Man Utd spends 70 million USD to buy Casemiro; Viettel coach praises Hoang Duc for his great attack

Man Utd spends $70 million to buy Casemiro

Casemiro is expected to fly to England for a medical within the next 48 hours. He will sign a four-year contract, with an option for Man Utd to extend for a further year. Real have accepted a price of 70 million USD. Negotiations on personal terms with Casemiro are progressing well and only the final agreements need to be finalized.

Casemiro has been one of the top defensive midfielders for many years. Photo:Reuters

Casemiro became Man Utd's most expensive signing this summer, surpassing Tyrell Malacia ($15 million) and Lissandro Martinez ($57 million). The English team's willingness to spend heavily to convince Real to let go of the player shows coach Erik ten Hag's determination to strengthen his midfield, after having difficulty in the Frenkie De Jong deal.

With quality reinforcements in midfield, Ten Hag will look to bolster his attack. Ajax winger Antony is their top target. Antony is keen to reunite with his former coach, but Man Utd have yet to receive a nod from his parent club despite raising their offer to $80 million.

Viettel coach praises Hoang Duc for his great attack

“Putting Hoang Duc up as a striker at the end of the match is a tactical factor. When striker Pedro Paulo drops back, Hoang Duc will rush forward like a false striker to occupy the space. He attacks wonderfully. With his qualities, Hoang Duc can play any position in the attack,” Viettel coach Bae Ji Won commented after the 2-0 victory over SLNA in round 13 of V.League 2022.

He talked about Viettel's first leg of this season: "Up to now, I am not satisfied with what the team has shown. We have gone through unsatisfactory periods. Only in the last 2 matches, the players have focused and performed well on the field. Therefore, the team has had good results. That is the motivation for us to look forward to the second leg."

Hoang Duc scores in Viettel's 2-0 win over SLNA at Hang Day Stadium on the evening of August 19. Photo:Hieu Luong

Coach Bae Ji Won talked about left-back Phan Tuan Tai and the return of captain Bui Tien Dung after more than 2 months of injury treatment: “Tuan Tai is a good player. Replacing him was not because Tai was not professional, but simply a tactical factor. SLNA created pressure on Viettel's field. Therefore, we decided to take him out and replace him with another player. As for Bui Tien Dung, I cannot say I am satisfied because Tien Dung played for a short time. But Viettel decided to bring him back to find the feeling of playing after a long time of injury treatment.”

Mbappe wants to eliminate all of PSG's Argentine players

According to UOL Esporte, Kylian Mbappe has asked President Nasser Al-Khelaifi to remove the group of Argentine players at PSG including Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria, Leandro Paredes and Mauro Icardi. The French striker's "blacklist" even includes goalkeeper Keylor Navas and midfielder Ander Herrera, two names who have quite close relationships with his Argentine teammates.

This is the reason why Angel Di Maria did not renew his contract with PSG to move to Juventus, and Paredes publicly announced his intention to leave Parc des Princes.

Mbappe was accused of disrespecting Messi. Photo:Reuters.

While Lionel Messi's position is unshakeable, the remaining names are all preparing to leave Paris. Herrera and Icardi have been told to find new destinations. These two players are not registered to play and could be pushed down to play in the 5th division with the PSG reserve team.

Mbappe's plan to "eliminate the Argentine" has been in place since coach Mauricio Pochettino. The French international has publicly admitted that under the 1972-born strategist, PSG could not maintain its status as a major club. "We want to get things back to normal soon," the World Cup defending champion declared at a press conference in June.

After signing a 3-year contract with PSG, Mbappe wanted to become the "leader" of the reigning Ligue 1 champions. However, Neymar suddenly rose and overshadowed his French teammate with 5 goals and 3 assists in the last 3 matches. The former Barca star also showed his understanding in every move with Messi. This is what made Mbappe unhappy.

After the fight a few days ago, the PSG coaching board held a team meeting and publicly reprimanded Mbappe and Neymar for the unfortunate incident. Coach Christophe Galtier asked the two stars to put aside their egos to contribute to the common good of the club.