Thomas Frank &#8211; CaughtOffside

Chelsea in shock talks for former player to return after collapse of £34.5m transfer

Chelsea’s €40m transfer falls through after major problem finalising contract

Former Everton chief executive drops West Ham points deduction verdict after £110m signings

Despite his struggles last season Toney is a proven quantity in the Premier League with only Harry Kane and Erling Haaland scoring more than his 20 league goals in the 2022/2023 campaign.

The longer the window goes on the more chance there is for a club to get a great value for money deal for Toney, but strangely no suitors have come forward and made serious moves, although that could change as the both the season and the end of the window draw nearer.

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Man United considering stunning move for England hit-man despite already landing Zirkzee

Jason Pettigrove — Thu, 25 Jul 2024 05:57:33 +0000

Man United are enjoying a brilliant transfer window so far this summer, and it will have given their long-suffering supporters something to look forward to ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.

With the Glazers in charge there was only ever sporadic good news to be had, and even then it seemed as though it was against the backdrop of more debt being loaded onto the club.

This summer is the first chance that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS team have had to really get to grips with the playing side of the club, and it’s safe to say that they’re hitting all of the right notes at the moment.

Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee are two brilliant young players and should give the Red Devils something they’ve been lacking in both attack and defence.

Matthijs de Ligt may yet join the club, helping to strengthen the back four further, but it doesn’t seem as if he’ll be the last big name through the door.

Man United could make a move for Ivan Toney this summer

That’s because The Athletic (subscription required) are discussing the possibility of bringing Brentford’s Ivan Toney to the club to complement their front line.

Toney didn’t have much of a chance to shine for England at Euro 2024, and hasn’t scored a club goal since mid February (WhoScored), but in the right team, he could still be a force to be reckoned with.

Man United may bid for Ivan Toney this summer

Toney’s sale price is bound to have dipped because of his lack of goalscoring output, but whether Brentford will allow United to take advantage of that is a moot point at present.

It’s worth noting too that Toney has entered the final 12 months of his contract (transfermarkt) and could effectively decide to leave for free – and that has to play a part in Brentford’s thinking.

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Manager of Man Utd, Arsenal target admits ‘you never know’ what can happen in the transfer window

CJ — Sat, 20 Jul 2024 16:40:00 +0000

Brentford manager Thomas Frank has admitted ‘you never know’ what might happen with Ivan Toney in the summer transfer market.

The 28-year-old striker has been the subject of much transfer speculation over recent months, with the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham heavily linked with his signature.

West Ham have also been urged to make a bid for Toney — who has 36 Premier League goals in 85 appearances to his name and was part of England’s squad for Euro 2024.

Despite Toney only managing four goals last season following his return from an eight-month ban, his 20-goal showing in the 2022/23 Premier League campaign remains strong in the memory.

As such, Brentford would love to keep hold of their star striker and have reportedly slapped a £60m fee on his head — although some outlets (including The Sun) have suggested the Bees are willing to slash their asking price.

Either way, Frank cannot say with any real certainty that the Bees will keep Toney away from the clutches of bigger powers this summer.

“You never know! He’s a Brentford player and I would love him to stay. It would give me a very positive challenge,” Frank told Sky Sports News on Saturday.

“I haven’t met a coach who doesn’t want as many good players as possible. Right now, he’s a Brentford player.

“He’s enjoying his time off and I’m happy, if he’s here with us I’ll be more than happy. A 20-goal goalscorer, there’s two things in that. It’s very good to have that in your team, and it makes him expensive!

“We’ve said before, I want to keep all my players, besides maybe five or six clubs in the world we’re a selling club – and if there’s the right bid which comes in, fine.”

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Man United ready to gazump Tottenham for England ace

Jason Pettigrove — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 04:54:11 +0000

Now that Erik ten Hag has been confirmed as Man United first-team manager after an internal review, the club can set about landing some of its transfer targets.

A superb FA Cup final win over rivals, Man City, can’t mask what was a hugely disappointing campaign for United, so it stands to reason that a handful of changes will be required rather than just one or two.

Defensively, the Red Devils were shot to pieces for long periods during the 2023/24 season, and it wouldn’t therefore be a surprise if that area of the squad took priority.

Man United want Ivan Toney

However, having ended the season with a negative goal difference also clearly evidences that the club need someone other than Rasmus Hojlund or the misfiring Marcus Rashford to be banging in the goals.

It’s perhaps with that in mind that ESPN report that Brentford’s Ivan Toney is on United’s shopping list.

The 28-year-old England international would certainly be an intriguing hire.

Man United want Ivan Toney

Back in November, Sky Sports were noting that the Bees wanted £100m for the striker, and when he returned from his ban in January with four goals in his first five games, that figure didn’t appear too steep in the current market.

However, since then he’s failed to find the net, per WhoScored, seeing his value plummeting.

Football Insider‘s Paul Robinson has suggested that Tottenham will be disappointed if they don’t land the player, and if he wants to stay in London then the Lilywhites would hold an advantage in any negotiations.

However, if United follow up their reported interest, there’s some certainly that Toney will be assuaged by the opportunity of playing at one of the most storied clubs in the history of English football.

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Exclusive: “He might be…” – Fabrizio Romano’s intriguing Ivan Toney update with Tottenham ready to sign a striker

Jason Pettigrove — Sat, 01 Jun 2024 08:00:00 +0000

Back at the start of the year when Ivan Toney had just returned to the Brentford starting line-up after his ban, the chatter appeared to be that it was a foregone conclusion that the 28-year-old would be heading to Germany with England.

His four goals in his opening five games, per WhoScored, only strengthened that notion.

Paying top dollar for his services if he was going to move on from West London also didn’t necessarily appear to be out of the question.

Since that purple patch in late January/early February, however, the striker has gone right off the boil.

Ivan Toney’s value slashed by half

To that end his transfer fee will have been revised significantly as Thomas Frank will know that the club can no longer market him as a £100m player, which they were back in November according to Sky Sports.

He’d arguably be nearer the £40m-£50m bracket nowadays, and with Tottenham Hotspur apparently looking for a striker, there’s a possibility that Toney could fit the bill.

However, rumours linking the Lilywhites with the Bees hit-man appear wide of the mark, at least for now.

Ivan Toney to Tottenham?

“Although it’s expected that Tottenham will sign a striker this summer, there’s no concrete update yet on Ivan Toney, despite reports,” Fabrizio Romano said to CaughtOffside for his Daily Briefing.

“He might be one of the strikers being considered at Spurs but no final decision on their top target has been made yet.

“Tottenham’s priority was to decide what to do with Timo Werner, and now they will move into next targets.”

If Spurs were able to acquire Toney for a reasonable market value, there’s no reason why he couldn’t resurrect his career under Ange Postecoglou.

The Australian has shown that he can motivate his players to play some brilliant football, and arguably Toney is a better marksman than Richarlison has been for the North Londoners.

With James Maddison providing a supplementary attacking presence and the likes of Timo Werner and Heung Min-son alongside, Toney should find goals easy to come by if he moves to North London.

Time will tell if the club consider him to be the right man for the job moving forward.

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Next Man United manager odds: Pochettino among favourites, club legend an outsider

Magnus Eriksen — Tue, 28 May 2024 12:42:52 +0000

Erik ten Hag may not have been sacked just yet, but there’s plenty of speculation that he won’t last much longer at Manchester United and there’s already talk about who could be the next Man United manager.

Mauricio Pochettino has been linked with the Red Devils several times in the past and is now available again after leaving his position at Chelsea at the end of the season just gone.

Enzo Maresca is about to replace Pochettino at Chelsea, and it could be that the Argentine will find himself back in work again quickly due to the opening at Man Utd.

See below for the latest odds on the United job, with other big names in there, such as Thomas Tuchel and former midfield player Michael Carrick an outsider…

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Next Man United Manager Odds (Ladbrokes)

Mauricio Pochettino – 7/4

Kieran McKenna – 2/1

Thomas Tuchel – 5/1

Roberto De Zerbi – 7/1

Gareth Southgate – 10/1

Thomas Frank – 14/1

Ruben Amorim – 16/1

Zinedine Zidane – 20/1

Michael Carrick – 33/1

United fans will surely have mixed opinions about the prospect of replacing Ten Hag after his success in the FA Cup final, but there is perhaps arguably not a clear outstanding candidate out there to replace the Dutch tactician anyway.

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Man United News: Red Devils open talks with Premier League manager

Ahad Shaukat — Mon, 27 May 2024 05:58:08 +0000

Erik ten Hag’s job at Manchester United is still uncertain after winning the FA Cup by beating Premier League champions Manchester City.

The crucial win was expected to give Ten Hag some hope of his future at Old Trafford.

However, according to The Telegraph, the Red Devils have held discussions with the representatives of Brentford manager Thomas Frank.

Ten Hag’s job at the club is at risk after an unimpressive season in the Premier League which saw Man United finish in eighth position, their worst ever finish in the league.

The report states that Man United have opened talks with the agents of Frank as they explore the manager market to find a replacement of their current manager.

A number of managers have been linked with the Old Trafford job since the arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS at the helm.

England boss Gareth Southgate, recently sacked Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino and former Brighton and Chelsea manager Graham Potter have all been linked with the Man United job.

Ten Hag’s difficulties at the club were not helped by the injury crisis Man United suffered in the season.

Thomas Frank to Man United?

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The Dutch manager was unable to play his best starting line up throughout the season with key players missing because of injury.

The Red Devils finished eighth in the league and initially missed out on qualification to Europe, however, after winning the FA Cup final, they booked their place in the Europa League next season.

Man United should keep the faith in Ten Hag

Man United should show faith in Ten Hag as even after the difficulties he has faced, he has won two trophies in two seasons at the club.

The players have spent two seasons with the former Ajax manager and keeping Ten Hag at the club will give the Red Devils continuity and stability.

Getting a new manager will start the project from zero again and it will take at least one more season for the club to get back on track.

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Man United make contact with Mauricio Pochettino’s representatives whilst they decide Erik ten Hag’s future

Charlie Patrick — Sun, 26 May 2024 18:34:08 +0000

Manchester United have held talks with Mauricio Pochettino’s representatives according to reports, with the club sounding out potential replacements whilst they decide on Erik ten Hag’s future.

Despite guiding United to the FA Cup on Saturday the Dutchman has been under severe pressure following a campaign which saw the Red Devils finish eighth, and bottom of their Champions League group.

It’s believed the United hierarchy will carry out an end of season review next week which will determine the future of the 54-year-old, who has won two trophies in two seasons at Old Trafford.

United make contact with Pochettino’s representatives

The future of Ten Hag has been a hot topic, with the Dutchman having to defend himself after being asked about his future in the aftermath of United’s Wembley success.

The former Ajax man admitted he didn’t know if his future would be at Old Trafford, with the club assessing their options should they decide to part ways with the Dutchman.

Ten Hag’s future is set to be decided by an end of season review.

It was reported United made contact with the representatives of Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna on Thursday, with the 38-year-old a man in demand having guided the Tractor Boys to back to back promotions from League One to the Premier League.

The Telegraph have now reported that since then United have made contact with people from Pochettino’s camp as well as from Thomas Frank’s.

Pocehttino is freshly out of work having left Chelsea by mutual consent on Tuesday following just one season at the club, and he was linked with the United job two years ago before they appointed Ten Hag.

If United do part ways with Ten Hag they are likely to be appointing their next manager from the same pool as Chelsea, with the Blues also interested in the services of McKenna and Frank.

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The Red Devils have been linked with Graham Potter, Thomas Tuchel and Gareth Southgate, with the report adding there are thought to be reservations as to whether Tuchel is the right fit for the club at the moment.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos have a big decision to make ahead of their first transfer window since assuming control of footballing operations at Old Trafford, with their set to be a lot of change this summer.

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Chelsea have held talks with PL manager who could also be in contention for Man United job

Mark Brus — Sun, 26 May 2024 10:16:31 +0000

Chelsea have reportedly held multiple meetings with Brentford manager Thomas Frank, according to Christian Falk via the Daily Briefing.

Frank has impressed during his time in charge of the Bees, and Falk also suggests he could be one of the contenders for the Manchester United job this summer.

Chelsea recently parted ways with Mauricio Pochettino, while Erik ten Hag is widely expected not to survive as Man Utd manager, even if his side won the FA Cup final against Manchester City yesterday.

Before the game, the Guardian reported that the Red Devils had already decided to sack Ten Hag, so it may be that the club’s new ownership want to start afresh next season.

Frank looks a tempting option for the likes of Chelsea and United, but it remains to be seen precisely how high he is on their lists, as Falk says he was also considered by Bayern Munich before they ultimately decided to go for Vincent Kompany instead.

Frank to Chelsea or Man Utd?

Thomas Frank to Chelsea or Manchester United?

Explaining the situation, Falk wrote: “Thomas Frank has had multiple meetings with Chelsea as he is understood to be one of the candidates for the vacancy at Stamford Bridge.

“The Danish tactician was also under consideration at Bayern Munich before they chose to appoint Vincent Kompany, with a deal now done for the Belgian tactician to leave Burnley to take over at the Allianz Arena.”

He added: “Manchester United are understood to have also had contact with Frank on one occasion as they consider the position of Erik ten Hag.”

If this is to be the end of Ten Hag’s time at Old Trafford, he did well to end on a high note with a surprise 2-1 win over Man City yesterday.

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