Madueke Nusa Van de Beek Gimenez Bakayoko

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We start today’s column with Manchester United and their defeat last night to Bayern Munich, which puts them out of the Champions League and out of Europe altogether as they finished bottom of their group.

Once again, this is not good enough for a club of this size. The Man United standard has to be different, it’s not just a normal good club – it’s Manchester United. Something different is needed on the long-term. I think in particular their offensive numbers are too poor, they need to improve in that area as soon as possible and it’s also important to note that they simply have too many injuries, with Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw now too – it’s way too much.

There’s also some important news on Donny van de Beek. He’s going to leave United, as I told you a long time ago, and now things are at an advanced stage for him to move on loan to Eintracht Frankfurt.

Girona are also interested in Van de Beek, but he’s aware of the Eintracht Frankfurt interest, and things are progressing on that front, so I think there’s a good chance for this deal to happen. With Girona, their conditions for the loan are not so good for Manchester United, and so that’s why there is no agreement there.

But with Eintracht Frankfurt, things are very advanced and the negotiation is going well, with the player super keen on the move. He believes this would be a good place for him to go back into the starting XI and to get back to his best level, so it’s a work in progress, and the feelings are really positive on this deal.

It’s also a priority for United to bring in new players, but the outgoings are important, and we can say that Van de Beek is leaving, with a move to Eintracht advancing very well.

I want to send a message to Reece James that we wish him all the best after his latest injury setback – he’s a great player, a great leader in the Chelsea dressing room, and a great lad, and he’s been really unlucky again as he now looks to be out until February/March.

Chelsea will now discuss internally with specialists what is the best way to deal with this injury, perhaps with surgery, which might mean waiting a little longer but with the aim of finally getting James back at his…