Ferran Torres' World Cup Victory Tour

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0:33Hello and welcome into the latest edition of ESPN FC. Kay Murray, Alejandro Moreno and Stevie Nicholl sporting quite the tie this evening. It's a Bobby Dazzler. It is a Bobby Dazzler. Tell us more, Stevie. We cannot go on the show without addressing this. My granddaughter, Nora, and her friend, Emily, roped me in to let me bedazzle one of my ties. It's bedazzle, all right. It's beautiful. and so this is the outcome which quite honestly ain't bad move around a little bit Stevie so I can catch the lights I mean look at that I don't want to blind you undo your button undo your button so we see the film I don't want to blind you look at that look at that I think that's brilliant work from the girls it's actually no bad isn't it?

1:15it's absolutely gorgeous yeah alright there we go we've addressed the tie well done Nora well done Nora and Emily was it? Emily and Emily as well well done ladies thank you thank you so much Let's talk about Barcelona, shall we? And the transfer window right now, because these are the news and notes. According to reports, Ferran Torres agreeing to personal terms with PSG. Rodri's situation has Man City and Barca negotiating a transfer fee. As for Juli and Alvarez, Atleti are digging in their heels and planning to retain the forward despite the Barcelona interest. And Ronald Araujo set to join Liverpool on loan.

1:51We're going to get to all of this, but we must start with Ferran Torres with this news coming in about a move to PSG. He wants to go. The club are not stopping him. But that brings up a lot to talk about with Barcelona right now because Robert Lewandowski going on, Ferran Torres moving on. Will this be a problem for them? Do they need a replacement in that position? Well, the first thing I'll say is, in regards to Ferran Torres, that whole calculation that you just did there, in which by default, he seems to have become the starting number nine for this team, given the fact that Lewandowski has gone.

2:26And you look around and you go, well, if it's not Lewandowski, I don't think we have anybody else. So I guess we'll play Ferran Torres. Apparently, Ferran Torres did not do that calculation himself. Apparently, he did not bring that into the equation when he was thinking about what his next move was gonna be. And when he was doing this tour of the United States, as he seemed to have been doing for the last week or so, which, can I just address that for a second as well? You know when people win the Super Bowl, you won the Super Bowl, where are you going next? And they say, well, I'm going to Disney World.

3:00Corporate branding, by the way. They do that the next day. Ferran Torres seemed to have delayed this and then 10 days later, 2 weeks later now he's doing the tour of America in which he's here, there and everywhere and it's surprising because let me just say, while Ferran Torres did score the game winning goal in the World Cup Final and that's a tremendous achievement he's not this kind of player that should be moving the needle in such a manner honestly frankly, if you are a random player at the Baltimore Ravens training camp. They go, this is Ferran Torres. Who's Ferran Torres? He's a superstar.

3:40He's a superstar right now in the USA. But that's the thing. He believes that after scoring that goal he has become a superstar to where now he, I think he has overvalued what he is and who he is as a player. He would have gotten an opportunity to play regularly at Barcelona, which I don't think he's going to get at PSG. He may get minutes at PSG, but I think he would have played more important minutes, more consistently at Barcelona and now he's made the choice to go elsewhere. I don't understand. He's definitely got talent. This guy has got a talent for picking teams to play for that he's not going to play for.

4:18He didn't play for Man City, he didn't play for Barcelona and guess what? He's not playing for PSG. Why does he think Bradley Bacala wants to leave PSG? Because he wants to play. But Ferran Torres thinks he can go there. He's not playing. So I don't get it. I don't know who's advising him and I don't know what he's thinking about. But it makes absolutely no sense from a playing perspective. And surprisingly I would also say when we talked to Ferran Torres after El Clásico on the field and the conversation was with him and Marcus Rashford and Gemma was pushing Marcus Rashford on the conversation as to whether Marcus Rashford was going to stay of Barcelona, Ferran Torres was having that conversation with Marcus Rashford as well.

5:00Sort of joking and kind of baiting Marcus Rashford into saying that he was going to stay, and he was having fun with it. At no point in that conversation did I ever get the sense that Ferran Torres was thinking about leaving himself. Nor did I think he had the sense or the thought of leaving when he was missing chances against Cape Verde. But all of this has changed after he scored the game-winning goal in the World Cup, and here we are. Okay, so Anthony Gordon is coming, Kareem Adeyemi is coming. Is Is that enough if Ferran Torres is to go to PSG in terms of the attack? Well, no, it isn't. No, it isn't.

5:32Because I don't think Anthony Gordon is better than Marcus Rashford, to be honest with you. But, okay, neither here nor there. This is where we are. As good a player as he may be, you can play him down the middle, but it's really not what he does best. Karina Delemi gives you a change of pace. You can play him down the middle, but it's not what he does best. And I think you can say that about just every player that is at Barcelona right now on the front line with any sort of experience. You can say, you can play him down the middle, but it's really not his thing. So it begs the question, and we obviously have to come to the conclusion, that Barcelona thinks that they're going to get Julian Alvarez.

6:07Because otherwise, you just don't let people walk out the door without having certainty that you know there's a player that can take the place, in this case, of Ferran Torres or Robert Lewandowski or whoever it may be. Stevie? Listen, unless they get lucky Not the way PSG did But PSG On the face of it Don't really have anybody Who actually You would say their position Is straight down the middle They had Ramos But he never even got a game But unless Unless Barcelona Are going to turn into The front three of PSG ADM is not doing it Gordon's not doing it As we said So It doesn't make any sense to me Someone else on their way out as you saw on that list was Ronald Araujo, who is on the way to Liverpool on what's going to be a season-long loan.

6:55There's an option to buy at the end of that as well. There's a verbal agreement that would be cover at centre-back and right-back as well, Stevie. Are you excited about this? Oh, he's covering it right-back as well. Ooh! I don't think... I never thought of that. What's that, Inks? Why is it every time I'm going to be negative about Liverpool? Oh, I don't know. Ali's sat next, didn't he? Why change the habit of a lifetime? Why are you making this about me? Seriously. I mean, look, this is not Ronald Orojo of what, three years ago? Ronald Orojo, right now, at Barcelona, is behind Gerard Martin, Kuba C, and Eric Garcia, if he's fit.

7:37I love that we got Gerard Martin, but it's Ronald Orojo. I'm rolling my arse. Orojo. he's fourth if everybody's fit at Barcelona he's fourth he's either not fit he's got some mental health issues apparently he's got some form issues when he does play but other than that great signing I mean I think at the end of the day this shows you the desperate position Liverpool find themselves in I mean they are defensively though aren't they because of the injuries but the fact that they're taking Ronald Araujo Is that okay for you? Araujo. Araujo. The fact that they're actually taking them on tells you how desperate they are.

8:22Now, Ronald Araujo at his best is good. But he's not been at his best for a long, long time. And right now, he can't get a game for anybody. I think he came on for a minute in the World Cup for Uruguay. So, yeah, I mean, forgive me if I'm not overly positive. On? On Ronald Araujo. Ali, talk to me about, not Stevie's pronunciation, talk to me about this move here. Araujo, play for it.

8:54At one point, Ronald Araujo felt like he was going to be the mainstay of the centre-back position and the back line of Barcelona. And to Stevie's point, instead of taking that step up and that trajectory in a positive way, what we have seen from Ronald Araujo is that there's been a deep, deep, deep, steep dive the other way to where players that were considered much less than him in terms of talent level and that position are playing ahead of him at Barcelona and would have continued playing ahead of him. The case of Gerard Martin or the case of Eric Garcia, Pau Cuarci. Aranjo was supposed to be the captain and the leader of Barcelona and he literally disappeared.

9:41There was a period of time in which he literally disappeared, was no longer in Barcelona because he had to take some time away from the game. We assume that he has recovered mentally and physically. But can he recover the level of play that he had to, Steve's point, three seasons ago? That is a big question. And so Barcelona allow him to walk away and put him out on loan because they just don't think they have a use for him. and for them it's like yeah well go ahead you pay his salary because for us right now it doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense we have other players that we think are superior to him that's a referendum on Ronald Arojo and it kind of tells you how comfortable Barcelona were with letting him walk out the door that's a message to Liverpool as well and both of these guys will be answering your questions on the latest edition of Extra Time be sure to stay up to date with it every single day over on our YouTube channel As you know, managing maintenance, repair, and operations is never easy.

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11:42PSG took on Manchester United in friendly action in Sweden. We've got to see some early goals in this game. First of them coming from Ibrahim Mbaye for PSG in the second minute. However, Brian Mbwemo would level things out in the 30-second and the game would finish 1-1. And Rob Dawson is one of those people who will have had a close eye on this and a close eye on Manchester United with the season that is coming up. All talk that I'm seeing across all the papers that I'm reading and from all of these games that we are seeing in the pre-season, Rob, is that there are positive signs right now for Manchester United and a feeling of cautious optimism.

12:18Yeah, but we seem to say that every summer, don't we? When there's pre-season games, everyone can find positives. I think the results have been OK. We're only just starting to see the guys who were at the World Cup come back into the squad and so it's a little bit of a mishmash of of players it's not the team that Michael Carrick is going to start with on the first day of the season but there has been some positive signs Brian Abuemo scored again today he scored against Atletico Madrid as well so that's one positive they've had players like Harry Maguire has come through a couple of games and has looked okay I think you're only really going to see that the real signs are when when the Premier League season kicks off when they have that first game against Hull City because it's all well and good being positive now when we're starting pre-season but it's when the real stuff starts that the fans want to see some real progress okay let's talk a little bit about areas that need addressing then as we look at the possible Manchester United starting 11 for the season ahead is the defence an area that needs to be looked at well I think you could you could argue that that they need players in every position they've got issues at centre-half with players like Mateus De Ligt who we haven't seen since November if he's fit he probably plays but he's just not fit at the moment you've got Lenny Yoro in there who's still a very young player you've got issues at left back Luke Shaw played every game last season but with United being in the Champions League now next season they're going to need more players more depth to that squad because you can't with Luke Shaw's injury record recently you can't assume that he's going to play three games a week so perhaps you need another left back you also probably need more depth in midfield I think lots of Man United fans were expecting a marquee midfield signing to replace Casemiro and while they've signed Andre Santos and Juri Tielemans two good signings on paper they haven't had that marquee signing and then you're looking at the forward line you could argue that they need more strength in depth in that front three particularly at centre forward where at the moment if Benjamin Sesco is fit your number two is Joshua Zerksi who just hasn't performed very well in the Premier League so there are issues everywhere really we've still got a couple of weeks left of the transfer window and United will hope to address some of that but there does appear to be a lot of work to be done to that squad.

14:29Yeah, Rob just mentioned it there. It's going to be a heavier schedule with Champions League football to factor in as well, Stevie. Yeah, and right now, Manchester United players will not be thinking about that. That's something that's going to hit them when they start getting into the season because they're used to just playing one game a week last season and you kind of forget how difficult it is when the games start piling up when you're not involved in it. And so they're expecting to be as sharp. I mean, particularly going forward, I agree with Rob, I think their biggest problem is defensively.

15:01They lost way too many goals last year and it doesn't look like they're going to make any signings, which means Michael Carrick's going to have to get them on the training field. But in terms of going forward, they were able to recover and then be sharp for the next game last season. And so going forward, Cunha and Mbwemo, Fernandes, even Sesko at the end of the season, they all looked really sharp from when Carrick took over right the way through the end. They're going to find that difficult when they start playing FA Cup, League Cup, European Cup. So this is the big problem I think they're going to have.

15:42One, defensively, they need to make signings, which I don't think they will. And going forward, are they going to have the sharpness in their legs that they showed us towards the end of the season under Carrick? I don't think that will be there every time they step on the field. Before I come to LA on this play, I want to get the lowdown from you first, Rob. Marcus Rashford set to be reintegrated into the squad under Michael Carrick. How is this going to work? well that's the golden question Cade to be honest there are awkward elements to this I think United at one stage last season assumed that Barcelona were going to trigger his option to make that move permanent obviously that has not happened in the absence of any other offers and there hasn't really been anything concrete put United's way Marcus Rashford has to return to the United squad to prepare for the new season he's going to do that in Dublin at their training camp this week they've got a game against Leeds in Dublin on Wednesday he could possibly play, if he does play in that game it would be his first appearance in a United shirt since a Europa League tie against Victoria Pilsen in December 2024 obviously signed for Aston Villa on loan quite shortly after that in January 2025 in the subsequent 18-20 months United have given his squad number away, his number 10 shirt has gone to Matthias Cunha, there's also issues with the fans, how they are going to receive this news, there was lots of fans, quite a large element of the fan base who thought at the time that it was the right time to move on from Marcus Rashford they weren't particularly happy with some of his his attitude issues off the pitch Ruben Amrim certainly wasn't happy with with his attitude away from off the pitch there are some United fans who think that he deserves a second chance that he played quite well at Barcelona he's done all right for England at the World Cup and United can't turn down the opportunity to have good players back in that squad so it's going to be very very interesting if Marcus Rashford does come back to United permanently and he is part of Michael Carrick's squad for this new season, what kind of reception he's going to get for the fans because I think at best right now it's going to be mixed.

17:37But with Michael Carrick, let's talk about the difference there because obviously this isn't Ruben Amarim that's dealing with the player now. Yeah, I mean that is one of the big bonuses for Man United because if Ruben Amarim was still in charge of Man United, you couldn't really see a path back for him. Well, Amarim left in January, he's been replaced by Michael Carrick. Usually new managers come in and give every player in the squad a clean slate it's a little bit different with Michael Carrick because he'll know Marcus Rashford well they were teammates together under um under Louis Van Gaal Michael Carrick was a coach also under Jose Mourinho and Alder Gunnar Solskjaer who both were in charge of Marcus Rashford so if there's anyone that can get the best out of Marcus Rashford and build bridges with him you assume it's Michael Carrick so his path back into the first team is smoothed a little bit by that I think the the big issue that that Marcus has got is going to be with the fans.

18:27That obviously will go away very, very quickly if Marcus Rashford comes in and he starts scoring goals because fans forgive anything if a player is playing well. But really the onus is on Marcus Rashford to get back in at Man United, to train well, if he's picked, to play well and win the fans over because ultimately I don't think that he thought that he was going to be here. A year ago when he signed for Barcelona on loan, the statement that he put out at the time was all about how he was closing the chapter at Man United. it had been great to play for his boyhood club and come through the academy, but that was kind of in the rearview mirror.

18:57Well, 12 months on, I don't imagine for a second he thought that he was going to be back at Man United training and playing and possibly trying to restart his career there. But he's back as La Liga title winner with Barcelona, and it was a title win that he played his part in too, LA. He did, and according to the reports and what we have heard from Hansi Flick, he was a model citizen. He was a guy that was appreciated by his teammates and by Barcelona fans, And there was a freedom to Marcus Rashford when he was playing at Barcelona. There was a smile on Marcus Rashford. He was enjoying himself.

19:29Which then begs the question, why are you going back? Why are you going back into what was obviously a place that could have been great and it certainly wasn't. And by the end you were being pushed out the door. And so now he is back. And yes, Rob just mentioned, yeah, it is awkward. But I suppose that if you're looking for reasons as to why this is going to work, is because there is a maturity now to Marcus Rasher that I think perhaps wasn't there a few years ago because this profession will force you to mature if you don't allow it or if you allow it to happen. It'll force you to mature. And certainly when you have gone through the experience that he has gone through, you have to imagine that he has grown up.

20:08Also, the fact that Michael Carrick is present there, not just because he was his teammate, but because he was also his assistant coach. And see, you develop relationships with assistant coaches and the assistant coaches, they're hearing both things. They're hearing the players, but they're also hearing what's going on inside closed doors when the managers are meeting and when the coaches are meeting. And so he knows what the shortcomings of Marcus Rashford were in the eyes of a manager. He has been on that side, but he has also been on the side in which he has been his teammate. If he's able to put all of that together, and it's a complex package to put together, I do believe that there is something here for Marcus Rashford to take advantage of, and for Manchester United to take advantage of Marcus Rashford and understand that this guy still has something to give, still has productivity in him.

20:54If you don't believe me, just watch what he did at Barcelona. Coming off the bench, the guy was a difference maker. He can be the same thing for Manchester United. So let's talk about the expectations that will be placed on United for the season ahead, Rob. What's the bare minimum that's expected of them? The bare minimum will be to qualify for the Champions League again. It was a big thing for them to get back into the competition this season, finishing third under Michael Carrick. The bare minimum for them will be to repeat that and finish in the top four or top five, if that's what it takes to get in the Champions League.

21:25I think the fans will want runs in the domestic cup competitions. You just flashed up a graphic there. They were knocked out very, very early in both the FA Cup and also the Carabao Cup last season. They only played one game in both competitions and United fans will expect this team to go deep in at least one of those competitions. I think the club would want them to qualify in the Champions League, maybe not finish in that top eight, but at least get through to a playoff, play a knockout round, maybe even get to the last 16 in the quarterfinals. I don't see that this Man United squad, as it sits right now before the transfer deadline, can get any further than that.

22:00I don't see that they're anywhere near challenging for the Premier League title right now. If you look at the genuine contenders like Arsenal and Man City, their streets ahead in terms of the strength of their first 11s and also the strength of their squad. So I think if United can finish in the top four, qualify for the Champions League again, have a run in the domestic cup competitions, Michael Carrick will be very, very keen to do well in those competitions, maybe even win one. It always does wonders for a Man United manager to collect a piece of silverware and then maybe get to the next summer transfer window and start building again to get towards the likes of Man City and Arsenal because right now I just don't see that they're genuine contenders for this Premier League title.

22:40Is that realistic, what Rob's laid out there, Stevie? I think Rob's pretty much spot on, yeah. They don't have enough to challenge. We've sat here and talked about what they're going to have on their legs going forward and what they're going to be doing defensively. So, yeah, Champions League is a must and if Manchester United can be smart enough to look at the long term, then don't get carried away if things don't start great for Man United under Carrick. If they do that and stick with them then I must admit I think they will be in the top four. Let's stick with the Premier League and talk about that title race.

23:19Arsenal have added Bruno Gimarec to their squad from Newcastle. There he is with Mikel Arteta. He actually said, I will give you my best, I promise. I'm your warrior. I never give up. The Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta did say that Bruno will allow Arsenal to develop their playing style. As we take a look at the title odds, it was something you were talking about yesterday, Stevie, that it's just those small changes. It's not a club making these wholesale changes that is going to make the difference for a team like Arsenal. Yeah, exactly. You know, when you're at the top, it is absolutely the best time to strengthen and that means that you bring in something that's better than you already have.

23:59And there's no question, in my opinion. and Guamiraz is better than what they have and makes them stronger in the middle of the pack and makes them better. So, yeah, they're going about it the right way. They've shown in the last few seasons they're not scared to spend money. And 75 million, when you think of what has been floated around and the money that teams are spending on certain players, 75 million for a guy who everybody knows is going to walk in to the Arsenal side in the Premier League and perform. There's not even a question, There's not even a doubt, really, in everybody's mind, that this guy is not going to be the very same player that he was at Newcastle.

24:37All these other teams can't say that about their signings. And wait until Arsenal plays Liverpool and it's Bruno Guimaraes going against Ronald Araujo and this guy has to break it down. Their pronunciation right now, all over the shop. Is this a good fit for you, Ali? Is this a good fit for you? Absolutely, it's a great fit. It's not a good fit. It's a great fit. It's a great fit. And if you are any of the other teams that are, quote-unquote, contenders, which I don't think they really are. It's Arsene, and then it's everybody else. But all the other teams are going, oh, no. Oh, no, because you're seeing a team that was already dominant, that was already good enough to win the league.

25:12You're seeing them getting stronger in key areas. And when you're taking one of the best players in this league, even if it was a Newcastle, one of the best players in this league, and you're saying, yep, we want you right here, and you're going to do this job for us. and do the things that you were doing at Newcastle, now you're going to do that for us, it makes them, to Stevie's point, it makes them stronger. It makes them scarier. It makes this team tougher as well, because there is something about Bruno Guimaraes and his presence on the field that there's a toughness to the way that he plays and a personality with which he plays.

25:51If I were to draw up ideal signings for Arsenal, this would have been one of them. This is a really, really good time for Arsenal. The word that you reminded me all day was nasty. If there was one thing, as hard and as tough as Arsenal are, they didn't really have anybody that was nasty in the middle of the park. They do now. Yeah, and he's even said, I'll be your warrior. So we'll see. Has it put them head and shoulders above the rest, Rob, in the title race? I think it certainly elevates their starting 11. What you've seen recently is big Premier League teams putting a premium on players with Premier League experience.

26:27United have signed Cunha and Buemo last summer. City have signed Elliot Anderson this summer. Well, Arsenal have gone and done exactly the same thing and plucked one of the best Premier League midfielders of the last couple of years and put him straight into their midfield next to Declan Rice, who is another one of the Premier League's best midfield players. And it strengthens a key area of their squad, a key area of the pitch. I had them favourites to win the Premier League title anyway. I think this edges them a little bit closer. For the money that they've spent as well, it feels like a good deal in comparison to some of the other deals that we've seen in the Premier League this summer.

27:01I think it's a great move for Bruno, for Arsenal, for a great price. I think they've done fantastically well, and they certainly will be favourites in a lot more people's eyes after that signing if they weren't already before. And it creates competition. It strengthens the competition for playing time in those positions. So you have a dip in play, Bruno Guimaraes, Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice, and you're thinking, okay, we have to play at a certain level because here's Eberiche Eze, or here's this guy, or that guy, or that guy, or that. What they have, as compared to everybody else, that could contend for this title is the strength in depth.

27:39And this has only added to that, to the depth of this team, not only the starting 11, but what's coming after them. They are an impressive team. Yeah. We thank Rob Dawson so much for being with us. We'll be hearing more from Rob soon, no doubt talking a lot more Manchester United. And make sure to be with us on ESPN for Arsenal against Man City for the Community Shield Sunday, August 16th, 10 a.m. Eastern. We've got you covered across the network.