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Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has revealed he will work with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS to identify transfer targets for the club.

Ratcliffe’s minority takeover of the club was completed earlier this week and the INEOS chief is expected to invest heavily in the playing squad this summer, while reports have claimed no fewer than 12 current first-team players face uncertain futures under the new owner.

Asked about the approach to transfers in the upcoming window, Ten Hag stressed that he will have a say in all deals to make sure everyone is on the same page.

“I have had talks with [INEOS] about it. They will not bring in players who manager doesn’t want, that will not work,” he said.

“We will work together, with suggestions, bringing players in and discussing. Then it is about picking the right players. It’s about co-operation and togetherness.”

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Ten Hag is happy to listen to advice from those in charge at Old Trafford and admitted Ratcliffe and INEOS have made it clear they expect a certain brand of football to be played.

“When I came in I also got direction, that is normal,” Ten Hag continued. “The club dictates the style, so you have to get agreement about that. It is how I work now.

“So, how we want to play, that is given by the leaders of this club. They want to play proactive, dynamic, attacking football, which during my time here, we always tried to do.”

United will take on Fulham on Saturday in what will be the first official game of the INEOS era at Old Trafford.

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Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has urged referees not to get caught up in the emotion of Jurgen Klopp’s final run as Liverpool manager.

The two sides will meet at Wembley on Sunday for the Carabao Cup final in a repeat of last month’s Premier League clash, in which Liverpool romped to a comfortable 4-1 victory.

While Pochettino was happy to admit his side deserved nothing from January’s game, he questioned several decisions from the referee during the match and demanded officials give teams a “fair” chance up against Klopp between now and the end of the season.

“I think we need to be sure we are going to compete and be fair in every single decision,” the Chelsea boss said. “When we played against Liverpool at Anfield, I think too many decisions… not one key decision was for us. Two penalties were not given. Duels, 50-50s, always for another colour. Always red. I want to be treated in a fair way.

“Of course, we are going to celebrate [Klopp]. I am the first who is going to say that Liverpool is amazing and Klopp is one of the best coaches in the world. But I think after my last experience playing there, what I want in Wembley is to go there and not feel the pressure. It is to play a game at the same level and the best team will win. But not to feel the pressure of people around.”

Pochettino continued: “They were better than us [at Anfield], of course. But the first decision after five minutes was a clear penalty. In the second half it was a penalty, [Christopher] Nkunku.

“We are Chelsea and we need to compete with the same tools. If they are better, well done and we congratulate them, but be fair in every single decision. The pressure is about not delivering the job for Klopp, no, the pressure is not to be part of the [hype].”

The Argentine ended by denying the incentive of spoiling Klopp’s farewell was an added incentive for Chelsea.

“We want to win because of Chelsea,” he stressed. “But of course Liverpool want to win. But please, not another party involved in the game will be part of the celebration that Klopp is leaving, no? That is important.”

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Manchester United’s positive start to 2024 has been dealt another blow in the form of an injury to a key player who had hit great form.

While the season has been disappointing as a whole for the Red Devils, a run of five wins across the Premier League and the FA Cup put Erik ten Hag’s side back in the running for Champions League qualification.

Ten Hag had settled on his favoured starting lineup but it has been chipped away at in the last few weeks. Lisandro Martinez sustained another injury to rule him out until April, while Luke Shaw’s campaign is over.

The next key player ruled out of action is Rasmus Hojlund. The Danish striker had just hit his stride, becoming the youngest player to score in six consecutive Premier League games, but now joins Martinez and Shaw in the treatment room.

Here’s when Man Utd hope he will return.

When he signed for United in the summer, Hojlund arrived with a back injury that meant he had to wait a few weeks before getting a run of games, with Anthony Martial left to ineffectively fill in up front.

The goals started to flow once he regained full fitness, but only in the Champions League. While he grabbed five strikes in six group-stage outings as United were eliminated, it took the 20-year-old until Boxing Day to net for the first time in the Premier League in the comeback win against Aston Villa.

Since then, he has scored six more top-flight goals and become one of the most important players in the team.

On Friday, however, United released a statement confirming Hojlund has suffered a muscle injury and will not be available for the next two to three weeks, meaning he will miss the clash with Fulham and the Manchester derby on 3 March.

At his press conference ahead of the Fulham match, Ten Hag said: “It’s a small injury, two or three weeks. It’s the risk, playing high intensity. It’s not a big injury but he has to wait for two or three weeks.”

Hojlund will also miss the FA Cup fifth-round tie against Nottingham Forest, meaning the absolute earliest he could return is against Everton at Old Trafford on 9 March.

This is not a position where United needed an injury. It’s no secret they badly need more depth when it comes to strikers and Hojlund’s absence will only exhibit it further.

Martial is the only other senior striker in Ten Hag’s squad, but the Frenchman has struggled for form for a number of seasons at Old Trafford and is currently nursing an injury of his own. When it comes to fit central forwards, Charlie McNeill, the youngster who spent the first half of the campaign on loan at Stevenage, is the only alternative.

However, the expectation is Marcus Rashford will be moved into the central role, opening a space for Antony to play on the wing again. The England forward has rarely been at his best this season but is certainly more comfortable and effective on the left flank rather than through the middle.

There is scope to use Bruno Fernandes in a false nine role with Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho on either side, but Rashford as a striker is the most likely choice.

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Eduardo Camavinga has teased Real Madrid’s capture of Kylian Mbappe after the Frenchman made the decision to leave Paris Saint-Germain when his contract expires in June.

Mbappe is already reported to have agreed a five-year contract with Madrid that will pay him €15m per season, as well as a €150m signing bonus spread over the duration of the deal.

Despite him leaving as a free agent, PSG also won’t be left out of pocket either. Mbappe is agreed to return around €80m after deciding to let his contract run down, while his departure stands to save the French giants an estimated €200m next season.

Nothing is yet publicly confirmed, but Camavinga gave a less than subtle nod to the proceedings.

“The fact that there is always a French player in Real Madrid shows how many good French players there are. I hope we can have more of them here with us soon,” Camavinga joked this week, as reported by Spanish outlet Defensa Central.

Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni and Ferland Mendy make up the current French contingent at the Bernabeu. But the path from France to Spain’s capital is one well-travelled – just asked French prince Philippe, Duke of Anjou, crowned Philip V of Spain in 1700. Although that sparked a bloody war that lasted 13 years and sucked in most of Europe…and he’s been dead for nearly three centuries.

In the 21st century alone, Zinedine Zidane, Raphael Varane and Karim Benzema are all legends of the Bernabeu. Claude Makelele was famously the glue that held the first Galacticos together, while Christian Karembeu and Nicolas Anelka each won Champions League titles.

The first Frenchman to play for Madrid, before even the club had been awarded its Real status by the Spanish crown, was Rene Petit in 1914 when most of the rest of Europe erupting in a new war.

But the first true French star of Real Madrid was Raymond Kopa, signed by the club in the wake of facing them while playing for Reims in the first ever European Cup final in 1956. He was ultimately only at the club for three years but his wider football legacy still burns brightly, with the Kopa Trophy named in his honour when it was created in 2018 to recognise the world’s best young player.

Mbappe won that prize in its first year, while Camavinga was a runner-up in 2022.

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LAFC and Seattle Sounders will renew their rivalry Saturday afternoon with several high-profile players set to make their league debuts at BMO Stadium.

The Black and Gold and the Sounders meet once again out west, with both sides vying for the top spot in the Western Conference in 2024. It’s the first game of the new season for both teams, with winger Pedro de la Vega set to make his debut for Seattle while Hugo Lloris and Omar Campos headline the LAFC lineup.

When these two combine, there’s typically plenty of entertainment with the likes of Denis Bouanga and Jordan Morris itching to score bags of goals to bring in the new season in style.

Here’s 90min’s preview of the rematch of the 2023 Western Conference semifinal.

LAFC vs Seattle Sounders H2H record

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Lloris is set to make his MLS debut for the Black and Gold, while Omar Campos, Eduard Atuesta, Tomas Angel and David Martinez could all feature for Steve Cherundolo’s side as well.

The likes of Maxime Crepeau, John McCarthy, Kellyn Acosta, Diego Palacios all departed the club, leaving a gaping hole in the 2022 MLS Cup champions’ squad. But Atuesta and Campos could just might find their way into the starting XI in the team’s first game of the season.

LAFC predicted lineup vs Seattle Sounders (4-3-3): Lloris; Hollingshead, Murillo, Long, Campos; Tillman, Sanchez, Atuesta; Olivera, Angel, Bouanga.

Sounders legend Nicolas Lodeiro left Lumen Field as a free agent at the end of the previous season, and the 34-year-old went on to join Orlando City to fill the creative void they were missing. However, Seattle already has Albert Rusnak who’s capable of playing in a similar role in the attacking third like Loderio.

It was a quiet transfer window outside of the addition of de la Vega for Seattle, and he fills a huge need for head coach Brian Schmetzer. Seattle have needed a direct winger for some time, and he’s set to wreak havoc up front alongside Morris and Leo Chu.

Seattle Sounders predicted lineup vs LAFC (4-2-3-1): Frei; Roldan; Gomez, Arreaga, Nouhou; Paulo, Atencio; De la Vega, Rusnak, Chu; Morris.

Seattle will be out for revenge after falling short in last year’s postseason run at the hands of LAFC, and Schmetzer’s side are the most complete team in the Western Conference

LAFC are still a top-quality team — and they managed to keep hold of Golden Boot winner Denis Bouanga — but they’re still lacking a bit of depth while the Sounders are one of the deepest teams in MLS. Bouanga will get on the scoresheet wice, but it won’t be enough to fend off an impressive display from the Sounders.

It’ll be a close one out in Los Angeles, but the Sounders will just about steal the victory with an extra-time winner thanks to USMNT figure Jordan Morris.

Prediction: LAFC 2-3 Seattle Sounders

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