Could Liverpool boss Arne Slot be about to play Florian Wirtz ‘up front’ against Manchester City?
Of course not, but that’s just one of the many things people are happy to write for the old clickety-clicks.
Ponder wall
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There is much discussion about how Liverpool will line up against Manchester City on Sunday after an excellent performance against Real Madrid in midweek, featuring [**Florian Wirtz on the left side of the attack**](https://www.football365.com/news/opinion-slot-betrayed-16-word-liverpool-transfer-promise-wirtz-real).
The **Liverpool Echo** have some news…
> Arne Slot ponders surprise Florian Wirtz move as Alexander Isak Liverpool update expected
Imagine, then, our shock and awe as it emerges that Arne Slot is not ‘pondering’ anything of the sort. Or rather nobody other than Arne Slot has any notion of what he is ‘pondering’ because that is the nature of a ‘ponder’; it tends to happen in one’s own head.
What we learn is that the Echo’s Paul Gorst is doing quite a lot of pondering, or at least enough to nudge him over his 600-word target.
So what’s the ‘surprise Florian Wirtz move’ that we must pretend that Slot is ‘pondering’?
> So does this mean Wirtz could operate as a ‘false 9’ as Gakpo returns to the left side of the attack?
Short answer: No.
Long answer: That would probably be a bit mental in a massive Premier League game against possible title rivals Manchester City.
It ‘could be a tactical shock that knocks City out of their stride’, but it could also be a tactical shock that knocks Liverpool out of their stride.
And the most ridiculous thing about this pondering that has to be reframed as ‘Arne Slot ponders’ because clicks? They absolutely know it’s a right load of bollocks.
The very last line: ‘Ekitike remains the leading candidate to start up top in Manchester.’
You don’t say?
Just how huge is this Manchester United transfer hint?
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Manchester United are not in Europe, but curiously [**Jason Wilcox has started speaking**](https://www.football365.com/news/man-utd-five-fascinating-things-wilcox-sesko-amorim-lammens) just as the team have coincidentally put together an unbeaten run so…
> ‘Man United have just dropped huge transfer hint ahead of next major signing’
That’s the **Manchester Evening News**, seeing shapes in the shadows to fill the week between fixtures.
So what’s the ‘huge transfer hint’ about United’s next major signing? Well, Wilcox ‘unsurprisingly…did not say which position they are looking to strengthen next in the market. But it doesn’t take a genius to know that the central defensive midfield slot will be the next to be looked at’.
And because United bought wide forwards from the Premier League this summer (“we couldn’t take too much risk in this area”), the MEN have concluded that ‘the search for a new defensive midfielder looks like it will be focused on players who can slot in seamlessly – especially those who are currently in the Premier League’.
It’s a different area, guys. And two of the four first-team signings made in the summer were not from the Premier League. It’s _almost_ like it wasn’t a huge hint at all.
C-c-c-c-called a Manchester United u-turn
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In other Manchester United news, ‘Alejandro Garnacho U-turn speaks volumes as Ruben Amorim signing singled out’ (**Mirror**).
You already know it’s not a U-turn and you already know it doesn’t ‘speak volumes’ but nothing prepares you for the ‘Man Utd news’ (that’s also in the headline) that Chelsea have ‘been impressed by the attacker’s “attitude and intensity” in training’.
Who the f\*\*\* saw that coming just three months into his spell at a new club?
Manchester City numberwang
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We won’t dwell on this too long as possibly nobody but Pep Guardiola or Mediawatch gives a flying f\*\*\* but James Ducker of the **Daily Telegraph** builds a whole piece around Manchester City’s new bigger squad.
The headline: ‘Pep Guardiola may hate it but his ‘big squad’ can revive Man City’
The sub-headline: ‘Manager can rely on a larger squad than in previous seasons and he appears more comfortable with this position than in the past.’
The pesky facts: Manchester City played 30 players in the Premier League last season; 10 of those players have left either permanently or on loan; this season he has played 23 players after signing five first-team players this summer.
Technically, Manchester City’s ‘current 25-man squad is the largest of his nine-year reign’, but that does include four goalkeepers and a Kalvin Phillips.
Do Ron Ron Ron
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‘Erling Haaland creates Champions League history that Cristiano Ronaldo failed to achieve’ – **talkSPORT**.
‘Erling Haaland makes incredible Champions League history that not even Cristiano Ronaldo managed in Man City win’ – **The Sun**.
While it’s true that Ronaldo never scored in five consecutive Champions League games for three clubs, he DID manage to win the actual Champions League three times. Not sure he would swap…
Calling out around the world…
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‘Reece James calls out Chelsea team-mates after Qarabag draw – ‘Need to cut it out” – **Express**.
Number of times Reece James uses the word ‘we’ in 132 words: 12.
Sometimes, just sometimes, people are just talking normally about a game of football.