Author: Joe Soriano

No team in world football is reeling as badly as Manchester City right now, and their run of five consecutive losses is made all the more stunning by virtue of their sheer dominance in the Premier League over the last four seasons. Since Liverpool's remarkable 2019/20 campaign, Man City have been impervious in the English top flight - that is, of course, until the 2024/25 season when they suddenly seem vulnerable. Without Rodri, whose biggest claim to the Ballon d'Or has now been revealed after he already won the honor, Manchester City look listless. They are a second rate side in comparison to Liverpool, and their recent 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Tottenham marks a new low - and their second straight defeat to Spurs within a span of 30 days. Manchester City gave up four goals t...

As Ruben Amorim gets ready for his first match as Manchester United manager on Sunday against Ipswich Town, there's a lot of speculation about the kind of manager he will be behind the scenes for the club, beyond just what he will change tactically or which new players he will bring in. At Sporting CP, Amorim built up his reputation as one of the best up-and-coming managers in world football because of his ability to build a winning culture and develop young talent. Manchester United haven't had that. They've done a woeful job at developing young players, because, beyond Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho, most of their young investments over the years have failed to reach their potential. Blockbuster Monaco signing Anthony Martial is an obvious example, and even current starter...

Manchester United have made what could be the biggest upgrade of 2024, firing Erik ten Hag, whom they never should have carried into a new season anyway, and replacing him with Ruben Amorim from Sporting CP. Amorim is one of the most touted young managers in world football, having developed some of European football's most promising players at Sporting, including a pair of potential Manchester United transfer targets in center back Ousmane Diomande and striker Viktor Gyokeres. Unsurprisingly, Amorim's gems have already been linked with a move to Old Trafford, and even the blockbuster Gyokeres signing is entirely plausible should Marcus Rashford and/or Joshua Zirkzee fail to impress over the next six months under the Portuguese manager's leadership. After the INEOS takeover, Manche...

West Ham are currently 14th in the Premier League after 11 matches played, even though they were one of the busiest teams in the summer transfer window, bringing in some established starters from notable European clubs like Carlos Soler, Niclas Fullkrug, and Jean-Clair Todibo. From the start, Julen Lopetegui was always an underwhelming hire and an arguable downgrade on David Moyes when comparing resumes, given that, outside of a strong 2021/22 season with Sevilla, Lopetegui has never actually outperformed on a club's expectations. Now, Lopetegui is headed for another disastrous season equivalent to the 2022/23 campaign in Seville that got him fired for relegation specialist Jose Luis Mendilibar, who took that same team to a Europa League Final triumph over Jose Mourinho's Roma. As...

Inter Milan are in a much tougher battle for the Scudetto this season after winning Serie A by nearly 20 points last year, and their main threat looks like an Antonio Conte-led Napoli. The legendary Italian manager, who returned Inter to Scudetto prominence in the 2020/21 season, is back working with Romelu Lukaku in Naples and spearheading a team that landed the best defender in Serie A this past summer, Alessandro Buongiorno. Napoli's other crucial players include their MVP when they won the title in 2022/23, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and underrated midfield metronome Stanislav Lobotka. But another unsung hero is goalkeeper Alex Meret, who has established himself as one of the best pure shot-stoppers in the Italian top flight over the last couple of seasons. Napoli, however, are...

At this point, the most frequently linked transfer target to Manchester United is none other than new manager Ruben Amorim's biggest star at Sporting CP, striker Viktor Gyokeres. The 26-year-old was phenomenal in his previous two campaigns, including in the Championship with Coventry, but he's truly blossomed in 2024/25 with five goals in four Champions League fixtures and a whopping 16 goals in 11 league matches for Sporting. After a signature hat trick against Manchester City, Gyokeres is the hottest name on the transfer market in general, and Manchester United won't be the only big club in Europe eyeing the sharpshooting No. 9. However, Manchester United already signed a second striker this past summer in Joshua Zirkzee to pair with Rasmus Hojlund, and Marcus Rashford could be ...

Juventus have found themselves in a bit of a predicament with two starting-caliber central defenders done for the season with ACL tears in former Defender of the Year Gleison Bremer and new addition Juan Cabal. The Bianconeri still have a few quality central defenders available in veteran Danilo, breakout star Federico Gatti, and an even better summer 2024 signing than Cabal in former AC Milan man Pierre Kalulu. Although those are three good defenders, Juventus could use a fourth man to solidify their depth for the remainder of the Serie A season, as the Bianconeri are among the handful of teams fighting for the title in the most wide open Scudetto battle in ages. As such, Juve are being linked with a host of possible defensive signings this January, but it also sounds like the Ol...