Revealed: Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire dropped by Erik ten Hag in two-hour Manchester United team meeting

The story behind Ronaldo being dropped

The Sun reveal that Cristiano Ronaldo and club captain Harry Maguire found out they would not be starting against fierce rivals Liverpool in a two-hour team meeting last Thursday. New head coach Erik ten Hag called for a team meeting and “urged” his squad to “air any grievances”. The Dutch boss then announced his decision to drop Ronaldo and Maguire – and the Sun state that the Portugal international did not speak throughout the session. The report goes on to say that Ten Hag is “sick of the Ronaldo circus” and he was “particularly angry” after the 37-year-old “promised he would soon deliver a tell-all interview”.

Paper Round’s view: Fair enough. Ten Hag gave everyone in his underperforming squad the opportunity to speak out behind closed doors… and Ronaldo chose not to. That seems like the Portuguese forward is lacking the desire and commitment to proving his new manager wrong and – as we saw on Monday – Ten Hag was proven correct in his decision. Ronaldo and Maguire were dropped to the bench and Manchester United got their first win of the season against long-term rivals, Liverpool, at Old Trafford. The only problem now is whether Ronaldo and Ten Hag can survive a season together. Their relationship seems quite unstable, and it doesn’t feel like it will be resolved any time soon.

Never gonna give Fofana up

Chelsea are preparing a fourth bid for Leicester City centre-back Wesley Fofana. The west London club have seen three previous offers for the Frenchman rejected by Leicester, who are demanding a world-record fee of £85 million for Fofana. The Telegraph reveal that Chelsea are ready to increase their previous bid of £70 million for the 21-year-old as they are keen to sign a new centre-back before the transfer window shuts. The report also states that Leicester have lined up Borussia Dortmund defender Manuel Akanji as their top target to replace Fofana and he will cost around £20 million.

Paper Round’s view: Chelsea are in need of a centre-back and it seems like their new ownership are not afraid of splashing the cash. The Premier League side lost Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen this summer after their contracts at Stamford Bridge expired and they have only signed Kalidou Koulibaly as a replacement so far. It’s clear that a right-sided centre-back is needed now as Reece James has been used in that role so far this season. It is limiting James’ game and has been detrimental for Chelsea in their first three matches. £85 million is a huge fee to pay for Fofana, but if you’ve got the money… why not?

PSG see Silva bid rejected

Manchester City have rejected an opening bid worth €70 million from Paris Saint-Germain for Portuguese midfielder Bernardo Silva, according to the Times. The 28-year-old has been the subject of interest from Barcelona throughout the summer, but PSG have decided to activate a late pursuit for Silva. The French champions think that Manchester City are refusing to sell to them as the Premier League side believe Silva could be the missing piece to turn PSG into Champions League winners before them.

Paper Round’s view: Silva is a classy player, who might actually be underrated in his role for Manchester City. He is one of those footballers who makes the entire team tick. Pep Guardiola’s side would be lost if they sold Silva and were unable to adequately replace him before the transfer window closed. That is the major issue here. There is not much time for City to replace Silva. Additionally, there are not many players in world football who can do what the 28-year-old does. It’s a long shot… but maybe Manchester City could sign Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona if they were to sell Silva to PSG.

Dortmund want City youngster on season-long loan

Borussia Dortmund are eyeing a move for Manchester City youngster Cole Palmer on a season-long loan, according to the Sun. However, the report states that City boss Pep Guardiola is “reluctant” to let the 20-year-old leave, despite the fact that Palmer has only made one Premier League start so far in his young career. Dortmund are very keen to complete a loan move before the transfer window closes next week, but Guardiola still views Palmer as part of his first-team squad.

Paper Round’s view: It seems very similar to the Phil Foden scenario a few years ago. Palmer may be wanted by some top-level clubs like Dortmund, but the same thing happened with Foden. Supporters, pundits and commentators kept questioning why Foden was not loaned out to experience consistent levels of first-team football, but Guardiola kept him in his squad before paving his path to the starting line-up. A loan move to Dortmund could be very beneficial for Palmer, but so could training with some of the best players in world football on a daily basis.