Earlier today, we held our subscriber-exclusive weekly Ask Ornstein feature.
This is an hour-long question-and-answer session in which The Athletic’s subscribers can ask me for my views on anything from the world of football. Questions this week included people wanting to know whether Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s proposed minority investment impacts Erik ten Hag, the future for Aaron Ramsdale at Arsenal and plenty on Everton’s takeover.
I have pulled together some of my favourite questions and my answers to them from the fourth edition of Ask Ornstein below.
I will be away next week but will return in two weeks’ time for another session.
_ Akshay asked: How safe is Erik ten Hag’s job (on a scale of 1 to 10) considering INEOS is looking to take control of the sporting side of things atMan Utd?_
DO: At the time of writing, Akshay, I would guess it’s around an eight. I don’t know of the current Man Utd hierarchy having anything other than faith in him and it is being suggested that INEOS are happy with the job he is doing.
The only reason it’s not a 10 is because football is a results business, the results have not been to the club’s level of expectation so far this season and you never know.
But right now I think he is in a position of strength for the present and future.
_ Kristian M asked: Any chance of Arsenal selling Ramsdale come the summer if he continues to play a limited amount of games?_
DO: Ramsdale will want to be a first-choice keeper at club — and international — level. If it looks like that won’t be happening at Arsenal come the summer, it is fair to assume he might seek pastures new.
It will also come down to the club, of course. He signed a new long-term in May and so if a sale is to be sanctioned, Arsenal will want to secure a tidy return on a player who they purchased for an initial £24million and who has excelled.
(Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
_ Shane M asked: Do you know roughly what sort of finances Arsenal have available for transfers in this new financial year/next summer? We spent big last summer and did the Raya deal with an option to help our FFP. As long as we secureChampions League qualification, should we still be able to reach the approximate £150m net spend from the last two summers?_
DO: It’s a great question, Shane, and unfortunately one I don’t have a specific answer to. From what I hear there isn’t much budget or desire to do significant business in January (important to add that this could hypothetically change depending on potential departures, availability of targets, injuries, form and so on) and naturally that would put Arsenal in a stronger position to invest again next summer.
I don’t think we can question KSE’s willingness to do so since taking full control of the club, it’s more a matter of what the FFP rules enable them to do. The David Raya deal going through as a loan with an option to buy illustrated that Arsenal are sailing close to the wind. My understanding is that, once they are in a more comfortable FFP position and able to spend properly again, the first outlay will likely need to be turning the Raya move into a permanent transfer.
Thereafter I’m sure they will have a plan as to how they wish to proceed. Most probably — as things stand — that will start with a striker. We’ve all seen the names linked. There is also the long-held desire to provide back-up/competition for Bukayo Saka, potentially depth at left centre-back, left-back cover if Tierney leaves, and so on.
I’m sure Arsenal — like most teams — will be scouring the market for top emerging talent and good value-for-money deals, which obviously will be easier to do than the big-money transactions.
** Parm B asked: Any updates on theNicolo Zaniolo situation at Aston Villa given betting investigations?**
DO: Nothing specific but I’m sure Zaniolo will have sat down with Unai Emery and others at the club by now and given his version of events. There are reports that he insists he did not bet on football, which is not the case in reports about Tonali.
Without firm information, I cannot confirm this in my reporting at present.
While the situation clearly isn’t good, it probably isn’t quite as concerning for Villa as Tonali is for Newcastle — because Zaniolo is only on loan from Galatasaray whereas his international team-mate was a permanent signing from AC Milan.
_ Zirui X asked: What are clubs’ and PGMOL’s stances on referees doing side gigs in Middle Eastern countries? Are there concerns that it creates conflicts of interests given many of these countries are de facto owners ofPremier League clubs?_
DO: I spoke to clubs who seemed as concerned as the rest of us, Zirui. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Premier League or PGMOL put a stop to those trips, whether formally or just from an advisory point of view.
It is important to note that Premier League officials do work in the European competitions, many of which involve significant travel and on the same days as the officials in questions went to and returned from the UAE, so their rest and return-to-work time was the same or similar.
But it raises questions (of a performance, financial, integrity and PR nature, for example) that the Premier League could do without and therefore I don’t expect to see it happen again any time soon.
(Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Parth S asked: What’s your hunch on the Manchester United sale? How long do you think it’d take for the Glazers to cast a vote and make a decision? If it goes through who are you hearing more about as the next director of football? There are some good candidates out there right now.
The Glazers appear to have made their decision, the direction of travel is finally pretty clear and — given they are United’s owners and control the board — any vote is more procedural than meaningful. We’re led to believe it will take a number of weeks to finalise the 25 per cent sale to INEOS and Mike Keegan is reporting that it might not be done in time to impact that January window. But it does seem an end is at last in sight.
In terms of CEO, director of football and many other positions we’re going to need to be patient. The Glazers and INEOS (if the deal is completed) will have to decide whether to keep, move on or redeploy the likes of Richard Arnold and John Murtough. The individuals in question will also have their own preferences, of course. I suspect they will want to stay on and continue the work they have started and believe in, but we don’t know for certain yet.
In terms of external directors of football, I’m hearing a lot of talk in the industry about Michael Edwards, while Paul Mitchell and other names have also come up in multiple media reports. It’s hard to know at present what is credible and what isn’t. The truth is likely that no firm decisions have been made.
You would imagine Sir Dave Brailsford will occupy an important position and also play a significant role in deciding how the rest of the set-up looks (the Financial Times published a piece with more details on this a short time ago).
David C asked: With the news that the investigation into Everton’s possible FFP breaches has begun, is the chance of a potential points deduction growing at Goodison?
DO: There’s no indication yet as to whether Everton will be punished or, if they are, to what extent. So the chances are not growing or receding. There are reports today suggesting the case will conclude by next Thursday and then a decision communicated at a later date.
Everton feel they have been working alongside the Premier League to fully comply with the rules, so this seems to have come as a surprise to them and they’ll be hopeful of clearing their name.
Some of their rivals are of the opposite view and want to see them punished for such heavy financial losses.
Elias K asked: I was wondering if there were any updates onJadon Sancho back to Dortmund as a loan in the winter transfer window or anything with Dortmund in general? Thanks!
DO: I think Dortmund will have been among the clubs United looked to as they considered offloading Sancho after the Ten Hag falling-out and before the transfer window closed. But evidently, nothing happened then and I have no knowledge of them wanting to sign him in January.
While you never know how things will develop, it’s not something I’ve personally heard is being pursued.
I’m sure there will be a lot more reporting on this in the weeks ahead.
Callum O asked: Hi David, feels like it’s becoming a weekly thing where I ask about the Everton takeover but more news seems to come out all the time. Have you heard anything about the reports yesterday claiming the takeover deal could fall through?
DO: Keep asking, Callum! I don’t have info to that effect at this stage. There are well-documented concerns about the proposed deal but it will come down to the Premier League, FA and Financial Services Authority conducting their checks and due diligence, rather than reporting from us in the media (as important as that is).
We know 777 and Everton are confident the takeover will go through but, again, it’s not their decision. I believe 777 have now loaned Everton roughly £60m, which would be converted into equity if approval is granted.
They are already working closely with Everton on day-to-day operations in anticipation of becoming the new owners, but only time will tell.
(Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Shaka M asked: Were the reports of Saka’s probable Achilles’ heel injury true?
DO: Saka, like most players, is always carrying knocks and that is the result of some pretty rough treatment. Yet he almost always gets himself available for matchdays and excels.
I don’t know of him carrying a major issue and fingers crossed — for him, club and country — that is the case. He seems to be a brilliant player, professional and person.
Finnegan H asked: Is there any news regarding a potential new contract forKaoru Mitoma?
DO: I don’t have an update. Clearly, it’s on Brighton’s agenda but I was told the initial reports were premature.
Calvin L asked: WithBournemouth having a tricky start to the season, has there been any murmurings about Iraola’s position as head coach?
DO: I have heard a few murmurings in the industry Calvin, but nothing more than that at this stage.
Bill Foley has spent a fair bit of money and will expect them to be higher than 19th for that investment. It’s still early days, though, and I don’t like this hire-and-fire mentality. Time is required, especially when a coach is in a new league and country, with a different language, etc.
I really like what I see, read and hear about Iraola — but of course, he needs results (and fast) if he is to avoid this kind of scrutiny from us and, more importantly, his bosses.
And finally, Ryan W asked: Do you believeHarry Maguire’s comments about fans booing not being true fans will highlight the issue further or will now snowball into a bigger issue?
DO: I don’t think it should snowball. Don’t boo your own players, is my personal opinion. Be nice!
(Photo: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
