Two Manchester United transfer choices revealed by merciless Nottingham Forest after baffling £90m decisions

By Damerex -
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Manchester United’s decision to sell Anthony Elanga for £15m while rating Alejandro Garnacho at £70m illustrates the kind of errors that define their transfer missteps.  Manchester United are terrible at signings. That is no surprise. Their terrible history of post-Ferguson acquisitions is painfully familiar. However, they are arguably inferior in every facet of player sales, and insufficient emphasis is placed on how that disastrous failure has been more persistently harmful than subpar recruitment to their prospects for a significant rebuild.  They have never earned over £100m in a single season from player sales (four Premier League teams achieved this in just one season). They are the sole Premier League club whose highest sale happened prior to 2011. They still consider David Beckham's transfer to Real Madrid in 2003 as their fourth-biggest sale ever, and two players ahead of him – Angel Di Maria and Romelu Lukaku – were sold at a loss compared to their initial signing fe...
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Chelsea: ‘Disheartened’ Enzo Maresca ‘cancels break’ after ‘younger’ players defeat ‘veteran’ teammates

By Damerex -

Reports indicate that Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca opted to cancel a day off for his senior players this week after a disappointing practice session. 

Maresca is nearing the conclusion of his inaugural season as Chelsea's head coach, and it has been quite a journey as they shifted from being contenders for the Premier League title to battling for Champions League qualification. 

Chelsea’s choice to substitute former manager Mauricio Pochettino for Maresca faced criticism in the summer, yet this appeared to be a brilliant move at the beginning of the season as they became an unexpected contender for the Premier League title. 

Nonetheless, the Blues have considerably dropped in recent months, as they currently sit 14th in our Premier League table for the calendar year. 

Five teams from the Premier League are poised to participate in next season's Champions League, while six clubs are competing for fourth-placed Chelsea with nine matches left to play. 


Chelsea will not play this weekend since they have been eliminated from the FA Cup, so their upcoming match is against Tottenham Hotspur next Thursday. 

Maresca planned to grant his senior team a day off this week, but The Chelsea spot reports that he ‘became furious and called off yesterday’s break for the players as Chelsea’s U21s (including U16s) defeated Chelsea’s first team 3-0 during training on Wednesday’. 

The Athletic has since offered additional context and disclosed the message the head coach intended to convey to his team. 

The document clarifies: 

Chelsea's head coach Enzo Maresca revoked a planned day off for senior players this week following their 3-0 loss to the club’s Under-21 team during a training drill. 

Maresca decided to act after feeling let down by what he observed during the drill. Although it wasn't a complete 90-minute game featuring the first team against academy players, the younger squad triumphed with 19-year-old Donnell McNeilly scoring two of the goals. 

The match featured senior players not on international duty, while the Under-21s included some Under-16s to help fill the squad. 

As Chelsea's next match against Tottenham Hotspur isn't until next Thursday, Maresca arranged for everyone to take Thursday, March 27, off. However, he abandoned the concept after feeling dissatisfied with what he observed. 

The Italian's choice is viewed as a reminder of the expectations he has, despite being a trivial task during an international break. 


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