Dimitar Berbatov believes Rasmus Hojlund should grasp the opportunity of working with Manchester United great Ruud van Nistelrooy with both hands this season.
Hojlund, who arrived from Atalanta for a reported £72m fee last year, scored 16 goals in 43 appearances in his debut season at Old Trafford.
He endured a mixed year for the Red Devils, and was ruled out for the opening fixtures of the 2024-25 campaign with a hamstring injury picked up in pre-season.
Erik ten Hag appointed former United legend Van Nistelrooy as his new assistant manager ahead of the new term as part of a coaching reshuffle at the club.
The former Dutch international scored 150 goals in 219 games during his five-year stint in Manchester and is the club's eighth all-time top scorer.
And his arrival is something Berbatov believes Hojlund needs to take advantage of upon his return from injury.
"This is the moment where he has to work even harder which won't be easy but it’ll be beneficial," Berbatov said in an interview with Futbin.
"Especially now that United have Ruud van Nistelrooy in the coaching team. So now if you don’t take this opportunity to learn from one of the best who used to score goals for fun, you’re wasting your time.
"Speak to Ruud, ask questions, visit his home if you have to, be respectful, listen to him, learn, ask questions and try to add that to your game.”
Hojlund was United's joint-top scorer in the Premier League last year alongside Bruno Fernandes, scoring 10 times as Ten Hag's side finished eighth in the division.
The Danish international overperformed his expected goals (xG) total by 2.36 in the league, averaging a goal every 216.9 minutes for the Red Devils.
He also managed 21 shots on target from the 38 he attempted, averaging the highest shot conversion rate (26.32) of anyone in the United squad to attempt over 20 shots.
However, Berbatov was able to pinpoint the areas in which Hojlund could improve, saying: "Hojlund's goal ratio must improve.
"He should be better and I think he can be better. He can do better but it comes down to concentration levels.
"Keeping his concentration levels high throughout all the games because he had good goal-scoring opportunities and didn't score them.”
Gonzalez omitted from Fiorentina squad amid Juventus reports
Fiorentina have left winger Nico Gonzalez out of their squad for Thursday's Europa Conference League clash with Puskas Akademia amid suggestions he is close to joining Juventus.
Gonzalez is reportedly a top target for new Juve head coach Thiago Motta, with the Bianconeri expected to sell Federico Chiesa and bring in another wide player.
The Argentina international joined Fiorentina in 2021 and has become one of their foremost attacking threats, contributing 12 goals and two assists in 29 league appearances last term.
However, he was left out by new boss Raffaele Palladino as Fiorentina started their Serie A campaign with a 1-1 draw at Parma last week.
He will also play no part when they host Hungarian side Puskas Akademia at the Stadio Artemio Franchi in the first leg of their play-off tie.
La Gazzetta dello Sport have reported Juventus submitted an improved bid of €32million for Gonzalez on Wednesday, with the 26-year-old believed to be keen on the move.
'Give us some credit': ISSA President Wellington urges JFF to acknowledge schools' efforts in players development; promises exciting schoolboy football season
With the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) schoolboy football competitions serving as a feeder for the country's youth programmes, President Keith Wellington believes it is only fair that the schools' efforts are recognised when their respective players are called up for national duties.
Wellington's aired his grievances, as he is of the view that when Manning and daCosta Cup players are mentioned for national duties, they are recognised by their club affiliation and not necessarily by the schools they represent.
As such, he called on the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) to be mindful of this and, by extension, to show the schools and ISSA more respect for their contributions in nurturing and developing these young talents.
“It would be nice when our national youth teams are named; you recognise the schools that these young men come from because we invest so much in them,” Wellington said during the schoolboy football competitions launch at the Stadium East on Wednesday.
“No disrespect to Mr [Rudolph] Speid and other club owners but when a young man turns up to attend national training, the first place he goes is to his coach or principal to say ‘Sir, I don’t have a boots’ or ‘I need fair to go to camp.’
“So give us a little respect and at least say that this boy played for Clarendon College or Mona High in the ISSA competitions because the truth is, without it, as bad Jamaica’s football is now, it would be worse. I’m asking our partners, the JFF, to give us some credit,” he added.
Wellington also urged the Michael Ricketts-led JFF to do their part in assisting ISSA to improve the schoolboy football product.
“Help our competitions be better. Train more referees so we don’t have to take our kids out of school on a Monday to play a match because we have to be spreading the games over five or six days of the week — focus on that,” a seemingly peeved Wellington stated.
ISSA President Keith Wellington accepts a symbolic cheque from Restaurants of Jamaica's brand manager, Andrei Roper.
That said, the ISSA boss has high hopes that this season, scheduled to kick off on September 7, will surpass expectations, as he hinted at some improvements to come.
"I think that if we are to grow the product, we have to look at innovative ways each year of changing the landscape, especially where support is concerned, not just from sponsors but from the public. The monopoly doesn't work in today's world, and so we have to look at what we can do differently to ensure that people remain interested in the sport, not just to play it but to participate as spectators and so on," Wellington shared.
"And so every year we try and do things differently. We will be doing some things differently that weren't announced today, but I'm sure if you visit our social media pages over the next few days, you'll see a difference. We know that the biggest entertainment from football in Jamaica comes from schoolboy football. The involvement of my students in particular, not just as players, but the school. There's just a different atmosphere during the first term of school, and so we look forward to that term when kids really enjoy being at school because of all the hype around the sport, and we expect to see some improvements," he noted.
The Manning and daCosta Cup competitions are set to kick off at the Montego Bay Sports Complex in Catherine Hall as Mona High and Clarendon College begin the defence of their respective titles. Jamaica College, McGrath High, and Glenmuir High are holders of the Walker Cup, Ben Francis Cup, and Champions Cup knockout titles.
A total of 86 schools—12 more than last year—will contest the rural area daCosta Cup, while 40 schools will lock horns for supremacy in the urban area Manning Cup.
Though the format of the daCosta Cup, Champions Cup, Ben Francis Cup, and Walker Cup remains the same, the Manning Cup, unlike last year, which saw the second round being contested in a round of 32 format, will now be contested as a round of 16.
This means that the top two from each of seven groups, plus the two best third-placed teams, will be placed in four groups of four teams, with teams playing each other once, after which the top two from each group will progress to the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, main sponsors SportsMax, Digicel, KFC and Wisynco, all expressed delight at being back on board and promised to do their part to ensure the season lives up to its billing.
Other sponsors include Powerade, Tru Shake, Pringles, Soccer Xpress, Kirk-FP Limited, and Main Event.
The Manning and daCosta Cup competitions can be seen live on SportsMax, SportsMax App and SportsMax YouTube channel.
Guardiola seeking Man City improvements ahead of Ipswich test
Pep Guardiola acknowledged that his Manchester City players must improve on their opening day showing as they welcome Ipswich Town to the Etihad on Saturday.
City kickstarted their Premier League title defence with a 2-0 win against Chelsea, but Guardiola was left wanting more from his squad
Despite having more shots and shots on target, the Citizens underperformed their expected goals (xG) total by 1.23, something the Spaniard said surprised him.
"I didn't expect it. We are away from our best so three points is the good news. The bad news is we have 65 games ahead of us," Guardiola said.
"We have an advantage, it's our ninth season together so we know each other well.
"There is a plan, defensive, offensive. But afterwards, it's how we celebrate the good moments and come back from the bad moments.
"That's what defines these teams and no one talks about it."
Meanwhile, Ipswich marked their return to the Premier League with a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool, although the result did not tell the full story of the contest at Portman Road.
The Tractor Boys restricted Arne Slot's side to just three shots in the first half, none of which were on target, while also registering two shots on Alisson's goal of their own.
But the Reds' quality shone through after the break, with goals from Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah securing an opening day win for their new manager.
And Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna insisted that lessons will be learned from their second half showing, with the result a solid foundation to build on moving forward.
“We know we can improve in the second half. Liverpool really hit their stride during that period and there’s bits we can do better there to make the game more competitive," McKenna said.
“There’s positives to take and lessons to learn, and I think it’s a game that stands us in pretty good stead.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Man City – Erling Haaland
Having opened his account for the season against Chelsea last weekend, Erling Haaland will be licking his lips when Ipswich visit the Etihad on Saturday.
Haaland has scored at least once against all 22 sides he has faced since his move from Borussia Dortmund in 2022.
The Norwegian has also netted 13 goals in nine appearances during August in the competition, more than he’s struck in any other month.
Ipswich – Omari Hutchinson
While the Tractors Boys face the daunting task of visiting the reigning champions, they showed signs of promise in their first half performance against Liverpool, none more so than Omari Hutchinson.
Hutchinson registered an expected goals (xG) of 0.27 to Ipswich’s 0.45 total, producing the most shots (three) and winning possession on more occasions (six) than any other Ipswich player against the Reds.
MATCH PREDICTION: MAN CITY WIN
City are the overwhelming favourites to continue their unbeaten start to the season, winning 81.6% of Opta’s data-led simulations, with Ipswich given a 7.3% chance of causing a monumental upset.
Guardiola’s side have won 17 of their last 18 Premier League games against promoted sides (D1) since a 2-1 home loss to Leeds in April 2021.
They are also unbeaten in their last 44 home games in all competitions (W37 D7) since a 2-1 loss to Brentford in November 2022. It’s the eighth longest such run among English top-flight clubs in history, and the longest since Chelsea’s run of 74 between February 2006 and October 2008.
This will be Ipswich’s first ever meeting with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium after winning their last two visits to Maine Road, triumphing in a Premier League game 3-2 in November 2000 and a League Cup tie 2-1 the following month.
However, Ipswich haven’t scored in any of their last seven away league games against the reigning top-flight champions (D1 L6), losing the last three by an aggregate score of 15-0. They last scored in such a game in April 1984 (2-2 v Liverpool), while their last such victory was in October 1981 (1-0 v Aston Villa).
Should the Tractor Boys lose at the Etihad, it will be the first time since the 2006-07 Championship season that they have started a league campaign with two straight defeats, last doing so in the top flight in 1985-86.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Manchester City – 81.6%
Draw – 11.1%
Ipswich – 7.3%
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