Top News

Clinton Morrison has given his view on Rodri’s transfer to Barcelona, looked at how Ayyoub Bouaddi might help cover the gap left by the Spaniard, and also explained why Bruno Fernandes remains so crucial to Manchester United.

The biggest transfer story this week is the confirmation of Rodri’s switch to Barcelona. It always looked likely, and with just one year left on his contract at the age of 30, Manchester City have done good business. Even so, losing a player of that quality when you are aiming to compete for the Premier League is a massive blow.

He gave absolutely everything to that football club. Man City won everything, and when he first arrived, not many people really knew much about him, whereas now everybody knows exactly who he is. It is a fantastic signing for Barcelona.

Ayyoub Bouaddi is the kind of player who could come in and help fill that gap. He is only 18, but he controlled the game for Morocco at the World Cup and made things happen. I am not saying Bouaddi will reach Rodri’s level, but if he can become even half as good, he will have a very successful career.

Moving across to the other side of Manchester, there has been plenty of discussion around Bruno Fernandes’ future. Last season, he was the best player in the Premier League in the number 10 role. He will have competition this year because there is a strong group of number 10s — Martin Ødegaard started well, while Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer could both enjoy very good seasons.

But Bruno is unbelievable — Man United simply cannot afford to lose him. Right now, you have got to give him whatever he wants. He leads by example, and one of the main reasons they got back into the Champions League was Bruno Fernandes. Winning both the Premier League and Football Writers’ Association awards shows just how big an influence he had on Man United.

And I do not think that by signing all these midfielders they are preparing for life without Bruno Fernandes, because none of them are number 10 players. I think you need to bring players in so that Bruno says, ‘yeah, I want to stay and be part of it’ — which he does anyway, because Man United is still a massive football club.

He has had chances to leave before and could have moved to Saudi Arabia for huge money, but he turned that down because he wanted to stay at Man United and play in the best league in the world. At this moment, the only places I could really see him leaving for would be somewhere like Real Madrid or Barcelona, because for Bruno there is not really anywhere bigger than Man United apart from clubs of that stature.

One player who now looks likely to arrive at Old Trafford is Carlos Baleba. I think he would be another very good addition for Man United, because they needed to strengthen in midfield. He has shown his quality at Brighton & Hove Albion and he is also at a very good age.

Signing Baleba would be a smart move, and he has been outstanding for Brighton. So for me, that would be a really strong signing — and it is also a player profile they need.

He would add to their options alongside Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Kobbie Mainoo, which would make that area of the squad very crowded. Keeping everybody happy could be a little difficult, but at a club like Man United you want competition for places.

Another transfer that caught my attention was Zion Suzuki joining Aston Villa. So where does that leave Emiliano Martínez? Is he going to be edged out? Juventus wanted him, but they have now gone and signed Guglielmo Vicario from Tottenham.

I cannot see Martínez being a number two, and for me he is the better goalkeeper out of those two. Keep an eye on this situation, because I think Suzuki has arrived to be the number one. So it may well be that Martínez is on his way out — we will just have to wait and see.

There has been a lot of focus on players changing clubs this summer, but let us not forget there are also nine new managers in the Premier League. Enzo Maresca’s Man City side will probably finish highest among those teams, but I think Oliver Glasner will make the biggest impact at Nottingham Forest. I think he is a top manager, and at Forest he will probably have a bigger budget than he had at Crystal Palace to bring in the players he wants.

Out of all those managers, Forest and Glasner will probably have the most successful season. I think they will do well, finish in the top eight, and maybe even win a trophy this year.

Looking ahead to the weekend, it is brilliant to have the Premier League back. I am really looking forward to what should be a mouth-watering match between Newcastle United and Liverpool. That game has the potential to be a cracker, because I would expect Newcastle to come out fighting after losing so many players, especially with Matthias Jaissle taking charge of his first match. It will also be interesting to see how Liverpool play and, as I am not working, I can simply sit in front of the television and enjoy it.