Daily Mail - 30.08.2019

89

Daily Mail, Friday, August 30, 2019

NO REPRIEVE FOR BURY

Football

First again: how Sportsmail

led the way on Duncan

By ADRIAN KAJUMBA

and SAMI MOKBEL

C

HRIS SMALLING is

being lined up for a

shock loan move to

Roma as Ole Gunnar

Solskjaer oversees a

ruthless Manchester United

clearout.
Alexis Sanchez completed his loan
switch to Inter Milan yesterday and
Smalling is expected to follow him
to Italy’s Serie A. Neither has a
future at Old Trafford under Solsk-
jaer, who has got tough with his
squad just as Jose Mourinho did in
his first summer at Old Trafford.
Smalling has not made the bench
for any of United’s opening three
games this season, with
academy product Axel Tuanzebe

published in September 2018 and

stood at £295.9million. But that is

likely to fall this year as most

players earn 25 per cent less

because they failed to qualify for

the Champions League.

In 2016 at United, Mourinho

shipped out a number of squad

players in his opening months

and made sure some big names

like Bastian Schweinsteiger,

Morgan Schneiderlin and

Memphis Depay knew their

time at Old Trafford was up.

Solskjaer has taken a similarly

hard-nosed approach during his

first pre-season as manager. Romelu

Lukaku sealed a £74million move to

Inter Milan earlier in the month.

Sanchez did not fit into his plans

either. United were so keen to get rid

of him they have committed to pay-

ing £170,000 of his weekly wage.

Sanchez’s 18-month spell

produced three goals, a terrible

return for someone who United

paid a minimum of £400,000 a week.

United are unlikely to be quite so

accommodating in subsidising

Smalling’s £100,000-a-week wages

and want a loan fee of up to £3m.

Solskjaer will have six centre backs

on the books, even if Smalling

departs. Harry Maguire and Victor

Lindelof are the first-choice pairing,

with Tuanzebe and Phil Jones

behind them. Eric Bailly remains

sidelined with a knee injury.

Marcos Rojo expects to still be at

United come Tuesday after Luke

Shaw sustained a thigh problem

that will keep him out for a month.

With Sanchez gone, 17-year-old

Mason Greenwood will act as cover

for Anthony Martial and Marcus

Rashford up front. Martial is out of

tomorrow’s trip to Southampton

with a thigh injury.

@Jack_Gaughan

by JACK

GAUGHAN

PFA TO ENTER DUNCAN ROW

First again: how Sportsmail

LIVERPOOL

‘BULLIES’

Agent blast at club over

wantaway 18-year-old

Smalling

on verge

of move

to Roma

Stand-off:

Klopp (right)

and Duncan,

who wants

to quit Reds

GETTY IMAGES

From Back Page

mean their plight has been keenly

felt at Old Trafford, with United

open to reviewing the payments.

The 134-year-old club, who were

in League One, were booted out

of the competition when a late

takeover collapsed and owner

Steve Dale was unable to satisfy

the EFL that he had the funds to

pay off creditors and see the club

through the season.

A day later, their neighbours

Bolton were saved from the same

fate after a protracted takeover

was completed, lifting them out

of administration and harm’s way.

This season, for the first time

since solidarity payments were

introduced, they were reduced.

A drop of just over two per cent

came because the payments are

linked to the value of the Premier

League’s domestic TV rights,

which fell. Football League

chairmen have bemoaned the

impact that the reduction has

had on their budgets and there is

a sense that Bury’s demise,

coming in the first year of the cut,

is not a great look for the top tier.

There are also concerns over

clubs in the Championship seen

to be gambling financially on

promotion to the Premier League.

United ready to shell out

THE EFL have refused to rescind
Bury’s expulsion from the
Football League, despite pleas

from local MPs and fan groups
— and a £7million offer for the
club being on the table.

An unscheduled EFL board
meeting was held yesterday to
discuss the recent crises facing

Bury and Bolton Wanderers,
but it brought only more bad
news for supporters of the

former club.
Bury North MP James Frith has
now threatened legal action

against the EFL. Several players,

including captain Neil Danns,

are considering suing the

organisation for negligence

over Bury’s expulsion.

At least one ex-employee of

the club has taken a pay

dispute with owner Steve Dale

to an employment tribunal.

Many players and staff have not

been paid for months.

There is no process for an

appeal over the expulsion, but

Frith tweeted: ‘Another striking

blow from the @EFL and their

refusal to revoke the expulsion

from the football league. We’ll

up the ante now with

Parliamentary & legal action.’

A statement from Bury said: ‘All

staff, players and no doubt fans

are devastated that despite the

new bid to buy the club, the EFL

have informed us that they will

not rescind their decision.’

By LAURA LAMBERT

preferred among the substitutes.
Roma are working on a loan move
for the England central defender,
who only signed a three-year United
contract last December — four days
before Solskjaer took the reins.
Matteo Darmian is also free to
leave before the European transfer
window closes on Monday evening.
Valencia, AC Milan, Juventus and
Parma are all interested in him.
Solskjaer has been given the go-
ahead to reshape his squad, but is
under no pressure from the United
hierarchy to get high earners off the
books. United’s wage bill was last

Farewell snap: Sanchez (centre)
posted this photo on Instagram

yesterday before leaving United

THE PFA are ready to help

settle the bitter dispute

between Liverpool and their

teenage striker Bobby Duncan.

A meeting could take place in

the next 48 hours.

Liverpool were stunned when

they were accused of holding

Duncan — cousin of Kop

legend Steven Gerrard — at

the club against his will and

damaging his mental health as

a result.

In an extraordinary statement

first reported by MailOnline

on Wednesday, Duncan’s agent

made a string of explosive

allegations about Liverpool’s

treatment of the 18-year-old.

Saif Rubie said the club were

‘mentally bullying’ Duncan

and also hit out at sporting

director Michael Edwards.

Duncan, 18, wants to leave and

had been told that he could

do so, but Liverpool have

subsequently rejected all

offers for him.

Fiorentina and Danish side

Nordsjaelland have tried to

sign Duncan on a season-long

loan with a view to a

permanent move.

Rubie claimed Duncan had not

left his room for four days as a

result of the saga, and that

the ‘deep mental health issues

with all the stress the club has

put him under’ forced Duncan

to miss Monday’s Under 23s

win at Southampton.

In response, Liverpool said

they were ‘disappointed’ by

the allegations which they

describe as ‘unfounded’, but

vowed to ‘continue our efforts

to work privately with the

player to find a resolution in

the best interests of all

involved’.

The PFA are now primed to

help solve the row between

Duncan, his camp and his club.

«BURY ARE TO BLAME — MARTIN SAMUEL P86-87