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I’ll start this week with Andoni Iraola’s appointment at Liverpool. I think he’s the perfect fit, and it’s a no-brainer for me. You have to admire the way his Bournemouth teams played, the way they pressed with high intensity, and the way they go after teams. He’s now going to have even better players to work with now, and his squad will be strengthened even more in the summer.
Some people are saying he’s never managed a club as big as Liverpool before, but he’s led a team like Bournemouth into sixth, so imagine what he could do with more resources at his disposal?
Clinton was speaking on behalf of Freebets.com.
Clinton Morrison: 'Iraola led Bournemouth to sixth - imagine what he could do with more resources'
The football will be more entertaining too. I’ve heard loads of Liverpool fans screaming for Arne Slot to go ages ago and I just said: “give him time, he won you the Premier League.” However, Liverpool fans generally always stick with their team and their manager. But they didn’t stick with Slot at all, and I sensed that when I visited the ground. They were booing him when decisions weren’t coming off, and there was no way back for him.
He'll probably go on and get another job, but it was the right time for him to go. You also saw the damaging statement which Mohamed Salah made before he left, and people listen when he has something to say.
Before Xabi Alonso’s move to Chelsea, there was speculation he could be the man to replace Slot. But he's still at a huge football club in Chelsea and might manage Liverpool one day. You can't wait when a club like Chelsea come knocking on your door. Conversations regarding him taking over at Anfield probably took place, but now he’s going to Chelsea anyway, where I think he'll do a good job. He's a top manager and with the right backing, I think they'll be fine.
The other huge bit of news concerned Anthony Gordon’s £70million move to Barcelona. I understand the reasoning behind the signing, because you need to rotate players, and they can pick up injuries. However, Marcus Rashford's had a very good season and would probably have been a cheaper option. So the fact they got the Gordon deal over the line first surprised me a lot. I prefer Rashford personally. When he is at the top of his game, I don't think there are many that can match him.
But it's a great move for Anthony Gordon. Ask any youngster growing up, Barcelona and Real Madrid are the two clubs you dream of playing for abroad. He didn't play anywhere near enough games towards the end of the season at Newcastle, and Eddie Howe didn’t trust him, playing Harvey Barnes instead. So it's a great opportunity to go to a huge club with fantastic fans and showcase his ability. I do hope Marcus Rashford manages to get his move as well though.
Moving on to some more transfer news now and it appears that Manchester United will sign Ederson from Atalanta. It was massively important to sign a midfielder after losing Casemiro. I think the only other option there is Kobbie Mainoo, while Manuel Ugarte hasn't really been good enough in my opinion.
So that's why I think Man United will go and buy another central midfielder after they’ve got Ederson. They've been linked to players like Sandro Tonali, Adam Wharton, Elliot Anderson, and Mateus Fernandes at West Ham.
But the Ederson signing is a great one. If you don't watch Italian football, you need to watch him. He can do everything, gets forward and covers so much ground.
They went and got the attacking players they needed in the last summer window, which was enough to improve and to finish in the Champions League. If they can get another midfielder and a few defensive reinforcements, I think Man United could be in the hunt next season.
Looking at the more immediate future, and the focus is very much on England, who play the first of their two World Cup warm-up games against New Zealand tonight.
It's all about getting minutes into the players' legs. You don't want to go into a tournament off the back of three or four weeks without a game because match fitness is totally different. The ones who need the minutes most, are players like Gordon who didn't play much towards the end of the season at Newcastle.
John Stones is another player who needs the game time, but needs to manage his body because it feels like it keeps breaking down. We all know how good a defender he is, and the partnership with him and Marc Guéhi at the Euros was outstanding.
These games are massive for him. He needs to play against both New Zealand and Costa Rica and come away unscathed, because if he has a setback, that could be it for his World Cup chances.
