Manchester United might be about to welcome one Argentina international as they say goodbye to another, as reports suggest Louis van Gaal is chasing Nicolas Otamendi and that Angel Di Maria will leave for Paris Saint-Germain.

Rob Draper of the Mail On Sunday writes that United will seek to obtain Otamendi’s signature from Spanish club Valencia in the coming weeks and that the Red Devils will be forced to activate the defender’s £36 million buy-out clause to get it.

Otamendi is represented by Jorge Mendes, who has had multiple dealings with United in recent times. 

United are in the market for an alternative centre-back after the news that reported top target Mats Hummels is likely to stay with current club Borussia Dortmund.

BVB sporting director Michael Zorc has spoken publicly about retaining Hummels for next season, saying to German football magazine Kicker there is now a “clear consensus” the defender will remain in Dortmund, relayed by Sky Sports. 

Zorc continued: “It made sense that Mats was thinking about his future, but I always pointed out that we plan [for the future] with him.”

Otamendi is considered one of La Liga’s toughest exponents and would give United the steel missing since the departure of Nemanja Vidic to Inter Milan.

However, the player is equally as dangerous in the attacking third of the park, scoring on a regular basis in the Primera Division.

Otamendi is the league’s top-scoring centre-back, with six goals during the recent campaign, per WhoScored.com, and he would give United an exceptional option from set pieces. 

BeIN Sports’ David Cartlidge highlighted this fact on Saturday as Otamendi once again scored for his club, calling the player “ruthless” when attacking the ball:

Di Maria Seeks Parisian Escape

As LvG potentially brings in one Argentinian in Otamendi, it appears compatriot Angel Di Maria could be about to leave the Red Devils and join PSG. 

Sean Kearns of Metro cites the Sun’s claims that PSG will attempt to bring the former Galactico to Ligue 1 on loan before completing a £50 million transfer for the attacker.

Di Maria’s first season at Old Trafford has been riddled with injury and bad form. His personal life was also affected when his property was broken into, prompting the player to put his house up for sale, per the Guardian.

The mercurial attacker has not looked happy in a United shirt at any point in the second half of the season, and a move away from Old Trafford would not surprise fans.

The winger has started just 20 Premier League games this term, per WhoScored.com, falling behind Marouane Fellaini and Ashley Young in the pecking order. However, he has produced a credible return of 10 assists during the campaign—a good set of figures, considering his lack of games. 

Despite the PSG loan rumours, Sky Sports’ Gary Neville has spoken out in favour of Di Maria, professing he “believes” in the Argentina international:

Actually, I believe in [Angel] Di Maria as a player. We’ve watched him a lot for Real Madrid and you could see his level of performance was outstanding. That’s not happened this season and you’re thinking Ashley Young has done better this season, [Maraoune] Fellaini’s been better, Mata’s done better.

Considering ADM is United’s record signing, Van Gaal will want a bigger return from his investment. If the veteran Dutch coach does not think he will get this after training the player for a year, he is likely to cut his losses and recoup some of the money outlayed, especially with the imminent arrival of Memphis Depay.

Otamendi would be an excellent addition to United’s defensive ranks, especially if United lose David De Gea to Real Madrid, per Izzy Horsefield of the Express.

He is a powerhouse who would love the challenge of the Premier League, and if he were to perform at the level he did for Los Che at Old Trafford, United fans would worship him as they did Vidic.

However, £36 million appears steep as a transfer fee, and with the player entering his late 20s, it would be a gamble to pay such a high price, as there would be little sell-on value if the move doesn’t work out.

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Amid the relief and celebrations at avoiding relegation on the final day of the season, there was still rancour and division at St James’ Park.

Following the 2-0 win over West Ham on Sunday afternoon, Newcastle’s manager John Carver punched the air, owner Mike Ashley grinned in the stands, and the players hugged each other on the pitch, the wearied Newcastle fans were not in the mood to forgive, and forget the unrelenting misery of the last five months.

“Get out of our club, get out of our club,” the Newcastle fans chanted with passion, as reported by the BBC, towards the hated Ashley.

These fans wanted the Newcastle hierarchy to understand one win against a disinterested West Ham, incredibly only the club’s third win since the turn of the year, changed absolutely nothing.

Next season Newcastle United will be a Premier League club, but unless there is an entirely different approach, they will face another season hovering around the relegation zone.

Newcastle’s troubles this season have been self-inflicted, and stem from their policy of embracing, and even accepting, mediocrity.

Their season has been a study in what happens if a club seemingly gives up and stops trying, both on the pitch and in the boardroom.

The club have gradually expelled the very notion of being ambitious or aspirational, which have almost become dangerous and dirty words.

Instead the onus is on getting by, merely remaining in the Premier League, and showing no interest in the League Cup or the FA Cup.

This has turned Newcastle, in the memorable words of the Newcastle fanzine editor Michael Martin, via the Guardian, in to “a zombie club, half alive, half dead, going nowhere.”

It is an unusual spectacle in the Premier League where the mantra amongst every club is to get bigger and better; to seek to climb the table, and grasp some silverware along the way.

Last season Newcastle allowed their best player Yohan Cabaye to leave at the end of the January transfer window, and refused to replace him, leading to a run of 11 defeats in their final 15 league games.

They didn’t learn their lesson, and this season made an even worse decision by allowing Alan Pardew to leave for Crystal Palace and replacing him with John Carver.

Under Carver, Newcastle lost 12 of their 19 Premier League games to ensure a slide down the table that left them vulnerable to relegation until the final five minutes of the season.

If you fail to replenish your playing squad, and also your manager, with similar quality, then you are simply overseeing a slow decline.

This is Newcastle United; the 19th-richest club in the world, the seventh-richest club in the Premier League, who also have the seventh-highest wage bill.

The club boasts the 13th-highest attendance in European football, bigger than Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus.

The Newcastle fans who help to swell St James Park with attendances of over 50,000 deserve so much better.

After nearly being sucked into the Championship, there are signs that Mike Ashley might finally start to change his approach at Newcastle.

Before the game on Sunday afternoon he gave his first-ever television interview in which he told Sky Sports, via the Guardian, about his shock and disappointment at this season, and then declared, “Now [my intention] is definitely to win something, and by the way, I won’t be selling it until I do.”

“I will continue the policy of investing in the football club,” he added. “We’ve got the club on a very sound financial footing so we are able to spend, and punch above our weight thanks to the current financial situation the club finds itself in. We may have the cart but we now need to bolt the horse on and we are going to.”

Having built up the Sports Direct empire, and a personal fortune estimated to be around £4 billion, Ashley is clearly a successful businessman, and he has been forced to realise that continuing the approach of the last two seasons will only lead to relegation.

With the unprecedented riches of the new television deal about to flood into the game from next year, he knows he cannot afford to be cut off from this in the Championship.

There is already money there, with Newcastle recording record profits of £18.7 million last season, and also having £34 million sitting in the bank.

Some of this needs to be urgently spent on new players, for Newcastle finished the season with a chronically weakened squad.

Before entering the transfer market, the club need to make sure they retain their leading players, which include Tim Krul, Daryl Janmaat, Moussa Sissoko, Papiss Cisse and Fabricio Coloccini.

A new manager is also required to bring new energy and direction to St James’ Park.

The relief at remaining in the Premier League should not lead to Carver remaining in the job beyond this season, and Newcastle need to aim higher than Steve McClaren.

When Mike Ashley took charge of Newcastle in 2007, he said, as reported in the Daily Mail, he wanted to “have fun and win some trophies.”

Eight years later, discounting the Championship, only won following a relegation, Ashley’s haul of major trophies stands at zero.

If he wants to change that, he first needs to fundamentally change his entire approach, and then radically change the Newcastle squad for next season.

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Liverpool‘s final Premier League game of the season, away to Stoke City, will be the final appearance for several of the club’s longest-serving players.

This will, of course, be Steven Gerrard‘s final appearance for Liverpool after 17 years at the club, while also out-of-contract players Glen Johnson, Kolo Toure and Brad Jones are expected to follow the captain out of the club this summer.

Then there are a host of other players whose futures are in doubt; the non-goalscoring trio of Rickie Lambert, Fabio Borini and Mario Balotelli, plus midfielder Lucas Leiva.

Lucas was heavily linked with a move away in January, with Inter Milan among the reported suitors, per ESPN.

Reports then suggested the 28-year-old was open to a move away from the club he joined in 2007 for £5 million.

Eventually Brendan Rodgers saw sense and kept Lucas at the club, with the Brazilian having become a key part of the Reds resurgence over the winter months. Liverpool’s best form coincided with Lucas’ re-integration into the side and their dips in form since have been while Lucas has been missing.

The former Gremio man missed the FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa having picked up an injury in the days before the game in training, Liverpool’s midfield were subsequently overrun by Fabian Delph, Tom Cleverley and Jack Grealish at Wembley. How things may have been different had Lucas been available.

Alas, Lucas is again linked with a move away this summer though, with David Anderson of the Mirror even claiming that Rodgers “prefers Joe Allen in the midfield holding role”.

If that didn’t set alarm bells ringing among Liverpool supporters, then Anderson’s claim that “The Anfield boss feels he would have enough central midfield options in [James] Milner, Allen, Jordan Henderson and Emre Can if Lucas went” certainly would.

Of course, we can’t take Anderson’s words as gospel, but if that is indeed what Rodgers is thinking, Liverpool fans should be worried.

Holding-Midfield Need

Liverpool need a solid, combative, dynamic holding midfielder. Steven Gerrard was deployed as the deep-lying playmaker for much of the first half of the season before Rodgers finally put that to an end after the miserable 3-1 defeat at Crystal Palace in November—although, the boss has since stuck Gerrard back there for recent games, unable to accommodate him anywhere else when lining up in a 4-3-3 shape.

That aforementioned FA Cup semi-final showed the need for such a player, as expertly analysed by Karl Matchett for This Is Anfield. Matchett identified how easily Villa exploited Gerrard’s lack of pace, surmising that “Pace and power from deep has been an Achilles of Liverpool’s for too long, and Villa seem to be able to exploit that with regularity.”

Almost entirely under Rodgers’ reign at Anfield, Liverpool have struggled with powerful players either in attack or midfield, often found to be overrun too easily. They lack know-how and muscle.

What the Reds need is a player happy to work laterally in front of the defence, shielding the centre-backs and allowing the full-backs to get forward. We’re talking about players like Sergio Busquets at Barcelona, Nemanja Matic at Chelsea and, previously, Javier Mascherano at Liverpool.

Perhaps Rodgers sees Emre Can as the player to perform this role, but that would make his use of him as a right-back for much of the past six weeks even more baffling. Surely, with the season over, this would have been the perfect opportunity to test whether the German can fill that role and ready him for it next season? It’s just another of the baffling decisions made by the Northern Irishman this season.

Lucas

With regards to Lucas, the answer is simple: If Liverpool sign a player of the aforementioned qualities, then the Reds should cash in while he retains value, but should they fail to sign such a player, they must keep Lucas around.

Lucas isn’t the answer, certainly not long-term, but he has shown that he is far more equipped than anyone else in the Liverpool squad to perform the role of the holding/defensive midfielder.

If Rodgers is going to keep him at the club and reduce him to another season as a bit-part player, that would be harsh on the player.

Lucas has been a solid servant to the club—closing in on 200 league appearances, having been signed for just £5 million. A solid player, but nothing spectacular. If you are extremely harsh, you could say he typifies the lowering of standards and expectations at Anfield since the loss of Mascherano and Xabi Alonso.

But right now Liverpool are not a club awash with players of such a standard and with losing experienced pros such as Gerrard, Johnson and possibly Toure this summer, they could benefit from having Lucas around as an elder statesman. He’s clearly a player who understands the club and its values and therefore is useful to have around the training ground day-to-day.

Selling Lucas without a replacement would be foolish, but signing a player to replace him would be sensible.

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Liverpool co-owners John W. Henry and Tom Werner won’t sell want-away winger Raheem Sterling this summer “unless there is a massive offer that is too good to turn down.”

That’s the line according to David Maddock of the Mirror, who suggests the Reds are yet to receive a bid from any potential suitor. However, alleged comments from Aidy Ward, the player’s agent, have seen Sterling’s scheduled Friday meeting with club officials cancelled.

The 20-year-old was expected to tell Liverpool he wants to leave on Friday, per Ben Smith of BBC Sport, but stunning comments attributed to Ward have ended hopes of a sit-down chat. Benedict Moore-Bridger of the London Evening Standard cited Ward when reporting these comments:

“I don’t care about the PR of the club and the club situation. I don’t care. He is definitely not signing. He’s not signing for £700, £800, £900 thousand a week. He is not signing.” Ward also called Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher a “k–b” after the Sky Sports pundit suggested the player is being badly advised, according to Moore-Bridger.

However, Ward “denies quotes attributed to him in the Evening Standard and is now taking legal advice about it,” as reported by Sky Sports.

Perhaps most damaging of all, Ward reportedly told Moore-Bridger that Sterling is most likely to sign for a Premier League rival. Maddock suggests Liverpool haven’t taken kindly to this assertion.

He wrote: “There is a feeling among Liverpool’s top brass that the agent seems to be unaware of his client’s obligations as a contracted player, after apparently indicating to a newspaper Sterling wouldn’t play for the club, and would join Manchester City or Chelsea.”

Maddock suggests Ward’s comments on signing for another team could see him receive “the attention of the Football Association.”

Whatever happens, it seems Sterling won’t be a Liverpool player next season. The speedy winger can be ranked among the sport’s top prospects—someone who has the natural attributes to develop into a world-class forward—but it’s likely Anfield will never see the best of him.

B/R UK’s Sam Tighe looked at his most likely landing spots:

Boss Brendan Rodgers is likely already making plans to source a replacement. A report from David Anderson of the Mirror indicates he is “willing to listen to offers for Lucas Leiva,” who continues to interest Italian side Inter Milan.

Rodgers could receive the “green light” to sign City midfielder James Milner on a free if Lucas is moved on. Milner’s versatile enough to play in the centre of midfield, and can even fill in Sterling’s wing role if needed. The City squad player is extremely valuable in that his terrific work rate and physical abilities make him well-rounded enough to operate wherever needed.

Barry Glendenning of the Guardian previously reported Paris Saint-Germain’s Javier Pastore could be an option for Liverpool. However, Bleacher Report’s French footbal expert Jonathan Johnson confirmed the creative star will commit to the Ligue 1 champions:

Pastore would an excellent addition to the squad, but after enjoying a fine season with PSG, he can be considered too pivotal to Laurent Blanc’s future plans at the Parc des Princes.

It looks to be another summer of change for Liverpool, who have failed to replicate the highs of last season’s second-place finish this campaign. The frustration of Sterling’s likely departure may take years to fully show itself—particularly if he develops into a world star—but Rodgers needs to stack the squad with top-class quality as quickly as possible.

If he doesn’t, it is destined to be another year without a trophy.

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