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TeaThe article below is an excerpt from the members-only Friday edition Miguel Delaney: Inside Soccer Newsletter.
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some of the Manchester United Hierarchy really liked to sell bruno fernandes summer, but Ruben Amorim was not one of them. The Portuguese coach knew he needed his compatriot’s art as well as his goals.
Fernandes provides a rare perceptiveness in this United team, even if it often seems misapplied in midfield. They will face each other on Sunday morgan rogers In a match against Villa that already looks like one of those hinge fixtures Premier League,
Unai Emery’s team are flying, like Rodgers’ match-winning strike against West Ham United. If they manage to win seven in a row, it could actually propel them into the upper echelon, while pushing United further into mid-table. However, if United get the result, it could drag Villa into a very crowded battle for Champions League places.
However, the issue here is not really about the top of the table. This is about the top of the pitch – or the area immediately behind it.
Villa’s form has been a big reason ollie watkinsKeeping up with Rodgers, who could be an excellent performer in Premier League Now.
That perhaps also reflects the evolution of thinking among clubs. Rodgers’ form is even more timely as it looks to strengthen his lead in the race to become Tuchel’s starting playmaker at the World Cup.
The competition is striking: Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Eberechi Eze. After so long, Palmer’s goal against Everton came at the perfect time.
Such depth only emphasizes the playmaker’s wider return to form – beyond fixtures like Kevin De Bruyne – especially as Liverpool look to make Florian Wirtz their central man in the long term, and Ryan Cherky has begun to find his feet at Manchester City.
The creative burden on them is increasing, especially as many of the number-nines signed last season – part of a defining summer trend – are still struggling for goals.
Except, of course, that many football celebrities would be reluctant to describe any of them as true playmakers – bar Palmer.
After all, the playmaker is often seen as almost dead in the modern game.
This is something else.
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