The big transfer news this week concerns Rodri’s move to Barcelona being confirmed. It was inevitable, and with only a year left in his contract at the age of 30, it was a good piece of business for Manchester City. But to lose a top-quality player like that when you want to be challenging for the Premier League, is a huge blow.
He gave everything to that football club - Man City won everything, and when he went there, not a lot of people knew about him, and now everyone knows about him. It's a fantastic signing for Barcelona.
Clinton was speaking courtesy of Free Bets, home of the best UK betting sites.
'Ayyoub Bouaddi is the type of player who could come in and help fill the void'
Ayyoub Bouaddi is the type of player who could come in and help fill the void. He’s only 18, but he dictated the play for Morocco at the World Cup and made things happen. I’m not saying that Bouaddi will be as good as Rodri, but if he can be half as good as him, then he’ll have a very successful career.
Moving to the other side of Manchester now, and there’s been a lot of talk about Bruno Fernandes’ future. He was the best player in the Premier League in that number 10 role last season. He'll have competition this year, because there's a good crop of number 10s — Martin Ødegaard started well, while Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer could both have good seasons.
But Bruno's unbelievable — Man United can't afford to lose him. You've got to give him whatever he wants at the moment. He leads by example, and a big reason as to why they returned to the Champions League was down to Bruno Fernandes. Winning both the Premier League and Football Writers’ Association awards shows how much of an impact he had on Man United.
And I don't think, by signing all these midfielders, that they've got one eye on losing Bruno Fernandes, because none of them are number 10 players. I think you need to bring in players so Bruno says, 'yeah, I want to stay and be part of it' — which he does anyway, because Man United is still a big football club.
He's had offers to leave in the past, and could have gone to Saudi Arabia for huge money, but turned it down because he wanted to stay at Man United and play in the best league in the world. At this moment in time, I could ever only see him leaving for somewhere like Real Madrid or Barcelona, because there isn’t anywhere else that’s bigger for Bruno than Man United.
One player who looks set to arrive at Old Trafford is Carlos Baleba. I think it's another good addition to Man United — they needed to strengthen in that midfield area. He’s shown his quality at Brighton & Hove Albion, and is at a really good age too.
Bringing in Baleba would be a good move, and he has been outstanding for Brighton. So for me, that would be a really good signing — and it's a player that they need as well.
He would add to their options alongside Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans, and Kobbie Mainoo, making it a crowded part of the squad. Trying to keep everyone happy might be a bit difficult, but you want competition for places at a club like Man United.
One of the other transfers which caught my eye was Zion Suzuki joining Aston Villa. Where does that leave Emiliano Martínez? Is he going to be ushered out? Because Juventus wanted him, but they’ve just gone and got Guglielmo Vicario from Tottenham.
I can’t see him being a number two, and he's the better of those two goalkeepers. Watch this space, because I think Suzuki has come in to be the number one. So it looks like maybe Martínez might be on his way — we’ll just have to wait and see.
There’s been lots of talk about the players moving between clubs this summer, but let’s not forget, there are nine new managers in the Premier League! Enzo Maresca’s Man City team will probably finish the highest of those teams, but I think Oliver Glasner will have the biggest impact with Nottingham Forest. I think he’s a top manager, and will have a bigger budget at Forest compared to what he had at Crystal Palace to bring in the players he wants.
Out of all those managers, Forest and Glasner will probably be the most successful. I think they'll have a good season, finish in that top eight, and maybe win a trophy this year.
Looking ahead to the weekend now, and it’s great that the Premier League is back. I’m looking forward to a mouth-watering game between Newcastle United and Liverpool. That has the potential to be a cracker, because I’d expect Newcastle to come out fighting after losing so many players, especially with Matthias Jaissle taking his first match in charge. It’ll be interesting to see how Liverpool play too and as I’m not working, I can just sit in front of the TV and enjoy it!
