Football returns in Spain and Germany tonight but, unlike in England, the transfer window has closed. LaLiga and Bundesliga clubs have until September 2 to conclude any business – as do Ligue 1 sides – while teams in Italy will cease trading on August 23 ahead of the first round of Serie A. Football Whispers’ unique algorithm assigns every Whisper a score out of five based on its likelihood, taki...

After securing the services of Harry Maguire, several reports stated Manchester United wouldn’t be adding any more players to their squad this summer. The Times have since reiterated this point but ESPN claim the Red Devils are pushing hard to tie up a deal for Christian Eriksen before the window closes.  The Danish playmaker has been angling for a move away from Tottenham Hotspur since the end of...

Not content with being involved in two of this summer’s biggest, and at this point most tedious, transfers sagas Manchester United are prepared to reignite a third. According to reports in Italy, the Red Devils have agreed a five-year contract with Sergej Milinković-Savić, the Lazio midfielder they pursued aggressively but failed to sign twelve months ago. United are prepared to £67milliob p...

The kings of the free transfer, Juventus have been at it again this summer with the signings of Aaron Ramsey and Adrien Rabiot. Persistently linked with a deal to bring Paul Pogba back to Turin too, new coach Maurizio Sarri will have some of the most enviable midfield options in European football at his disposal this season. That’s without mentioning midfield metronome Miralem Pjanić, anothe...

Paul Pogba wants to leave Manchester United, or so claim the countless reports coming from Spanish and Italian media. The World Cup winner has been linked with a return to Juventus but Real Madrid are the favourites to land him as they look to finalise their final Galactico addition. The Red Devils don’t want to part ways with their record signing but with just two years remaining on his contract...

Few clubs have ruled the transfer market like Juventus in the 21st century. Sure, the Italian giants have had their fair share of disappointments (Diego, Felipe Melo and Amauri), but time and time again they have found the players to strengthen their squad and prolong their stay at Serie A’s summit. Arguably the most profitable aspect of Juve’s transfer strategy has been the ability to...

Sometimes it just isn’t meant to be. When Manchester United broke the world record to sign Paul Pogba in the summer of 2016 it was supposed to a turning point. The Red Devils had reportedly pipped neighbours Manchester City to his signature in a move that showed they still had it. With José Mourinho now at the helm they had the x-factor in the dugout again. Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Zlatan Ibra...

It had to be Cardiff City. On December 22, Ole Gunnar Solskjær began his interim Manchester United reign with a convincing 5-1 win over the Bluebirds. Nearly five months on, with the budding optimism generated by the Norwegian’s arrival having dissipated entirely, Cardiff ran out 2-0 winners at Old Trafford, condemning United to a fourth defeat in six in all competitions. Those who claimed f...

After years of setting the benchmark for transfer-market extravagance, Real Madrid have steered away from their big-spending ways in recent seasons. Although they have continued to be successful, winning three Champions Leagues since their last £50million-plus signing – James Rodríguez in 2014 – now on their third manager of the season, it is clear that Los Blancos need to spend big on a squad reb...

Winnings fouls can be an art form. There are those players, usually attackers, who know how to get their body in front of an opponent to draw contact in dangerous areas. There are certain challenges – innocuous trips for instance – that can irk referees, while other thunderous and potentially reckless tackles can be let go. Which of these fouls receive yellow cards appears to be random, the luck o...

Manchester United’s 2-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night was made worse by injuries to both Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial. The duo, who have played a key role in the club’s revitalisation under Ole Gunnar Solskjær, are expected to miss between two and three weeks on the sidelines. It has given Solskjær an unwanted problem ahead of upcoming games against Chelsea in the FA Cup and...

By now, you’ve probably already read ‘sobering reality check’, ‘first big slip-up’ and a ‘reminder of Manchester United‘s standing among the European elite’. These are all accurate assessments of Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s Champions League debut as United’s interim boss. It did not go well for the Norwegian who, up to Tuesday night, had enjoye...

José Mourinho believes he tried with Paul Pogba. Tried everything in his power get the best out of his most expensive ever signing. Tried him deep, tried him advanced; tried him on the left of a three, where everyone says he should play. Tried giving him responsibility, tried tough love. But what Mourinho never came close to doing in his two and a half years alongside the enigmatic midfielder at O...

The 2018/19 Premier League season has passed the halfway point. With 20 games played, Liverpool are sitting pretty at the top, seven points clear of champions Manchester City ahead of their top-two showdown at the Etihad on Thursday night. As you would expect, some of Jürgen Klopp’s title-chasers feature high in a number of the major stats categories. After all, they have won the most matche...

The noise around Old Trafford during Manchester United’s 4-1 defeat of Bournemouth was as good an indication as any of the feel-good factor sweeping over the club. Cries of “attack, attack, attack” which were chanted in desperate hope under the tutelage of José Mourinho now come with an air of expectation with Ole Gunnar Solskjær at the helm. Arriving at his former club with plenty of credit in th...

It was most likely a pre-scheduled social media post. Paul Pogba, in shadows, pulling a face that could – maybe tenuously – be read as a smirk. Or maybe it was a frown. “Caption this,” the post read, before hashtags and @s of club and sponsors, and then “#heretocreate”. But timing is everything on social media and news had broken that José Mourinho had been sacked by Manchester United. Suddenly a...

“When the team is defensively stronger and doesn’t need people in midfield that are more worried about giving some balance to the team than being involved in creation and attacking dynamics, I think the horizons for Fred change completely,” José Mourinho said last week. With only 15 minutes on the pitch against Arsenal and none against Fulham, perhaps the same applies to Paul Pog...