Sports
Ryan Gravenberch Was as Bad as Wirtz vs Man City
Liverpool put in one of the worst performances of Arne Slot’s managerial reign in a 3-0 defeat to Manchester City, which highlighted several problems the Dutchman needs to address, including Ryan Gravenberch.
Erling Haaland’s excellent header (29′), Nico Gonzalez’s fine strike (45+3′) and Jeremy Doku’s goal of the season contender (63′) handed the Reds their fifth defeat of the Premier League campaign. The defending champions are quickly giving up their crown, and the jubilation of last season’s title victory feels a lifetime ago.
So too did the stunning start to the season made by Gravenberch, who was earning plaudits as one of the best midfielders in Europe until the Merseysiders’ wheels fell off in late September. He’s come out of form since a 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace, which ignited a terrible run for Slot’s side.
Man City 3-0 Liverpool: Gravenberch’s Stumble Going Under The Radar
Gravenberch earned comparisons to Arsenal’s Declan Rice and Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo when he starred in Liverpool‘s five-game winning streak at the very start of the season. He was on target in a 3-2 win over Newcastle United and a 2-1 victory against Merseyside rivals Everton.
The 23-year-old came off the boil once Slot’s men tasted their first defeat of the season away to Palace, and he hasn’t been the same player since the trip to Selhurst Park. He was noticeably quiet at the Etihad, and that’s a real headache for his manager, who will have been desperate for his fellow countryman to remain consistent.
Gravenberch, whom Liverpool Echo believe put in a 5/10 performance, was left chasing shadows on many occasions against City, whose dominance left him little chance to impact the game. His fellow Alexis Mac Allister has been on the receiving end of criticism as of late, but it’s unfair not to call out the Dutchman for his standards dropping in such a high-profile match.
Slot’s midfield was second-best throughout at the Etihad, and that is a real problem ahead of this week’s international break, with a growing list of issues. There’s no hiding away from Florian Wirtz’s disastrous start to his career with the Reds, coming nowhere close to living up to his £116 million price tag.
Wirtz over Wharton? Liverpool’s Recruitment Under The Microscope
Liverpool entered the season having enjoyed, for many, one of the best transfer windows of any Premier League club in history. The Reds overhauled a title-winning squad with new faces who had shined at their respective clubs before arriving at Anfield.
One of those was Wirtz, handed a 5/10 rating by Liverpool Echo for his Etihad exploits, who initially became the club’s club record signing when he joined Slot’s side in July after last season’s title winners saw off competition from Bayern Munich. He was one of Europe’s most in demand playmakers having thrived under Xabi Alonso, including in an unbeaten Bundesliga title winning season with 11 goals and 12 assists in 32 games.
But 11 games into his debut Premier League campaign with the Reds and he hasn’t registered a single goal contribution and has settled for a place on Slot’s bench on more than one occasion. But was the addition of an attacking midfielder such as Wirtz that impoirtant?
Perhaps a new holding midfielder should have been targeted ahead of the German because the club don’t have many Gravenberch alternatives if their Dutchman comes out of form. There was a clear need for an injection of new energy in the middle of the park at the Etihad but no viable replacement on the bench.
“Wirtz had the chance between Munich and Liverpool. He said to Liverpool, ‘I’ll come to you if I play number 10 – I do not want to play wide. To get him, Liverpool said OK. So they destroyed their midfield, because their midfield was Gravenberch, Mac Allister and Szoboszlai” — Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.
Reports have claimed that the Reds are eyeing Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton, who is one of English football’s rising stars and tipped to become one of the very best defensive midfielders in world football. Slot may have been better off splashing the cash on the 21-year-old rather than Wirtz or at least prioritised the English starlet or a similar profile before turning to a luxury signing such as the German.
Sports
Man Utd Eye PSG Winger Ibrahim Mbaye in Summer Transfer
Although the major focus for Manchester United in the summer transfer window is to bring in midfield reinforcements, they could look to strengthen in other areas of the pitch.
The Red Devils are yet to complete any new additions since the market opened, despite pushing to sign several different midfielders.
If United want to give a good account of themselves in the Champions League next season, as well as cope with pushing in the Premier League, there is no doubt they need reinforcements all over the pitch.
Although it was a phenomenal achievement for my character to guide United into the Champions League places last season, they didn’t have the distraction of European football like other clubs.
That’s all going to change this campaign, meaning they’ll need a deeper squad to deal with the schedule.
Man Utd preparing offer for winger
According to reports, Manchester United are exploring a move to sign Paris Saint-Germain winger Ibrahim Mbaye in the summer transfer window.
The report claims that United are preparing a bid to sign the Senegalese international, while PSG are hoping to receive around £30 million.
United face competition for his signature as clubs look to take advantage of his lack of regular starts at PSG.
Mbaye, described as ‘one of the best young players in the world’, has struggled to cement himself as a guarantee in Luis Enrique’s side, which is no surprise given the amount of talent they have in their squad.
Mbaye’s representatives are looking to convince him to remain in Paris, but there’s a strong chance he ends up in the Premier League.
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Mbaye could be ideal winger signing
United currently have plenty of options on the wings, including Bryan Mbuemo, Matheus Cunha and Amad Diallo.
Despite that, all three have been deployed in various different positions during their time at United. It’s certainly not set in stone that Mbaye wouldn’t break into the starting eleven.
The young winger has plenty of potential and perhaps a higher ceiling than the aforementioned United trio.
Mbaye is also capable of making an immediate impact at senior level, as we’ve seen during his time at PSG and Senegal.
If United could secure his signature this summer, it would be a smart signing for the future and the present.
Sports
Arsenal Star Saliba Targeted by UCL Giants: £128m Price Tag Set
After a strong 2025/2026 season, some of Arsenal’s key stars are attracting interest from some of the biggest clubs around the world.
Attracting players away from the Gunners is never going to be easy, however, as there’s no doubt Arsenal are one of the best clubs to play for in the world at the moment.
The north London club came close to lifting the Champions League trophy, while also, of course, winning the Premier League last season.
Arsenal will likely want to bring in reinforcements over the coming weeks and months, so as a result, players will have to leave the club.
Leandro Trossard appears to be one player who is being sacrificed, with a deal agreed for him to join Turkish side Besiktas.
Three clubs eyeing Arsenal man
According to a report from Caught Offside, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, and Barcelona are all showing an interest in signing Arsenal star William Saliba in the summer transfer window.
The Gunners would only be willing to consider entering talks for the French international if an offer arrives at the table in the region of £128m.
In a roundabout way, Arsenal are telling the interested parties that he’s not for sale, as it’s hard to imagine a club being willing to pay that much for Saliba.
Although the French defender is undoubtedly one of the best in the world in his position, it’s a lot of money for a club to pay for a centre-back.
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Arsenal shouldn’t sell Saliba at any price
Although £128m is almost telling clubs that Saliba isn’t for sale, Arsenal shouldn’t be considering offloading him for any price in the summer transfer window.
The ‘world-class‘ defender has been imperative to Arsenal’s success over the last few years, so it makes little sense to offload him this summer.
Arsenal would struggle to replace Saliba with a defender capable of replicating what he’s produced for the Gunners, even with a £128m budget.
Mikel Arteta’s side need to be doing everything they can to keep Saliba at the Emirates Stadium, and hopefully for their sake, he isn’t tempted by a move to PSG, Barcelona, or Real Madrid.
Sports
US Media Place Blame on Christian Pulisic For World Cup Exit vs Belgium
Mauricio Pochettino’s USA side bowed out of their World Cup campaign embarrassingly, being on the receiving end of a 4-1 thrashing by Belgium. The host nation had a promising start to the tournament, finishing top of their group and beating Bosnia & Herzegovina in the Round of 32, but that soon changed in the next game.
There was controversy before the game, with Folarin Balogun’s red card being suspended after intervention from USA President Donald Trump, meaning that the ex-Arsenal striker was allowed to feature, much to the benefit of the USA, as the Monaco man had already scored three in four games.
As much as it frustrated Belgium, it didn’t matter as they went on to dominate from start to finish. Pochettino’s side looked a shadow of themselves in previous games, and they became the final host nation to be knocked out of the tournament, as well as missing out on the chance to make it to their first quarter-final since 2002.
Christian Pulisic is one of the biggest stars in the USA national team, but he has failed to show the expected performance levels throughout the tournament, only managing to register one assist.
The Milan winger was subbed off in the 59th minute of the 4-1 loss, and many are arguing his American legacy has been tainted. Despite being the leader of the national team for some time, Pulisic has failed to lead the side to glory or even to the latter stages of any tournament, and his performance against Belgium hasn’t helped his case.
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American-based website Sports Illustrated hit out at Pulisic following the disappointing game. They said: “The USMNT needed its talisman to step up and be the difference-maker, and he failed the task. Even before his premature exit, the star winger struggled to generate anything offensively. He had just one touch in Belgium’s box and didn’t get a single shot off.”
They weren’t the only ones to give their verdict on Captain America, as former USA women’s star Carli Loyd told Fox Sports: “You wanted some of those big-time players to step up in a big moment. I gotta be honest, I was a bit disappointed with Christian Pulisic.
I think, whether he wants to be the star of this team or not, we didn’t see enough from him in this particular game, and really the whole World Cup,”
FOX Sports Radio’s Jamie Fox also said: “It’s an uncomfortable conversation because for the longest time it was, ‘Pulisic’s gonna do it. Pulisic’s gonna do it. He’s our guy; he’s Captain America.’ And now you’re looking at Christian Pulisic, where his World Cup career is just about done.
“When you say, OK, his legacy, Christian Pulisic, the golden era, it’s not what we thought it would be or not what we needed it to be. The hype for him and what we thought he could do … he’s just been OK and he’s been injured. The whole Christian Pulisic era is underachieving.”
Pulisic has led the team for many years now, and there still isn’t a lot to show for his efforts. The furthest the team has reached in the World Cup is the round of 16, and Pulisic failed to step up to the plate in this tournament.
In fairness to the former Chelsea attacker, he did pick up an injury against Paraguay in the group stages, and has been trying to manage the injury since, which makes it no surprise he was subbed off in the 59th minute against Belgium.
Pulisic registered 36 touches during the game, completing only 2 of his 6 attempted dribbles, whilst losing six out of his 8 duels. It doesn’t come as a surprise that he was subbed off during the game, and many would’ve expected more from ‘the LeBron James of Soccer’.
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