62 2GM Tuesday July 28 2020 | the times
SportFootball
If Kane doesn’t move now
Most assists
Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Son Heung-Min (Tottenham)
David Silva (Man City)
20
13
12
10
10
10
136
91
87
83
79
Most chances created
Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)
Jack Grealish (Aston Villa)
Trent Alexander-Arnold
(Liverpool)Emiliano Buendía (Norwich)
James Maddison (Leicester)
Total cards
(Red in brackets)The best and the worst in the
Premier League
Kevin
De BruyneArsenalTottenhamWatfordSouthamptonLeicesterLiverpool
91 (5)
84 (2)
79 (3)57 (4)
45 (3)
39 (1)Most assists
evin De Bruyne (Man City)
rent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
ndrew Robertson (Liverpool)
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
on Heung-Min (Tottenham)
avid Silva (Man City)
20
13
12
10
10
10
136
91
87
83
79
Mostchancescreated
evin De Bruyne (Man City)
ack Grealish (Aston Villa)
rent Alexander-Arnold
Liverpool)miliano Buendía (Norwich)
ames Maddison (Leicester)
Total cards
(Red in brackets)Premier League
Kevin
De BruyneArsenalTottenhamWatfordSouthamptonLeicesterLiverpool
91 ( 5 )
84 ( 2 )
79 ( 3 )57 ( 4 )
45 ( 3 )
39 ( 1 )With the new Premier League season less than seven weeks away,
Times football writers Paul Joyce, Alyson Rudd, James Gheerbrant and
Gregor Robertson analyse the key issues that will dominate the summer
What sort of transfer market will we
see, given the stress on finances and
the short turnaround?
James Gheerbrant: I suspect we will
see more caution and restraint. The
phenomenon of promoted teams
splurging more than £100 million is
probably over, for now at least, which is
no bad thing, as the examples of
Fulham and Aston Villa show. At the
top of the market, there are clearly
haves and have-nots: Chelsea have
shown the gains that can be made by
those prepared to operate ruthlessly
while others back off and I wonder if
Manchester City will follow suit.
Paul Joyce: If a club are backed by a
country or an oligarch, then the possi-
bility of spending heavily remains. It
will be interesting to see what Man-
chester United do given they have said
that the financial impact of coronavirus
on them would rise significantly above
£30 million. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the
manager, has also said it is an opportu-
nity for the club to exploit the market.
Alyson Rudd: Free agents will be in
demand, as classy players with a point
to prove are often astute signings.
Would Crystal Palace have stayed up
without Gary Cahill? At Sheffield
United Chris Wilder has shown that the
right system can make heroes out of
lower-league players.
Gregor Robertson: I expect to see a
cautious approach by most clubs right
up until the final week when the true
market rate for players in this new
financial climate becomes apparent.
Can any team pose a serious
challenge to Liverpool and
Manchester City next season?
Robertson: United and Chelsea, the
only viable challengers, finished
33 points adrift of Liverpool
— it’s an emphatic no.
Joyce: United and Chel-
sea are at similar stages in
their development. Both
appear well-stocked of-
fensively but have issues
in the goalkeeping posi-
tion and in defence, where
clever strengthening
could mean the difference
between mounting a sus-
tained bid for the top spots
or admiring rivals from afar.
Gheerbrant: Chelsea and
United are looking ever
more like their equals,
especially if Kai Havertz
and Jadon Sancho arrive as
expected. But over 38
games, the superior man-
agement of Pep Guardiola
and Jürgen Klopp — in
particular, their ability to
coach collective attacking
play against set defences —
will give City and
Liverpool a decisive edge.
What should be
Manchester United’s
biggest priorities?
Joyce: One of the
defining decisions facing
Solskjaer will be the goal-
keeping conundrum over
David De Gea, 29, and
Dean Henderson, 23,
because he cannot afford
that debate to become
the recurring soundtrack for next
season. Blooding Mason Greenwood,
18, is one thing, but management is
about making the right calls when the
solution is not so straightforward.
Rudd: They really need to start think-
ing in terms of a Solskjaer dynasty and
back the Norwegian. They are at last
capable of looking forward, not back to
the glory of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Robertson: For the first time in years
United have a balanced starting XI that
is full of pace, creativity and
attacking threat. With the
addition of a centre half of
real stature, a left back
and a striker, United can
maintain the form we
have seen in 2020 for a
full season.
Gheerbrant: United are
right to prioritise bring-
ing in Sancho, a world-
class winger who would
allow Solskjaer to rotate his
attackers more. Rotation is going
to be crucial: United have an
excellent first XI which can
compete, but Solskjaer
must avoid running
them into the ground.Which Premier
League managers are
least likely to start the
new season in their
present jobs, and who
might replace them?Joyce: Only by virtue of the New-
castle United takeover saga, it
would appear Steve Bruce, 59,
is susceptible, but that in no
way reflects the job he has
done. He deserves the chance
to take Newcastle forward.
Rudd: Roy Hodgson might
not stay at Crystal
Palace if he feels
undermined by the
stingy transfer policy
and the best fit to
replace him would be
Chris Hughton.
Gheerbrant: I’m a
huge admirer of
Hodgson, but it
feels like his time at
Palace has run its
course. The out-
standing European
coaches currently
available are Mar-
celino, Leonardo
Jardim and Eusebio
Di Francesco, each
of whom would be a
strong appointment for a
Premier League team, but
Palace have been stung by
going down that route
before, and I wonder if
instead they will look at Ed-
die Howe and Sean Dyche.If you were agent to Harry
Kane, Jack Grealish and
Wilfried Zaha, what advice
would you give them?
Rudd: I would be a terrible agent.
All of them have a strong emotional
bond to their clubs and ought to stay.
Joyce: Respect the club you repre-
sent and do not publicly agitate for amove. Kane, 27, is worth £200 million to
Tottenham Hotspur, Grealish, 24, and
Zaha, 27, probably £80 million to Aston
Villa and Crystal Palace. In a market in
which clubs will have less to spend, it is
difficult to see sides meeting those
asking prices, so it’s better for the
players in question not to burn bridges.
Gheerbrant: The dynamic of being the
best player at your club can be exhaust-
ing, and I think all three would find it
liberating to play for teams that are
closer to their level. Palace look
like relegation fodder; Greal-
ish has the Euros to consid-
er; and for Kane, the ques-
tion is if not now, when?Do you expect Leeds
United to start well?
Are there other teams
you think are on an
upward curve?Joyce: Leeds will be as well
prepared as anyone courtesy of
Marcelo Bielsa’s exhaustive
research. The Argentinian
was in the directors’ box at
Everton on Sunday, mak-
ing notes on the hosts’ 3-1
defeat by Bournemouth.
Ralph Hasenhüttl has
been excellent at South-
ampton. They have such a
clear way of playing —
physically strong, aggressive
and, with Danny Ings as the
spearhead, should push on.
Rudd: Leeds have the methodology in
place but still need to spend to find a
reliable goalscorer. Brighton & Hove
Albion have placed faith in Graham
Potter to build an entertaining side cap-
able of more than survival, so they ought
to be on an upward curve and Everton,
more than any club, need to find one.
Robertson: One of my favourite Bielsa
quotes is: “I don’t compromise — and I
don’t say that as a virtue, it’s a defect.”
Leeds will attack the top flight with the
same intensity with which they swept
through the Championship. Despite
Everton’s slump, I expect Carlo Ancel-
otti to take them into the top eight.
Gheerbrant: Cautiously, yes. In their
organisation, collective ethos and the
sophistication of their positional play,
Leeds have qualities that are somewhat
similar to Sheffield United and should
stand them in good stead.Which of the following three things
should happen next season: five sub-
stitutes rather than three; more
touchline VAR checks by on-field
referees; live matches on non-sub-
scription TV, even if it means rebates
to rights holders such as Sky and BT?Joyce: Touchline monitor checks
should already be a matter of course.
Live matches on free TV would, of
course, be preferable, although it is
difficult to see clubs being prepared to
take further reductions in revenue. The
five-substitute rule should be scrapped.
Rudd: Anything that hands decision-
making back to the on-field officials is a
good thing and if we are supposed to
emerge from the pandemic as more
broad-minded and utilitarian then, yes,
they should widen the access to cover-
age of Premier League matches.
Robertson: Five substitutes? An under-
standable idea for the restart, but it’s
now ready for the bin.£54m
Cost of Timo Werner, the
new Chelsea signing from
RB Leipzig. He’s started
training at the club but
can’t play until next
seasonOct 5
When the extended
summer transfer
window shuts — it
opened yesterdayThis summer could be the right
time for Kane to leave Tottenhamthe loneliness of the long ranger
The number of shots attempted from
outside the box fell for the eighth
consecutive season, to 4.35 per team
per game — an all-time low. Ten
years ago teams attempted 6.43 shots
from outside the box. Long-range
efforts are in steady decline, although
not everyone got the memo as
Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Rúben
Neves had 59 shots from distance.crosses make a comeback
This was the season that crossing
became sexy again. After declining for
the past four seasons, the number ofTinkerman Pep, Ayew
open-play crosses attempted rose
from 12.1 per team per game last
season to 13.2. The big teams took a
tactic once considered the preserve of
unsophisticated sides and weaponised
it, with Manchester City and
Liverpool the most prolific crossers.
Liverpool’s brilliant full backs, Trent
Alexander-Arnold and Andy
Robertson, led the revival, finishing
with 25 assists between them.keeping it on the deck
As the game’s rapid evolution
gathered pace, the number of
clearances made by teams fell to 19.9
per game, the lowest figure on record
— as recently as 2008-09, it was moreJames Gheerbrant