In his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, former Aston Villa and Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore discusses some of football’s biggest talking points, including Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich future, a potential return to the Premier League for Thomas Tuchel, the Carabao Cup final, and more.
Harry Kane needs to address rumours over Bayern Munich future
Football agents now and again will brief the press about their clients and therefore, I was disappointed to see that Harry Kane was linked with a move back to the Premier League this week amid the ongoing struggles of Bayern Munich.
Harry may be happy at Bayern, but I would be saddened if the Englishman returned to his home country. Why? The whole point of joining a club is because you have a genuine belief that you can help them achieve things and although it looks like that is not going to happen for him this year, all I can say is stay where you are. Kane is at a big club and if you don’t win the league this year, there is a very good chance you will get your hands on it next season.
It would be refreshing for Harry to address these rumours and make light of the stories as he more than likely knows that people are saying he is a jinx and they are making their jokes. All he needs to do is say he is staying and in it for the long haul and if he does that, the trophies will come.
Players have so much power these days and if they don’t like where they are after a few months, they can engineer a move. Jordan Henderson did exactly that with Al-Ettifaq and managed to secure himself a transfer to one of the biggest clubs in Europe in the form of Ajax.
So for Harry, I just want him to come out and say he is staying at Bayern Munich and that he is determined to repay the faith they have shown in him by helping the Bundesliga giants win major trophies next season and beyond.
Thomas Tuchel will have his eyes on huge Premier League job
Sticking with Bayern Munich, the German giants announced this week that they will part ways with Thomas Tuchel at the end of the season and I for one can see the German coach returning to England.
The 50-year-old liked his experience at Chelsea so it’s no surprise that he reportedly wants to return to the Premier League. The German coach was often praised during his time at Stamford Bridge and that is a total contrast to what is happening in Germany. He loved the attention and even got a buzz off of it. Ever since then, he has talked about the Premier League positively and it is clear that he would love to return someday.
People may be asking ‘where can he go?’ and there is no doubt in my mind, that he will be targeting the manager’s role at Manchester United.
Listening to Sir Jim Ratcliffe recently talking big about the future of Man United, I think there is a 50/50 chance that Erik ten Hag may not be the long-term solution for the Manchester club. If you are looking around and thinking ‘who could replace him’, Roberto De Zerbi would not be hard to get but with Tuchel being available, that could be the path they go down if the Premier League giants decide to move on from their current coach soon – which depends on their end to this campaign.
Man City is not going to be available anytime soon and neither is Arsenal, Liverpool will be, an emotional return to Chelsea may be on the cards in the future if Pochettino is let go but the one that is the most viable for Tuchel is United.
Nevertheless, if any of these big jobs in England become available, Tuchel will certainly be a frontrunner.
Arsenal need more substance over style to win big trophies
Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat to Porto in the Champions League on Wednesday will prompt questions once again about the Gunners. The usual ‘Are they ready yet to win the biggest trophies?’. The North London club are ready to win big trophies but I do think there is a naivety around Mikel Arteta and some of his players.
They are going in the right direction but I have said for years that in August, September and October, when everything is still fresh and new, Arsenal are the most talked about team in the league because of the football they play and the entertainment they bring. However, it is the run-in that always seems to catch them out when it comes to achieving things.
I can’t get excited about a team that bottled the run-in last season, let’s just say how it is. They were put under pressure by Man City and they never responded. Little things like Wednesday night show that the process Mikel Arteta has is as much about the style than the substance, and it is not just me who says that.
If you look at the great trophy-winning teams from the past, there will be periods in their season where they are under pressure and not playing well, but they still seem to churn out results. I don’t think Arsenal can do that right now but I am not going to say that are not able to win the big trophies either, although I don’t think they will this season.
Is Phil Foden England’s best shot at winning a Ballon d’Or?
“Foden is a very good player, for me he is the closest England will get to winning a Ballon d’Or in the future,” Brentford manager Thomas Frank said ahead of facing Manchester City on Tuesday night.
For me, it is really simple, I have every respect for Phil Foden but I think the Ballon d’Or winner is usually someone with a mixture of ability and personality. I’m not saying that Phil doesn’t have personality but when Jude Bellingham does something spectacular at Real Madrid, it reverberates around the planet. Foden does miraculous things with a football but it doesn’t seem to have the same impact outside of England.
The Ballon d’Or for me is tainted because it is as much about global clout as it is about football achievements and ability. Therefore, Phil Foden will always be in the conversation, but in the same way Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard were.
If Jude Bellingham was to win the Champions League with Real Madrid and the Euros with England this year, starring and producing big moments for both, along with his iconic celebration being shared around on social media; then I think he has a much better chance of lifting that golden ball. The midfielder is just more marketable and unfortunately, that plays a big role in winning the biggest individual prize on the planet. Either way, I am delighted that they both happen to be English.
Pressure is on Chelsea to win Carabao Cup final
Heading into the Carabao Cup final on Sunday at Wembley, I think the pressure is all on Chelsea because of how the season has gone so far. It is very unlikely that they will qualify for the Champions League this season but they may sneak into one of the other European competitions with the number of games left to play. Therefore, this could be the biggest moment of their season.
Liverpool have won this trophy numerous times and they have bigger fish to fry in terms of the league and winning that trophy for Jurgen Klopp before he departs at the end of the season, so it is not the end of the world if they end up on the losing side on Sunday.
The Reds are certainly the favourites and although they got players out, they still have a very good squad and they know what it is like to win things. Chelsea’s young group of players don’t know that yet so that will make things interesting. If Chelsea win it and play as well as they can; if that is not the biggest wake-up call to the rest of the Premier League that the Blues are on the right track, then nothing will be.
It is also important for those young players to convince themselves that they can win something. For Chelsea to get back to being a trophy-winning machine, I think for them to lose to Liverpool on Sunday and potentially not win anything for a couple of years, would be very damaging to the mindset of the Blues’ young players.
Therefore, I have a feeling Mauricio Pochettino’s men will be massively up for this Carabao Cup final but I think Liverpool will be very relaxed beforehand and will ultimately go on to lift the first trophy of the season at Wembley.