GLEN JOHNSON: Brand Ambassador and former Liverpool right back Glen Johnson on why Liverpool is the best destination for Jadon Sancho, why London still holds a big sway for transfer prospects, was Ighalo a panic buy for Man U? PLUS Glen’s latest weekend acca recommendation.
Jadon Sancho
There have been plenty rumours around Jadon Sancho’s future with Liverpool the latest club to be linked. He’s clearly very exciting and has shown in the Bundesliga the talent he has, so it would be great to see him in the Premier League. It’s obviously very early days in his career and he’s got plenty of areas to improve on, but in terms of raw talent he looks a real prospect.
On the topic of where he might end up in the summer, it could turn a bit tactical because if one of the big guns doesn’t get him, another will. Clubs ideally don’t want to give their main rivals an advantage, so I’m sure that will be taken into account when they are deciding to bid or not.
From my perspective, Liverpool would be the best club for his development because if he goes to Manchester United, they’re going to need to rely on him immediately and that’s a pretty big burden for someone so young.
At Manchester City, they may just buy another player if he doesn’t perform, whereas Liverpool would nurture him into the side and I think that’s the best way to unlock the potential we all know he has.
Liverpool the most attractive option
Given Sancho’s talents, it’s no surprise to see all of Europe’s big clubs linked with him, but for me Anfield is the most attractive option. He wouldn’t be guaranteed first team football there which few players in the world are these days, so I don’t think that’s a reason he wouldn’t go.
Liverpool are arguably the best team in the world at the moment and there are few players who wouldn’t want to play there, so you’ve got to think Sancho would be very interested in playing under Jurgen Klopp and being part of a Liverpool team at such a successful period in the club’s history.
Chelsea will be busy this summer
Chelsea are another side to have been linked with Sancho and even if they don’t get him, I expect them to be very busy in the summer transfer window. I actually think they’d have a better chance of getting Sancho than City or United, though, as the temptation of living in London is a huge factor. The club and the team are going in the right direction and they are rebuilding in the right way, so it’s definitely an exciting time at Stamford Bridge.
London clubs like Chelsea have a massive advantage geographically compared to the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United. A lot of foreign players will tell you that when they come to the UK they only really know about London and families are the same, so it can have a big sway in where they end up.
It wasn’t that long ago that Newcastle were struggling to sign players and were losing them as well, so they considered having a second training ground in London! It’s definitely a big factor in a player’s thinking when they are considering a move to the Premier League or even from one club in the league to another.
United’s signing of Ighalo a panic buy
With Marcus Rashford’s injury, United definitely needed attacking reinforcements, but I’m not sure Odion Ighalo was the right choice.
It comes across as quite desperate business and while he was a good striker at Watford, United are a different beast and he’s got to prove he’s up to that level.
I think it shows where United are at the moment, they just aren’t going to attract the world-class players they used to. It makes Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s job much harder as he’s trying to get a team back into the Champions League which is severely lacking in quality.
They’re a long way off where they used to be and based on signings like Ighalo, they’ve got a long way to go to get back there.
Weekly acca
Here are my selections for this week’s acca…
⚽ Wolves 1-1 Leicester
⚽ Southampton 2-0 Burnley
⚽ Aston Villa 1-2 Tottenham
⚽ Arsenal 2-1 Newcastle
⚽ Chelsea 1-1 Man Utd
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