other big clubs on his CV.

United certainly need an overhaul to their recruitment after a series of poorly-performing over-priced signings in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, but is Mitchell up to the challenge of turning things around at a big but under-achieving club like MUFC?

Discussing Mitchell’s qualities, Johnson said: “It looks like we could see Paul Mitchell brought in as sporting director at United if the INEOS deal goes through, and it’s no surprise to see him being linked with a big Premier League job after leaving Monaco.

“Even if things didn’t go quite as well for him at Monaco as he perhaps would’ve hoped, I do rate Mitchell. He did a very good job of streamlining a very bloated squad, and also did well to strengthen that connection with their Belgian feeder club Cercle Brugge.

“In terms of form and achievement on the pitch, Mitchell probably didn’t quite deliver what was hoped for, with the club being out of the Champions League undoubtedly a failure. They’re doing better this season, so it could be argued that that’s some redemption for Monaco after the foundations laid by Mitchell.

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“Mitchell’s time at Monaco isn’t everything though, as he has other work he can look back on proudly, particularly with RB Leipzig, and I’m not surprised he seems set to return to the Premier League. He’s been linked with the likes of Chelsea and Newcastle in the past and he remains one of the top names in that line of work.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if Mitchell took on an even bigger role than just sporting director, perhaps in a multi-club environment with a role at Nice as well as United. Let’s see how that works out, but overall his appointment is a bit of a no-brainer for United, who have room to improve in terms of their recruitment and the overall structure of the club – I think that’s the kind of challenge he’s been looking for for a while.”

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Former Arsenal star who left this summer says club wanted to sell him, not Mikel Arteta

Darren Looney — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 14:39:22 +0000

Arsenal parted ways with several stars this summer and one of them was the highly-rated Folarin Balogun.

The striker made the move to Monaco for an initial £25.7m following an impressive spell in France with Stade de Reims last season. Many thought that campaign would earn him a shot at Arsenal but things didn’t turn out that way.

Balogun rarely featured in Arsenal’s pre-season games over the summer, leading to the impression that Mikel Arteta was ready to move on from the academy product.

However, the 22-year-old has revealed that it was the club that wanted to sell him, not the Arsenal manager.

Folarin Balogun left Arsenal this summer

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Speaking to ESPN, Balogun stated that Arteta tried to get him involved in the Arsenal set-up as best he could, but it was people higher up who were making the decisions on his future at the London club.

The USA international said: “He didn’t really say much, he just said that when I came back he just said well done [for Reims loan spell], and he encouraged me to keep going.

“Then me coming back in a pre-season, it was just more about me seeing whether I fit into his plans and seeing if I can continue to play some games.

“He said that he would try to get me involved as best as he could, but of course, he also told me that the people higher up were making decisions on me and seeing what would be best for me. So the conversations between me and him were good, but it was more about the club, what they wanted to do.”

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Exclusive Jonathan Johnson column: Reaction to Lens-Arsenal & Newcastle-PSG, plus potential forward transfer

Jonathan Johnson — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 17:00:00 +0000

Hello and welcome to my exclusive column for the Daily Briefing – click here to subscribe for more content from myself, Fabrizio Romano, Ben Jacobs and more!

Mixed week for French clubs in the Champions League

Lens earned a big win as they came from behind to beat Arsenal 2-1 in a memorable first home game of the season in the Champions League, while Newcastle saw off Paris Saint-Germain in some style thanks to a similarly lively atmosphere at St James’ Park.

So, mixed success for Ligue 1 teams, but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the two teams that came out on top were the two teams who’ve been away from the Champions League, and indeed the European stage, for a long, long time. Both sides were playing in front of really electric atmospheres, which I think made a big difference.

Still, in Arsenal’s case it’s also important to note that the match changed for them with the injury to Bukayo Saka. I do think that could have an impact on Arsenal’s season, depending on how long he’s out for. With Newcastle, it was a fantastic performance and a fully deserved win, but equally if a couple of other chances had gone PSG’s way earlier in the game, it could’ve been a different story. On that first goal for Newcastle, you’d also expect much better from a player like Marquinhos in the PSG defence.

Overall, not the best nights for Arsenal or PSG, but with the important caveat that these were very special occasions for the home team on the night, and that can make for an intimidating atmosphere that also allowed Newcastle and Lens to play above and beyond themselves.

The stand-out performer for Lens on the night was matchwinner Elye Wahi – a player who was on the radar of a number of top clubs over the summer, most notably Chelsea, but I was also impressed by the response of Adrien Thomasson, who made a mistake for the opening goal by Gabriel Jesus but who then scored the equaliser.

I was impressed by Lens’ resolve, and the fact that they didn’t try to do anything too different, whereas in PSG’s case you have to question why Luis Enrique decided to only go for two central midfielders and four attackers when any minimal amount of match preparation would have shown that that was a suicidal approach. Lens, by contrast, didn’t change their approach for Arsenal and played in the way that’s got them to where they are – their strong understanding and intimacy within their set-up I think was key to getting themselves back into the game.

Wahi is the big name in this Lens side, but I thought there were a number of impressive performers really, particularly Nampalys Mendy, who has settled in really well despite only being at the club for around six weeks. Kevin Danso was also really solid in defence and Brice Samba, the captain, made some important saves. You couldn’t really argue that they didn’t deserve this win.

Hugo Ekitike heading for PSG exit

I can confirm that Hugo Ekitike is no longer wanted at PSG following transfer rumours about his situation and a possible move to the Premier League. The interest from Crystal Palace, which was also there towards the end of the summer transfer window, has been very problematic for PSG because he and his agent didn’t inform PSG that they were trying to negotiate a loan move to Crystal Palace. This was around the time PSG were negotiating a move for Randal Kolo Muani and Ekitike was of interest to Eintracht Frankfurt at that point.

Ekitike has now been dropped from the squad, he’s not on PSG’s list for the Champions League, so his future at the Parc des Princes looks very bleak. There have been links with Everton as well, but I think interest from Newcastle is in the past now. Still, I certainly expect Ekitike to be on the move this winter because there’s no future for him in Paris.

It’s going to be very difficult for PSG to get the kind of money back that they paid for him. PSG already knew they were over-paying for the player because the fee was agreed before his initial loan move, during which he lost massive value. They tried to get out of this deal but they were obliged to complete it.

Realistically, PSG would now be lucky to get a paid loan with a view to a permanent transfer for around €20m, if everything were to go well, but I think it’s clear they’re going to have to accept a significant hit on this transfer, unless he can go out on loan and really impress and build up some value.

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Moussa Dembele’s stinging attack on Lyon

Moussa Dembele laid into his former club Lyon in an interview with Foot Mercato, saying: “I left like Malo [Gusto], Castello [Lukeba] and Bradley [Barcola] did, and they did well to leave in order to improve, enjoy better momentum for their development and earn more money. Lucas Paqueta and Bruno Guimaraes were also right to leave. Look at the fun they’re having! Bruno Cheyrou said the players were assets, what a lack of respect. Where did he think he was? A slave ship? In a cotton field? I’m not an asset, I’m a human being! If we’re assets, what are the fans? Consumers? This is such a dangerous and disrespectful take.”

There has undoubtedly been an institutional crisis going on at Lyon for a few years now, there have been serious question marks about how complacent the club has been, going back to the end of Jean-Michel Aulas’ reign.

Dembele was one of a number of players who, being totally honest, under-performed a bit, but, equally, there was a malaise that was allowed to set in around the club. Houssem Aouar is a good example of this – a hugely talented player who rose up through Lyon’s academy but whose form really dropped off a cliff once a move to Juventus was blocked.

I think a number of players will be feeling similarly, but now that Dembele’s moved on, he’s able to speak out about it. It’s certainly something that’s been brewing for a few years, and even this week there have been reports that one of John Textor’s investors already wants out of the project just a few months into his ownership. It’s a really unhappy place right now, so Dembele’s comments don’t really come as much of a surprise at all.

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Exclusive: Breakthrough Monaco talent already on transfer radar of top clubs, says expert

Mark Brus — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 13:22:37 +0000

French football expert Jonathan Johnson has written in his exclusive Daily Briefing column about the form of exciting Monaco youngster Maghnes Akliouche.

The 21-year-old attacking midfielder was one of the stand-out performers for Monaco in their weekend win over Marseille, and Johnson says he’s a big fan of this young player, who has already been on the radar of some top clubs around Europe for some time.

Johnson did not name any specific names, but one can imagine a host of the usual suspects from the Premier League and La Liga will be keeping a close eye on Akliouche if he keeps on playing like this.

The Frenchman looks like a player with a big future in the game, and it’s often been the case that Monaco cash in on their top talents for a profit when the opportunity comes about.

Johnson says he fully expects that to happen with Akliouche at some point in the next year or two.

“One of the stand-out performers from Ligue 1 last weekend was Maghnes Akliouche, who played a starring role in Monaco’s win over Marseille. He’s a very highly rated talent and someone who’s been on the radar of top clubs for a while now,” he wrote.

“He’s definitely a name to watch, along with another very talented young player in Elise Ben Seghir, who burst onto the scene last season. But for Akliouche to stamp his authority on such a big game like against Marseille, that’s always going to attract a bit of attention, and he’s expected to become one of Monaco’s next big talents.

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“It’s been a bit of an art form at Monaco in the last few years to develop young players like this and then sell them on for big fees, so I think we can expect Akliouche and Ben Seghir to be part of that conveyer belt – you can probably expect them to spend the next two years with Monaco before making a jump to a bigger European club, assuming that their development continues at this rate.

“But when you look at that Akliouche performance, and how complete it was, with goals and assists, it’s phenomenal for a player of such a young age, so he’s certainly someone to keep a close eye on in France this season.”

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Monaco vs Marseille team news

Connor Holden — Sat, 30 Sep 2023 10:07:51 +0000

Monaco (4th in Ligue 1) take on Marseille (8th in Ligue 1) on Saturday 30th of September, at Stade Louis II, at 20:00 PM (BST).

The last time the two sides faced, the game ended a 1-1 draw. Goals from Alexis Sanchez for Marseille, and a Jordan Veretout own goal for Monaco.

Monaco lost their last Ligue 1 fixture, losing 1-0 to Nice. The only goal of the game being scored by Jeremie Boga in the 91st minute to win the game for Nice and secure three points.

Marseille also lost their previous Ligue 1 game, losing 4-0 to PSG. Goals from Achraf Hakimi, Randal Kolo Muani and Goncalo Ramos (x2) to secure the victory.

How to watch Monaco vs Marseille

Date: Saturday, September 30th, 2023
Kickoff: 20:00 PM (BST)
TV Network: TNT Sports
Venue: Stade Louis II

Team News:

Monaco will remain without Edan Diop, Caio Henrique, Mohammed Salisu, Eliesse Ben Seghir and Breel Embolo through injury.

Marseille will be without Pedro Ruiz, Geoffrey Kondogbia and Ismaila Sarr through injury, however the rest of the squad is fit and available to face Monaco on Saturday.

Predicted XI:

Monaco: Kohn, Magassa, Zakaria, Singo, Jakobs, Fofana, Camara, Vanderson, Golovin, Minamino, Ben-Yedder.

Marseille: Lopez, Balerdi, Gigot, Mbemba, Lodi, Veretout, Ounahi, Rongier, Clauss, Aubameyang, Oliveira.

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Monaco vs Nice: Live stream, TV Channel, Start time and Team news

Connor Holden — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 06:52:09 +0000

Monaco (1st in Ligue 1) take on Nice (4th in Ligue 1) on Friday 22nd of September, at Stade Louis II, at 20:00 PM (BST).

The last time the two sides faced, Nice beat Monaco 3-0 at Stade Louis II. Goals from Terem Moffi (x2) and Khephren Thuram securing the victory on the day.

Monaco drew their last Ligue 1 game, 2-2 with Lorient. Goals from Tosin Aiyegun and Romain Faivre for Lorient, and goals from Aleksandr Golovin and Folarin Balogun for Monaco.

Nice managed a great victory in their last Ligue 1 outing, beating PSG 3-2. Goals from Kylian Mbappe (x2) for PSG, and goals from Terem Moffi (x2) and Gaetan Laborde for Nice.

How to watch Monaco vs Nice

Date: Friday, September 22nd, 2023
Kickoff: 20:00 PM (BST)
TV Network: TNT Sports
Venue: Stade Louis II

Team News:

Monaco will be without Eliesse Ben Seghir, Mohammed Salisu, Edan Diop and Breel Embolo through injury. The rest of the squad seems to be fit and available for selection.

Nice will be without their star midfield Khephren Thuram who remains out with a thigh injury. Apart from that, Nice have a full squad to select from, as there have been no new injuries reported ahead of Friday’s fixture.

Predicted XI:

Monaco: Kohn, Magassa, Maripan, Singo, Henrique, Fofana, Zakaria, Vanderson, Golovin, Balogun, Ben Yedder.

Nice: Bulka, Bard, Dante, Tobido, Lotomba, Rosario, Ndayishimiye, Sanson, Diop, Moffi, Laborde.

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Exclusive: Fabrizio Romano on potential Arsenal buy-back clause following transfer exit this summer

Mark Brus — Thu, 07 Sep 2023 07:47:14 +0000

Fabrizio Romano has provided some exclusive information on Folarin Balogun and a potential buy-back clause that would allow him to return to Arsenal in the future.

Writing in today’s CaughtOffside Substack column, Romano said that he’s had some Arsenal fans asking him about if the Gunners tried to include a clause that would see them given the option to bring Balogun back from Monaco in the future after his move to the Ligue 1 club this summer.

Balogun looks an exciting prospect and shone on loan at Reims last season, so some Arsenal fans may have been a bit concerned about the prospect of him leaving permanently.

The USA international could have a bright future in the game, but for now Romano is not aware of a buy-back clause, with the only information he’s been given being on a sell-on clause, giving the north London giants a percentage of any future fee Monaco receive for the player.

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