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Erik ten Hag needs to make an example of the Portugal midfielder after he treated the armband with disdain during Sunday's Anfield debacle

In times of trouble, a football team looks to its captain for a lift. Some support, a little leadership, a rallying cry. So imagine being a Manchester United player and seeing Bruno Fernandes' behaviour during Sunday's horrifying 7-0 defeat to Liverpool.

Amid the club's worst-ever Premier League result and joint-worst defeat in its history, Fernandes was moaning at everyone, from the officials to his team-mates.

He was constantly waving his arms about, not tracking back when Liverpool were destroying United on the break, and even pushed an assistant referee.

And worst of all, he appeared to ask to come off when Erik ten Hag instead substituted Marcus Rashford after the sixth Liverpool goal.

When the ship was sinking, Fernandes' priority was to get off, rather than help the team.

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  'Nothing short of disgraceful'

  Two former United captains, Gary Neville and Roy Keane, could only look on in horror as they covered the match for .

  "Fernandes' body language today was nothing short of disgraceful," said Keane. "A really talented boy, he's your captain, but his body language, waving his arms, not running back, you wouldn't be happy with him in your dressing room."

  Neville went further: "Bruno Fernandes is stood in the centre circle with his arms raised asking: ‘Why is it me not coming off?' Honestly, I have to say some of his behaviour in the second half has been a disgrace.

  "The second half has been an absolute disgrace, a shambles. Epitomised by no one more than the captain Bruno Fernandes, who I think has been embarrassing at times in this game."

  Trouble for Bruno Fernandes! FA set to investigate Man Utd captain

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  The United armband is an honour

  How exactly should Ten Hag deal with a situation like his captain making a mockery of his position? Take the captaincy off Fernandes immediately.

  Ten Hag has been strict but fair with his United players since taking charge, and, correctly, made an example of Cristiano Ronaldo when he refused to come on as a substitute against Tottenham earlier this season.

  Ronaldo's behaviour, when he left the stadium before full-time during a hugely impressive 2-0 win over a top opponent, was admittedly worse than Fernandes' actions at Anfield.

  The midfielder does not need to be forced to train alone, and he does not need to leave the club. When Fernandes is on form, he is one of the team's most important players.

  He is United's second-top scorer and second-top assist provider this season, and has been key to huge victories over Manchester City, Barcelona and Spurs. He has arguably been the club's most consistent player since he joined in January 2020.

  But the Manchester United armband should be an honour for whoever is blessed to wear it. It is too important to be treated with the disdain Fernandes showed it.

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  The alternatives

  With first-choice captain Harry Maguire way down the pecking order in team selection, Fernandes is the club's de-facto skipper and he needs to be reminded of his responsibilities. Against Real Betis on Thursday, he cannot be wearing that armband.

  Who could take it instead?

  Why not Marcus Rashford? He is a born and bred United fan who grew up in the club's academy and showed true leadership during the coronavirus pandemic, embarrassing the country's elected representatives.

  If not Rashford, then Casemiro would be a decent second choice. His English might not be perfect, but the dressing room is multilingual any way, and he has utterly embraced United since joining.

  David de Gea is another strong choice, given he is the club's longest-serving player, the last survivor of the Sir Alex Ferguson era. He has grown into his position as a club servant, and last season routinely fronted up in post-match interviews after big defeats.

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  Ten Hag's latest big call

  Ten Hag has taken many big decisions in his first season at the club, such as making the team run 14 kilometres after the 4-0 thrashing by Brentford, banishing Ronaldo from the squad and dropping Rashford to the bench against Wolves at Molineux after he was late for a team meeting.

  Now he must stamp his authority on Fernandes.

  Ten Hag reported at training ground at 7am post-Liverpool thrashing

Sunderland manager Lee Johnson has admitted that a number of players will move on from the club this summer following the Black Cats’ play-off disappointment.

The Lowdown: Another season in League One

Johnson’s side may have beaten Lincoln City 2-1 at the Stadium of Light on Saturday afternoon, but they still exited the League One play-offs at the semi-final stage.

The 2-0 defeat in the first leg did the damage for Sunderland, meaning they must now prepare for a fourth successive season in English football’s third tier.

The Latest: Johnson provides key update

There have been claims that Johnson could be sacked this summer, and speaking to The Chronicle after the Lincoln match, the manager admitted that several players will leave in what is set to be a summer of upheaval on Wearside. The 39-year-old outlined:

“There’s going to be a natural evolution of the squad now. Some players will have played their last game there today for various reasons.

“Some we may want to keep but can’t afford to, some we might not want and will want to move on, and others we might want to retain and will give them our best offer. It’s a sad day because you do build a rapport with these players.

“I think our recruitment becomes the difference, to be honest with you. That is the summer challenge – to make sure, potentially on a slightly reduced budget, that we actually recruit very well.

“I fully believe in the club, there’s no doubting that. I came into the club knowing how difficult it was going to be.

“We’ve had an unbelievable run of things that have gone on – some you know, and some you don’t know – and we’ve obviously continued to try to plough away.

“In the background, we’ve got a sporting director and owner working very hard, and a new head of recruitment and data, and that’s a process that’s ever-evolving, but that I don’t have to be involved in until now.

“We will set down and reflect on the season, and have some really honest conversations and be brutally honest about what went well and what didn’t go well.

“There’ll be changes. It’s inevitable there’ll be changes, and the test will be whether we can make those changes for the better.”

The Verdict: Time for an overhaul

With so many Sunderland players out of contract at the end of the season, with the likes of Grant Leadbitter, Josh Scowen or Aiden McGeady among that list, it does feel like a new era is beginning at the club, particularly in light of Johnson’s candid admission.

Another promotion push has to be the aim in 2021/22, however, as the Black Cats desperately look to battle their way back into the Championship for the first time since 2017/18.

Whether or not Johnson is the man to oversee a new batch of players coming to the club remains to be seen, but he is clearly under no illusions that his squad will be very different if he stays. There were numerous new arrivals at the start of the campaign; we can expect that to be the case again this summer.

In other news, many Sunderland fans slammed one player after the play-off exit. Find out who it is here.

Mikel Arteta is set to ring the changes for the Gunners' latest European outing

Arsenal host FC Zurich in the Europa League on Thursday night looking to secure their passage through to the knockout stages as group winners.

A win will be enough to do that, as will a draw – providing PSV Eindhoven do not win in Norway against Bodo/Glimt.

So how are things shaping up at Arsenal ahead of the game? GOAL takes a look.

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  Arsenal team news

  Things are looking good for Arsenal on the injury front, with both Bukayo Saka and Oleksandr Zinchenko taking a full part in training on Wednesday.

  It’s unlikely that either player will start against Zurich, but they could be on the bench.

  Mohamed Elneny also comes into contention having been training for the past couple of weeks following his hamstring injury, which has kept him sidelined since August.

  Emile Smith Rowe (groin) is still out, as is Matt Turner (groin), with Aaron Ramsdale expected to start once again.

  Arsenal will be without Granit Xhaka for the match as the midfielder is suspended having picked up two yellow cards during the previous group-stage games.

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  Talking point

  Arteta’s team selection is the main point of discussion ahead of the game.

  Ideally, the Arsenal boss would like to give all of his star men the night off to give them time to rest ahead of Sunday’s trip to Chelsea.

  But with Arsenal still needing to get a result to top the group, he can’t do that.

  So the big question is who does he start? Does he risk Bukayo Saka? Does he go with Gabriel Jesus again? Those are all questions that fans are asking ahead of Thursday night’s kick-off.

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  What has Arteta said?

  When asked whether he would rest his star names on Thursday night with Sunday’s trip to Chelsea in mind, the Arsenal boss said: “I don’t approach games thinking that after half an hour or 45 minutes we will get the result that we want.

  “I will have a really competitive team out there. 

  “We missed the chance in Holland last week and Thursday is the last opportunity to achieve our goal [of topping the group].”

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  Key man

  Eddie Nketiah: After a strong start to the Europa League campaign, the Arsenal striker has failed to score in his last three European games.

  He will be desperate to end that run against FC Zurich, who he did find the net against when the sides met earlier in the season.

  Nketiah knows he needs to take full advantage of the opportunities he gets in the Europa League and so will be out to make an impression at the Emirates.

  Arsenal should create plenty of chances against the group’s bottom-placed group, so Nketiah will need to take them.

Arsenal winners, losers and ratings as Saka sinks Bodo/Glimt

Arsenal made it three wins in the Europa League with a hard earned 1-0 success at Bodo/Glimt on Thursday night.

The Norwegian champions boasted a formidable home record going into the game, having won their last 14 European games at the Aspmyra Stadion – including a 6-1 victory over Jose Mourinho's Roma last season.

So Mikel Arteta named a stronger team than many expected, with William Saliba, Ben White, Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka all starting.

And it was Saka who scored the only goal of the game in the first half, albeit with a fortunate finish which saw the ball deflect in off his chest after his initial shot had been blocked.

Bodo did cause the Gunners some problems, especially in the second half, but they failed to really test Matt Turner with any shots on goal.

The win means Arsenal will now secure qualification through to the knockout stages, should they beat PSV Eindhoven at Emirates Stadium next Thursday night.

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  The Winners

  Winner: Bukayo Saka

  Another game, another goal for Saka.

  This one my have been fortunate, with the ball deflecting into the net off his chest after his initial shot had been blocked by a defender.

  But that will not matter to Saka, who now has three goals in his last two games following his double against Liverpool at the weekend.

  The Arsenal winger had endured quite a slow start to the season from a goalscoring sense, netting just once in his first nine appearances.

  So his numbers have taken a real boost in the last few days, with Saka having now scored four in 11.

  That's much more like what we have come to expect from the 21-year-old.

  Winner: Sambi Lokonga

  This was another very tidy performance from the young Belgian, who has quietly enjoyed a strong start to the season for Mikel Arteta's side.

  Lokonga has already accumulated nine appearances in all competitions and appears to have gone up a level from what we saw from him last season.

  In tricky conditions on an artificial pitch, Lokonga was impressive in midfield. He looked calm under pressure, brought the ball forward well and was excellent in possession.

  He also had a big part to play in Saka's first-half goal, playing the ball cleverly into his path on the edge of the box.

  Winner: Matt Turner

  There have been question marks over Turner following his move from the United States in the summer, so this would have been a very satisfying night for the American stopper.

  He didn't have too much to do in terms of making saves, although he did make one smart stop in the second half following a quick counter from the home side.

  But what was impressive about Turner was how sharp he was off his line.

  The artificial pitch meant that the ball was skidding off the surface very quickly and he was always alert to deal with the danger.

  Turner's starting position was always very good and he helped out his defence on several occasions when the hosts were threatening.

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• The Losers

  Loser: Reiss Nelson

  This was a big night for Nelson, who was making his first start for Arsenal since January, 2021.

  He would have been desperate to impress, but failed to make any sort of major impact down the left-hand side of the attack.

  There were a couple of nice runs, but when Nelson did get into a good position his end product was severely lacking.

  There was one shot early in the second half that summed up Nelson's night.

  He was in a good position just outside the box. But, despite having a bit of time to set himself, he sliced an effort which ended up closer to the corner flag than the goal.

  Loser: Fabio Vieira

  He was the star of the show against Bodo in London, but this was a far more frustrating night for the Portuguese playmaker.

  Vieira just couldn't really get into the game while playing alongside Martin Odegaard in the two advanced Arsenal midfield roles.

  He produced a couple of nice touches, but he was mainly on the fringes of things and was unable to get into the sort of areas that saw him cause so many problems a week ago.

  Loser: Cedric Soares

  Still the Portuguese international is waiting for his first start of the season.

  When he returned to full fitness a fortnight ago, the expectation was that Cedric would start both games against Bodo in the Europa League.

  But instead he has been left on the bench for both, with Takehiro Tomiyasu starting at right-back in the game in London and Ben White starting in Norway.

  That will have been a blow for Cedric, who appears to be well down the pecking order this season.

• Arsenal Ratings: Defence

  Matt Turner (8/10):

  Was alert when he needed to be. Came off his line well to deal with danger and made saves when he needed to.

  Ben White (7/10):

  Got up in support of Saka well, left some space behind him at times.

  Rob Holding (6/10):

  Made a couple of important clearances. Good in possession.

  William Saliba (6/10):

  Played in second gear. Never really looked in trouble.

  Kieran Tierney (7/10):

  Looks fully fit now, which is promising. Got up and down the left all night.

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• Midfield

  Sambi Lokonga (8/10):

  Impressive. Stood out in midfield and played a big part in Saka's first-half goal.

  Martin Odegaard (6/10):

  Saw a lot of the ball, produced some nice touches.

  Fabio Vieira (5/10):

  Just couldn't get into the game. He was always on the fringes of things.

Wolves are currently blessed with some hot talent sitting and waiting eagerly within the under-23s for a senior opportunity.

Their academy has been growing in recent years, with Jeff Shi aiming to buy young players who will eventually be first team ready. Fosun spent a record fee for the club in terms of an academy player when they welcomed Christian Marques to the Midlands in 2019.

A centre-back by trade, Wolves seem to be well-stocked in that third of the pitch. Nuno could have Marques in his squad next season and he will also have Toti Gomes at his disposal, someone who has caught the eye on loan at Grasshoppers Zurich in Switzerland.

The Old Gold have made good use of the loan system this season, with another centre-back in Dion Sanderson impressing significantly.

The defender has spent the campaign on loan at Sunderland in League One, where his performances have been so astute that he was named their Young Player of the Year.

Sanderson has learnt plenty on the field but he has also matured off it. He had to wait patiently for his chance and didn’t become a regular in the Mackems side until the New Year.

An injury to defensive stalwart Bailey Wright earned the 21-year-old a chance in the middle of defence and he didn’t look back.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-wolves-transfer-rumours-and-news-soumare-dias-dembele-marques-nuno-santo” title=”Read the latest Wolves transfer rumours and news!”]

Speaking about Sanderson’s efforts in 2020/21, Black Cats manager Lee Johnson said earlier this term: “He’s a centre-half. At his age, he’s an absolute Rolls-Royce.”

Johnson continued: “He’s got the competence on the ball of a right-back, so he’s very good on the ball for a centre-half, and he’s got a bit of physical maturation to come. That’s part of his potential.”

Versatile, aggressive and always on the front foot, he would be ideal for Nuno Espirito Santo’s system.

Sanderson is capable of playing out from the back in a similar way to Conor Coady and has registered a passing success rate of 81.6% this term. He is also dominant in the air, winning 2.3 headers per match.

It would be difficult to suggest that he’s the complete defender at such a young age but he certainly seems to have the qualities to make a successful career for himself in the Premier League.

Wolves have hardly been a pillar of consistency defensively this season, either. They kept just two clean sheets during a run of 14 games from October to January.

As such, the Molineux outfit have several targets in mind this summer. Middlesbrough’s Djed Spence is on their radar but they’ve also been intrigued by Bayer Leverkusen’s imperious centre-half Edmond Tapsoba.

With players like Sanderson coming through the ranks, Wolves already have an internal solution to their defensive problem, one which could save them millions in the transfer market.

His season was curtailed in unfortunate circumstances due to a back injury but he will surely be fit and firing come next season if Wolves are willing to hand him a chance.

If they don’t, he could flee the nest. Sunderland are only too keen to have him back, while Crystal Palace, Brighton and Sheffield United are also interested.

Nuno must duly ensure that there is a pathway for him to be unleashed at Molineux in 2021/22.

AND in other news, Move over Semedo: Wolves should unleash “exciting” 18 y/o, he’s an “exceptional guy”…

The SuperSport United captain was the African side's best player as the team was hammered 5-0 by Les Bleus in a friendly match on Tuesday night

GOAL runs the rule over the individual performances of Bafana Bafana players.

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  Ronwen Williams – 7/10

  It could have been worse for Bafana if it wasn't for Williams.
  The two-time PSL Goalkeeper of the Season made many saves to deny brace-hero Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud and Lucas Digne throughout the game.
  He also came close to saving Mbappe's penalty on a night in which he was let down by his defence.

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  Nyiko Mobbie – 4.5/10

  Struggled against an excellent France side.

  The hosts exposed Mobbie's frailties far too easily and he made one promising overlapping run, but his poor cross was easily gathered by keeper Mike Maignan.

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  Lyle Lakay – 4/10

  Antoine Griezmann got the better of him on the night.

  Lakay was outsmarted by the Atletico Madrid star who cut inside from Bafana's left flank and provided two assists while the Bafana full-back didn't offer much going forward.

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  Nkosinathi Sibisi – 5/10

  Surprisingly started ahead of Rushine De Reuck.
  Sibisi had his moments in bits and parts, making a few crucial clearances and tackles, but alas, it was nowhere near enough against the ruthless Europeans.

Many Liverpool fans have been left to fume as some early team news has emerged ahead of their away trip to Burnley in the Premier League.

As per Daily Mirror journalist David Maddock (via Anfield Watch), Gini Wijnaldum is likely to replace Curtis Jones in the only change made from the win at West Brom over the weekend.

Wijnaldum’s future is still up in the air given that he has not signed a new deal, and so some of the Kop faithful are questioning how committed he is to the Merseyside club ahead of a big game for their UEFA Champions League qualification hopes.

The Netherlands international has not exactly been inspiring in the top flight either, with a mere two goals and no assists in 36 matches in total so far in the 2020/21 term (Transfermarkt), and so Jurgen Klopp would likely have to rely on other players in front of goal against the Clarets.

Liverpool fans on early Team News

These Reds supporters fumed as the Team News emerged on Twitter:

“Why play with 10 men?”

Credit: @SusMinds

“Naaaaahhhhh”

Credit: @amandalalita

“Can we play someone else? His mind set somewhere else already @LFC”

Credit: @Tulang_Godang

“NO”

Credit: @JamalLababidi6

“We’re finished”

Credit: @Virgvd4

“Well goodbye Champions League”
Credit: @TMLFC19
In other news, find out what gesture from this Champions League and World Cup winner was loved by LFC fans here!

Republic of Ireland legend Ray Houghton enjoyed a glittering international career, with his two greatest moments on that stage coming as he scored the decisive goal in the 1-0 win against England at the 1988 European Championships, before a repeat of the same situation and scoreline against Italy at the 1994 World Cup in America.

The midfielder was also a big part of the famous successful Liverpool team from the late 1980s and early 90s, winning the First Division and the FA Cup twice each between 1988 and 1992, before moving onto Aston Villa and lifting the League Cup in 1994.

Now retired, Houghton is set to swap the hallowed turf for a fishing rod to take part in an exciting new fishing programme called Angling Outlaws, which is to be shown on BT Sport next year.

We spoke exclusively to the football legend about a number of different subjects within the beautiful game…

What are your thoughts on the Celtic managerial situation?

“I think at the moment they’re probably doing their due diligence, which is probably the right thing to do, make sure you get the right person in because Rangers have already won the title. And I think people are getting a little bit panicky, because the Celtic fans want to see big names wanting to come to their club.

“I’m a Celtic fan. I grew up a Celtic fan. I don’t look at it as much as I once did. But yeah, there’s no doubt, you know, with Rangers doing as well as they are and Steven Gerrard, a big name in charge, Celtic feel that they could do likewise. And there’s been quite some names in the frame, Thierry Henry, Roy Keane, you know, amongst others. So, it will be interesting to see who they go for.”

Is Eddie Howe a big enough name?

“Yeah, I think so. Yeah, I think in many respects, as I said earlier, it’s about reinventing yourself, it may be a good place for Eddie. Just to go and because your only real opposition is Rangers, you get into Europe and you’ve done well, you know, the fans will enjoy that give a decent run.

“But your main priority is to finish first in the league. And they just need someone to take them forward again, hopefully the owners invest money in the club. I think that’s one of the stipulations that a big manager coming in would have, they’ve got you have the finances to take the club forward.”

Who’s going to replace Jose Mourinho at Tottenham?

“I really don’t know. They’ve had Pochettino who got them to a Champions League Final – the only time they’ve ever been in the Champions League Final. Tottenham is a huge job, it’s a massive club, they’ve got a fantastic stadium, they’ve got training facilities to die for, but I just don’t see them getting the funds and I don’t know if the owner Joe Lewis puts in anywhere near what other clubs do, or he’s prepared to go into debt or get loans to bring in players.

“There’s no doubt Pochettino and Mourinho are massive names, and whether they can have that calibre of manager again if the finances aren’t there, I don’t know. It’ll be interesting to see who Daniel Levy, who looks like he’s the main man at the club when it comes to the appointments, has got in mind. He thought Mourinho with his CV was going to be the game changer as far as bringing trophies to the club, and that didn’t happen.”

Could you see Steven Gerrard becoming the next Tottenham manager?

“Well, I think with Steven he’s learning. Look what happened to Frank Lampard. Frank went to Derby and had a good season. And then suddenly, the Chelsea job came up, and of course, he’s going to jump at it. You know, you might not get that offered that again. Was it too early?

“So, with Steve, he probably feels he’s still got a little bit of work to do in the managerial side. Every year he’s doing work as a manager, he’s learning about players and with all due respect to Rangers and the players that they’ve got, going to Spurs or Liverpool is a whole new level of expectation.”

Would you see David Moyes getting the Spurs job?

“If it was purely just only football that might be the case. But don’t forget David Moyes was at West Ham when they let him go. So, loyalty works two ways. The club weren’t very loyal to him, were they?”

Do Liverpool need to freshen up their front three?

“I think there were rumours of going after Werner before he went to Chelsea, but there are not an awful lot of strikers around. Harry Kane would be great because he’s like your finished article up front. I don’t know what the finances are like, all I know is that over the last few years recruitments been very good.

“Last season it’s really slowed, we brought in the lad from Preston was in for £400,000, we brought we brought in the other centre-back for Germany – that’s not Liverpool’s way. They buy the best. They did that with Salah, Mane, Allison, and Van Dijk.”

Ray Houghton will be joining Paul Parker, Tony Gale and Frank McAvennie on BT Sport’s Angling Outlaws, next summer.

With the help of Outlaw Pro, the four former pros will be trying their hand at fishing, with the quadruplet facing off at the end of the six-part series to see who knows their slide tackles from their tackle boxes.

With games suspended, now is the time to catch up on some reading about the beautiful game

The coronavirus pandemic is set to stop most football competitions around the world for the foreseeable future leaving many fans with time to kill. 

Books are an ideal escape at times like this and thankfully there are many great reads on the world game available. 

From insightful autobiographies to intelligent dissections of the game, now is the time to get to know the sport you'd usually just watch on a deeper level. 

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  The Miracle of Castel di Sangro

  An incredible true story of an American who embraces life in Italy with a newly promoted Serie B side. 

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  Cantona: The Rebel Who Would Be King

  For a man of few words, this detailed biography manages to fill the substantial gaps when it comes to trying to understand the puzzle that is Eric Cantona. 

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  A Life Too Short

  A sad but important look at the life of German goalkeeper Robert Enke, who tragically took his own life at the age of just 32. 

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  The Damned Utd

  A fictional but nonetheless fantastic biography told from the perspective of Brian Clough as he attempts to take over from bitter rival Don Revie at Leeds United in 1974. 

With the draw for the Champions League group stage taking place on Thursday, Goal lists some top under-23 talents to watch this season

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  Dani Ceballos (Real Madrid)

  "The coach's confidence is paramount to playing well," Dani Ceballos told earlier this month. "[Julen] Lopetegui has given me that confidence."

  The implication was obvious: Ceballos had never felt fully trusted by former Blancos boss Zinedine Zidane, who used the midfielder just 12 times in La Liga last season.

  The 22-year-old Spaniard still has Luka Modric, Casemiro and Toni Kroos ahead of him in the pecking order but with Mateo Kovacic now gone, Ceballos is expected to see far more game time in 2018-19.

  If he truly does have his self-belief back, we should see the former Betis star reproduce the kind of magic that lit up the Under-21 European Championships last year.

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  Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)

  Ajax are back in the Champions League group stage for the first time since 2014-15 but not everyone was happy to see the Dutch outfit prevail in their play-off tie with Dynamo Kyiv.

  Indeed, the Amsterdam outfit's qualification scuppered Barcelona's hopes of signing Frenkie de Jong before the close of the summer transfer window on Friday. 

  The Blaugrana had made the 21-year-old, who has just been called up by the Netherlands national team, their primary midfield target but he has now confirmed that he is staying at Ajax.

  "Maybe someday I'll join Barcelona, but not this season," he told . "I think it will be a good year for Ajax. Now we're about to find out what we're capable of."

  We're also about to find out exactly what De Jong is capable of.

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  Phil Foden (Manchester City)

  On May 13, the then 17-year-old Phil Foden became the youngest ever recipient of a Premier League winners' medal, after making five appearances during Manchester City's title procession. 

  The classy and versatile midfielder is now set to play an even bigger role in his club's bid to hold on to their crown. As coach Pep Guardiola enthused, "He was ready [for the first team] last year but now he is one year more mature."

  His composed performance in the season-opening Community Shield win over Chelsea certainly belied his tender age, with Foden creating the game's opening goal, for Sergio Aguero. 

  Nailing down a regular berth in the City starting 11 is an unenviable task but Guardiola has the utmost faith in Foden, who last season became the youngest Englishman ever to start a Champions League match.

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  ​Willem Geubbels (Monaco)

  Rarely can such fuss have been made over a player to have featured so little at senior level.

  Willem Geubbels only saw 87 minutes of game time for Lyon last season but, in doing so, the 16-year-old forward became the first player born in the 21st century to appear in Ligue 1, and the Europa League.

  Monaco certainly liked what they saw, as this summer they paid €20 million (£18m/$23m) to beat some of Europe’s biggest clubs to the signature of the France Under-18 international.

  Geubbels will be used sparingly but Monaco are quietly confident that they have got another Kylian Mbappe on their hands.