Solskjaer previews Man Utd's clash with Villarreal
On Tuesday night, Marco Verratti was so good for PSG that Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola admitted he was ‘in love’ with the Italy international. And, over at Manchester United, they may be left ruing a mistake. They were reportedly previously offered the midfielder back in 2018, when Jose Mourinho was in charge, only to end up passing on the chance to snap him up instead.
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“When he’s under pressure he can play the extra pass. I know about his character, his personality.
“I’m happy that he’s back from injury. You can always count on him for build-up play. In the first half, we were a bit soft with him.”
Now, over at United, they’re having a midfield crisis.
Fred and Scott McTominay have been backed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but their pairing, amongst the fans at least, isn’t a popular one.
They lack a conductor, somebody to make matches tick over in the sort of way the likes of Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes used to do during their prime.
Man Utd were handed the chance to sign Marco Verratti by Mino Raiola (Image: GETTY)
But United, in the end, didn’t do that.
And that’s been their loss, with Verratti going from strength to strength in the years since.
He helped PSG win Ligue 1 in 2020, while also helping Italy beat England to triumph at the European Championships back in the summer.
And, as United look set to place their faith in McTominay and Fred, it’s a transfer mistake that should haunt them.
Verratti has, publicly, never addressed his possible failed move to United.
But he did vent his fury after PSG were beaten by the Red Devils in dramatic circumstances back in March 2019.
Man Utd now rely on Scott McTominay and Fred after swerving Marco Verratti transfer (Image: GETTY)
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“Maybe I’m more frustrated than others, but football is like that,” Verratti told Telefoot after Marcus Rashford’s winner saw their hopes of Champions League glory come to an end.
“We can’t have everything.
“The fans are disappointed by the elimination. I’m confident in this team.
“This match, if we played it 10 times, we would win nine. We must not change much.
“We have a great coach and some of the best players in the world with Neymar and Kylian.”