Does Carlos Baleba complete Man United’s transfer business?

0:00Carl Anka: Women's tennis has always stood for high performance. World-class athletes. Nothing given. Everything earned. Now, the WTA and Accenture are partnering to raise the bar even higher. By putting athletes first. By applying technology and AI to turn data into real advantage. For players, fans, and partners.

0:19David Ornstein: This is not just about what's next. It's about what's possible. Together, Accenture and the WTA are reinventing the future of women's tennis. Accenture, the official business and technology consulting partner of the WTA. Learn more at Accenture.com slash WTA.

0:56David Ornstein: education and human help all in one place. Learn more at Schwab.com. Investing involves risk, including loss of principle. Flowing ad budget on metrics that look great till the CFO sees them. That's bull spend and marketers are calling it out in dashboard confessions. I remember telling my boss, it'll be good for the brand when leads were slow. Yeah, it, it wasn't. Cut the bull spend. LinkedIn lets you target by company, job title, and more. Advertise on LinkedIn. Spend$250 on your first campaign and get a$250 credit. Go to linkedin.com slash campaign. Terms and conditions apply.

1:57David Ornstein: Yes, we are live. This is Talk The Devils, our very first live stream that we've ever done here on YouTube. So welcome along everyone who has joined us already. Get your friends, get the messages out, tell everyone we're here. We're going to be here for the next hour or so, answering your questions, talking about Manchester United, closing in on Carlos Beléba. We'll preview the whole game as well. We want you to get involved as always. Get involved in the comments. Closing in on Carlos Beléba. We've got Carl here, we've got Laurie here, and we've got Andy as well. How are we doing, gents? This is fun, isn't it?

2:30David Ornstein: Very good fun. I mean, someone could tell Andy, he looks a little bit distressed, like, you know, what am I doing here? But, you know, you can smile, Andy, you know.

2:38Carl Anka: When you said a live stream, I thought it'd be like a small river running by. I didn't realise what you fully meant. Away we go.

2:45David Ornstein: Wouldn't mind going fishing with Andy. I think that'd be quite nice. Yeah, maybe that's a live stream idea for the future, that we could sit and talk Manchester United while Andy tries to catch perch in a canal somewhere. Anyway, we're here. Like I say, we want you to be involved. We're going to be doing some live streams, hopefully, throughout the season. We've got another one planned already for the Champions League draw because Manchester United are back in the Champions League. That's something to look forward to. So we'll bring you more details on that. Maybe we'll be able to do some after games here and there and also when there's breaking news too.

3:15David Ornstein: But this is the first one. Let's see how this one goes first. We're having a look now at the comments that are already coming in. There's tons of them. But first, I want to talk about Carlos Belayba. David Ornstein reported this on The Athletic on Wednesday, that United are closing in on a deal for the Brighton midfielder. The offer at the moment stands at around£60 million plus£5 million in add-ons. He said that amicable talks continue to find a final agreement. I mean, Laurie, some people were reporting about this in April, weren't they? I don't know where this exclusive stuff's come from. Can I have this as a victory lap or has so much time passed without me mentioning it?

3:50David Ornstein: Are you not going to claim it anyway? I don't know. I'm absolutely going to claim it because, you know, these things are hard to come by. And at the time in April, the framing of it that I put there was highly plausible. That was kind of me thinking that it was going to happen. Now, I'm not saying that it's been a linear process to this point. I think there has been some debate about whether they actually would go through with it. But there was certainly all the way back in April, big moves being made to see if Carlos Belieber could join United and a bit of work being done, shall we say. So, yeah, it's been a long time in the making, if you think back even to last summer when they were inquiring through intermediaries about how much it might cost and Brighton were putting out the kind of noise that it would be 100 million plus.

4:34David Ornstein: It's obviously not going to be anywhere near that at the moment because of the season that he's had and because of the way that the transfer window's gone and we can debate why United are doing it now, certainly as we go on in this podcast. But I suppose one theory would be that actually then it kind of puts a bit more pressure on Brighton to sell him because he clearly wants to leave, wants to join Manchester United. And when United then come to the table, the deal is going to be more suitable to them. And as David reported, I'm a couple of talks. I think Brighton have been aware of this being a possibility for some time and are now open to the prospect, whereas last summer they were very much against it.

5:12David Ornstein: Andy, why are Manchester United doing this now? That's Laurie's question. Can you answer it?

5:17Carl Anka: because a year ago my understanding is that brighton wanted more than what they'd sold casado for and even at the start of this window was around 80 million and i think manchester united have tried to play smart and get better value for money they've done this before i always remember jayden sancho dortman wanted 110 million and there's quite a satisfactory feeling when he only cost£75 million, so it doesn't always work out as you would hope. I think, as Laurie said, a less than spectacular season for Carlos Baleba, when he probably faced a lot of scrutiny for the first time in his life. But if Manchester United believe he's a strong player and that he ticks all the boxes, which they do, to help the midfield, then it will be the third midfielder of this transfer window.

6:09Carl Anka: And I think the news has been greeted positively by Manchester United fans. Let's just see how it works out.

6:15David Ornstein: What United getting, Carl? They're getting probably the best defensive midfield who doesn't play for a top six club, a player who should be your tough tackling enforcer. And I think they're really pleasing. I did, I did. I wanted a bodyguard. I wanted an enforcer. I wanted someone who could be Manu's older brother and best mate. And it works. Tielemans next to Belaba works really well. That will offer you something that Tiedemanns has had with Ndidi, with Onana, with Kamara in the past. I think Maynou and Balaba works really well as a partnership. I also think Santos and Balaba can work quite well, replicating a little bit of what Santos gave Caicedo during parts of last season too.

6:58So you've got a very athletic, aggressive ball-winning defensive midfielder,

7:06David Ornstein: a player who has a passing repertoire that is deceptively good and can be refined and hopefully will be refined working under Carrick and his coaching staff and then possibly under Tielemans as well. He's a player who wants to play for Manchester United. He's 22 years of age as well. So if you imagine Tielemans eventually ageing out, you've got three players in Maynou, Santos and Belayba who can grow up together. Loads of good partnerships there too. So very, very, very promising. I just need to see him holding the United shirt. You're excited here, Carl, aren't you? Wait, so that sounds like you're still not sure that it's happening, Carl.

7:44David Ornstein: Well, what is the status? Well, they're working on it. As far as, you know, last night, it's one way. The final details? Well, they haven't come to an agreement yet with Brighton, have they? So obviously that's the main thing. Is it close? Yeah, it's close. Yeah, yeah, I would say so. I'm doing it before the comments do. Okay, good, good. Fair enough. But I understand Carl's reservation because obviously, you know, I thought this was going to happen a lot sooner. It hasn't. So I can understand why Carl's a little bit reserved. And we had this debate, didn't we, after we'd done Soccer Devils on Monday when we went over on the Shrefford Paddock and kind of thank you to you, Carl, for interjecting when I was sort of, you know, wringing my hands, sort of saying, well, I've projected chances before and they haven't come off.

8:28David Ornstein: And I mentioned Balaba and then you said not yet. And it felt very, very good timing, shall we say. And it's interesting, though, why now? I think to Andy's point, that's really interesting. if they were kind of getting quoted 80 million at the start of the summer, it's now, if we're talking about 65-ish, then obviously that's a better deal. And when you add up all the different midfielders that they've had now, so it's 85 plus, say, doing a quick mass here, 15 plus 150 million maybe for three midfielders. When you're looking at someone like Elliot Anderson going for 116, OK, fine, you could say that he's the better quality and United should be trying to strive for the quality.

9:08David Ornstein: But equally, let's see, it feels like this is a good blend of midfielders at least. But there was agitation around, wasn't there, amongst the fan base? Why has there not been a third midfielder? Is it only going to be Tielemans and Santos? It felt underwhelming. This feels a bit more secure and stable. And I would still expect more work in the transfer business as well to be done. But I do think that they were looking at other options as well, even as recently as this week. Miles Lewis-Skele being proposed to them by intermediaries was an appealing prospect, I think, for some of them because when I've spoken before about that blend of left-back, sort of midfield, you know, cover, obviously Buleba now in hindsight, I guess, can do that.

9:48David Ornstein: I don't think he's played left-back for Brighton much. Correct me if I'm wrong, but... He has done it, but maybe not as frequently as Lewis Skelly for Arsenal, certainly. Right. So maybe, listen, if you get into a certain game where Luke Shaw can't play, you've maybe got Buleba there as an alternative. and so like I said I did for Brighton I suppose before he moved to Chelsea playing right back at times. But yeah, I do think that they were exploring different deals and it feels like the Lewis Skelly one now, does he really want to leave Arsenal? How much would they be expecting to get? So the Believer one feels more, everyone's on the same page in terms of the player, in terms of Brighton now and obviously United.

10:29David Ornstein: And I do wonder a little bit how much the Mason Mount issue has come to the fore. It felt like he was genuinely going to be a player for Carrick's midfielder, and still will be, obviously. But the priorities in terms of the left-back or the midfielder felt perhaps a little bit less stressed with Mount doing so well in pre-season, but obviously he's then picked up this issue. So, yeah, I think that maybe has been a little bit of a factor into why now. Let's see how quickly they can get this deal wrapped up because obviously it's Hull on Saturday and then Ipswich after that. And he has had a bit of an ankle issue, but that's not anticipated to be a long one.

11:09David Ornstein: And so, yeah, I think that he'd be OK for as soon as you might need him. Obviously, Hull being too soon for it. Well, yeah, they need to get him signed first before assessing the severity of the ankle injury. I suppose that is the question a little bit, is that he's not yet ready to feature, Carl. Obviously, you've also got the fact that this is a deal that has been in the offing for 12 months as well. So there's been people asking, you know, why has this not been done sooner? If United knew that he was their top priority, why has there been this gap between it? But this does seem to be the way that the club is operating now.

11:44David Ornstein: There's a list of targets rather than a single target. They'll work their way through it. It changes over time, considering who's interested, how interested they are, whether clubs are going to be selling or not, what the price is. but one way or another they've got to a point where they could have three new midfielders for a complete rebuild like Laurie said for just under 150 million with Andre Santos Yuri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba are you satisfied by that? Because at the start of this week let's be honest our comments were absolutely full of Manchester United fans who weren't satisfied at that point of what had been done to that point.

12:19David Ornstein: If Baleba signs and Manchester United go out and get a left-back before the window is closed I am satisfied with that as a transfer window. I think that is a good rebuild. I think that makes United more secure in their race for the top five. And I think they are well equipped for reaching the quarterfinals of the Champions League, if Balaba signs and if they get their left back. I would also say that when this transfer window is closed, and maybe when we approach the big, long international break, I would really, really, really relish the opportunity for Jason Wilcox to have a sit-down roundtable conversation with journalists and discuss how this transfer window went.

12:58David Ornstein: Because this is a transfer window where at one point it looked as if it was going to be Edison and someone else in part of this midfield rebuild. And now it's been Santos, Tielemans and possibly Belaba. And yes, it seems to be a brand new approach. Yes, Manchester United seem to be a lot better at keeping their cards close to their chest. There has been no extended Jadon Sancho section or Frankie de Jong section or Talk of the Devils this summer. We've not had any team tunes, Carl. That's progress. That makes me sad, you know. We need a saga. Well, when Rodri signed for Barcelona, I was wondering whether he needs to get the old record dusted off.

13:36David Ornstein: I know. Yeah, lo and behold, we don't. This is new. This is different. This is an approach that Ineos would hope to repeat, not just in the January transfer window, if they want to go to market there, or indeed the next summer market. So I would really, really, really like it if Jason Walcox could sit down with journalists and go, okay, here's how the summer window went and here's how we did it. Yeah, well, we'll see. We'll see what happens in the future. I mean, there is a little bit of concern maybe, Andy, about last season for him. It's been written that maybe he was a little bit distracted potentially by Manchester United's interest in him last summer.

14:11David Ornstein: But certainly it was a step backwards for him. That said, he's only 22 years old. The first two seasons that he had in the Premier League at Brighton were very promising and it felt like it was going from strength to strength for him. Do you have any concern about how last season went? I mean, just looking at some of the stats, taking off 15 times in the Premier League, four times at half-time, only completed the 90 minutes three times in the Premier League season. Is that a concern or is that just what happens sometimes with young players?

14:40Carl Anka: It happens when they're subjected to scrutiny. If you've never had scrutiny in your life, it can take a little while to get your head around that and hopefully he's had a year to get his head around that. and people weren't talking about him at all outside of Brighton until he was linked with Manchester United. How did Manchester United benefit from that? Well, a price which is at least£40 million less than was quoted a year ago. Remember Belaber a year ago? It came very late in the transfer window and it wasn't a name that had been linked to Manchester United. So this is someone who internally, the scouts and the data teams have been watching closely.

15:17Carl Anka: Manchester United have got the conviction that it's going to be a good signing. I think you should make two judgments on the transfer window. One when it closes and then one six months or even a year after. Because I remember two years ago, the 24 window, people were saying, great window, great window. And I'm like, we don't know if it's a great window. These players need at least a year to settle in. I saw my first complaint about this window from a fan after one day this year that the signings had not come in. And then that's been pretty continuous throughout the whole season with this online rage.

15:54Carl Anka: I do not like it at all. And yet I could understand that Manchester United fans were concerned. But people were making very definitive statements saying the club is finished. That's it. And based on absolutely nothing, the transfer business was not and probably is not finished. And it's always moving. If you'd have asked me at the weekend, I would have said that Luis Skelly was the Manchester United target who the club were working most actively on. And the club were getting very mixed signals about him. And then something has changed after that, which has led to Carlos Baleba, his availability and David Ornstein writing that story.

16:38Carl Anka: And that's how transfers are. The situation changes all the time. It was greeted well. I think he's got immense potential. I think Karl's right to talk about the youthful nature of a lot of the players. I certainly sense that pre-season. A lot of youngsters with this smattering of experienced players and bringing a sort of vibrancy, bringing a good mood to the camp pre-season. In my opinion, that's positive.

17:05David Ornstein: I've waited a little while to interject here, Andy, but you said amongst that answer that Manchester United's transfer business isn't finished. Is that because Belaba's not over the line or is there yet more to come between now and the start of September?

17:19Carl Anka: I would think that Belaba gets done, but it hasn't been done. So people were saying to me, put him on the front cover of United We Stand. I'm not going to make the mistake of doing it. That was me off camera, Andy. I actually signed the contract.

17:33David Ornstein: Hasn't this happened before where you've had to do last-minute edits to front pages with some signings on United We Stand?

17:39Carl Anka: I put champions at last on the front cover in April 1992. 92 printed it took it onto the street sold it and manchester united didn't become champions at last so excuse me manifest it extremely cautious but you're still selling it in 92 because technically it did become true so yeah yeah well it only has a one month shelf life so i got a lot of thankfully social media wasn't around and it was sort of real life stick but it was also justified I think United do want a left back. I would be very surprised if the Labour does come in, if there is another big money signing. I just don't think the funds are there.

18:17Carl Anka: That said, I think that the players who Manchester United sell or try to sell, then that would affect the situation again. If, for example, Josh Zirksy went for a transfer fee, if some of the lesser-named players are sold, that could affect the situation. So I know the window's coming to a close now. I can't wait for it to close, if I'm honest. You may have very different opinions. But United still want other players.

18:43David Ornstein: I think people are aware of your opinion of the transfer window by now, Andy, certainly. Right. You've given me a little link, actually. We'll come back to transfers later because I'm sure there'll be lots of questions that people have about what's left in this window for United. Indeed, get involved in the comments, let us know what your questions are and we'll get to them shortly. But we did our bad take amnesty on the show earlier this week. Kyle, would you like to reintroduce the concept for us? Yes, the bad take amnesty, an idea we've been using since year 2020. It's your idea, isn't it? Yeah.

19:15David Ornstein: I've seen a lot of people nick it, which is quite tickled me quite a bit. Get the trademark out, come on. I should have trademarked it. Should have trademarked it. Should have bought my own podcast. But anyway, this is what I want to know. I want to do your gut feeling, your gut instincts about how you think Manchester United or indeed the Premier League as a whole is going to work. So again, we're going for X vibes, not XG. Things that come from your gut, not from your head. That nagging voice in your head where you're looking at the squad, or indeed you're looking at other squads and you're going, hang on, I think this might happen.

19:48David Ornstein: So get it off your chest. We'll put in a vault. We'll have a look at the end of the January transfer window. Everyone gets a redo. Then we'll wait again at the end of the season and we'll see how we all did. Yeah, Coldstream in the comments. Coldstream second has just repeated Andy's. 21 is coming. It took a little bit of prodding maybe, Andy, to get you there. But yeah, you did predict that Manchester United would be Premier League champions this season. He's put it on the cover of United Way stand already. That was your bad take amnesty, Charles. Laurie, what was yours? I had two, didn't I? I went for Rashford to...

20:19David Ornstein: Oh yeah, you did the Dallow a little tickle after, didn't you? Yeah, a little tickle Dallow. Yeah, Rashford to hit 100 Premier League goals this season. So he needs 13. and Dallo to get 10. I think we decided on 10 goals and assists combined. Goal involvement. Yeah, okay. Carl? I had Aidan Heaven more appearances this season than Sandro Martinez. That's right. And I said that Benjamin Sesko was going to hit 25 goals in all competitions and he's back in training. So it turns out that the shout has encouraged him to return or not, as the case may be. Loads of you got involved. So thank you everyone for getting in touch with yours.

20:55David Ornstein: In the comments on YouTube, we added this shout from Ian Kavanagh. A lot of people said this. Glazers to finally sell up at Manchester United. Wisbot said Zerksi to have a standout season this year in the number 10 position. He didn't say who. So, yeah, that's a fair shout. That's a 10. Okay. I like this Dom Sut shout, though. Dom Sut 95. United to be the English team that gets the furthest in the Champions League. Ooh. Like it. That's good spice. Good spice there. Well, you look at all the changes across the other teams who are in the Champions League in terms of the English sides and you never know.

21:33David Ornstein: That might not be a bad take amnesty come the sort of spring. Also on our emails as well, Jordan said, my gut feeling is that Shea Lacey has a standout season, even if it's mainly off the bench. 10 plus goal involvement is his shout across all competitions as well. And then he said by next season is Manchester United's new number seven. Now, Jordan, you might have taken that a little bit far, but I like the enthusiasm. Stephen said Shea Lacey scoring a worldy winner against Liverpool, which given, obviously, his family background and where he grew up, that would be an interesting moment for Shea.

22:08David Ornstein: Neil as well, I'm quite confident on this. I like quite confident shouts, Neil. He says, Dorgue, 10 plus goals in all competitions. So, yeah, that would be interesting to see. Straight out goals. I like that. Straight out goals. straight out goals the way he got the goal against Brighton at the end of the season just real there's a ruggedness to him when he's inside the final third and that proverbial about having players willing to break their nose to get in the end of a cross or get in the end of a chance Dorgue has that yeah he's not the most refined in terms of your bad take amnesty that Patrick Dorgue is going to break his nose at the back post this season well I thought you were going to say how many of those goals of the 10 that he's going to score this season are going to be nominated for goal of the month because he can score world, can't he?

22:55David Ornstein: Yeah. He's got both talents to it. Yeah, yeah. I think he won it twice, actually, last year, didn't he? The Newcastle one and Old Trafford and the Arsenal one. I think he won certainly the club goal of the month competition, maybe even the Premier League one. Just having a look at the comments as tons come in about Dogu, which is good. The Ballon Dogu shout has come back. So thank you for bringing that up, Zendian. Bruno to get 10 assists, says John Nalka. Oh. I mean, there's a few people saying he'll break his assist record again this season Andy. Any chance of that from Fernandes?

23:26Carl Anka: I'd be more than happy with a repeater last year. I thought he was spectacular. I thought he was the best player, not just in the team, but in the league. And if other players like Dorgou can continue their improvement, because they're still quite young, then Manchester United would benefit massively. I like Dorgou. I liked him even more when he smashed that goal in at Arsenal away. There is a rawness still to him, but I think he's one of several players who I'm excited to watch and if Bruno can stay fit, can stay at the club and can be as influential as he has been, that will be enough for me.

23:57Carl Anka: I mean even if he's coming close to last season's number of assists, that'll be hugely important but you also must remember that Casimiro who we got a lot of those connections with, he's now left the club so he's got to work on his relationship with new players around him.

24:10David Ornstein: Yeah that's true and obviously that set piece threat Could be replaced by potentially Harry Maguire. There's a lot of talk around him stepping up this season. I think that was yours last year, Carl, actually, wasn't it? That Maguire would get 10 goals. But Estau or Stau07 says, Maguire to score at the Bernabeu. Now that would be a moment, wouldn't it? Oh, that'd be good. What celebration did you pull in there? Knee slide. Knee slide. Have you got one behind the ears? Oh, both. Yeah, it could be both. I mean, I mean, I wanted to buy him, didn't he? so I don't think there's any bad blood there. Yeah, great shout.

24:45David Ornstein: Oh, so he's heading straight for the dugout then, is he? I don't think there's bad blood between Mourinho and Maguire so I think that'll be quite nice. But yeah, big Harry Maguire knee slide at the Bernabeu would be quite something. I mean, this is exciting. We can talk about prospective trips to the Bernabeu or the Camp Nou and he's definitely got looking at this Champions League draw and looking at pot four. Look at him, look at him. He's like Lake Como on there. oh I'd absolutely have to go for a co-OFC game that'd be

25:15Carl Anka: quality

25:16David Ornstein: Andy where are you looking forward to because this is very much your domain I was looking

25:20Carl Anka: at the teams before and we're now into a competition where they don't sound like Y5 passwords anymore you've actually heard of most of them and you're like okay and I'm thinking Leon Fenerbahce we've been there quite recently Spanish clubs I'm just really pleased that Manchester United are back in. And when you lads are saying the Bernabeu, it's been a while since Manchester United have played in my favourite stadium, apart from Old Trafford, probably the best stadium in the world in the Bernabeu. And the idea of Harry Maguire scoring there, this excites me because last year we had all these long weeks of no football whatsoever.

25:58Carl Anka: And that take someone's prediction that Manchester United could go further in the Champions League. I mean, it could happen. It's a cup competition, isn't it? And there is more security now with the way that the league phase works. And yeah, Lask, they got beat by Celtic, so it doesn't look like them. Bodo glimped away and a trip to the Arctic Circle. There's loads in there to get me excited and Manchester United fans too.

26:25David Ornstein: Yeah, Neil says get to Celtic Park in the comments. That would be a popular draw for United if Celtic can obviously make it through to the league phase.

26:52Carl Anka: Accenture is working together with the NFL to drive international growth by evaluating markets, developing audience insights, and creating new ways to engage fans in cities around the world.

27:04David Ornstein: The NFL is building a global game, and Accenture is helping make that vision a reality by striking the right balance between what makes the NFL beloved in America and tapping into the passions and preferences that make each market unique.

27:18Carl Anka: Accenture, the official business and technology consulting partner of the NFL.

27:23David Ornstein: Learn more at Accenture.com slash NFL. Are your ad campaigns lighting up the dashboard, but not the pipeline? That's bull spend. And marketers are calling it out in dashboard confessions. My boss asked for results, so I opened my dashboard for the only positive-sounding metric I had. Impressions. Cut the bull spend. See revenue, not just reach. LinkedIn delivers the highest return on ad spend of major ad networks. Advertise on LinkedIn. Spend$250 on your first campaign and get a$250 credit. Go to linkedin.com slash campaign. Terms and conditions apply. Polon cancer is on the rise. It's the second deadliest cancer and the number one cancer killer of people under 50 in the U.S.

28:04David Ornstein: Yet it remains one of the most preventable cancers. If you're 45 or older and at average risk, it's time to talk about screening. Cologuard Plus is a non-invasive at-home collection kit that requires no prep, can be completed in about 15 minutes, and is 95 % effective. If you've been putting it off, you're not alone. But timely screening matters. Let's talk about what isn't talked about. Talk to your provider or request Cologuard Plus online, Rx only.

28:56David Ornstein: at theathletic.com with your questions. So he says, Manchester United need a left-back and we haven't signed one. Dogu can be a marauding left-back in maybe a Nuno Mendes mould. Why do we want him to be an outright left-winger? Anyone have any insight on why Carrick sees him more at left-wing than left-back? I think it might have to do something with build-up in that if you look at Luke Shaw's job when Lammons has got the ball at his feet and the way Shaw offers an option and sometimes he comes inside and sometimes the way he's secure on the ball in and around his own penalty area is superior to that of Dogu and it has been superior to that of a lot of players who have played left-back for Man United.

29:39David Ornstein: Shaw's better at build-up compared to Malassa. He was better at build-up compared to Alex Telliz. He's better at build-up compared to Reguilon. And there are small things when the ball is just a bit further back that I think Dogu hasn't quite shown. And I think it's been quite telling that Dogu didn't really play substantial minutes at left back throughout pre-season as well. So, there you go. Rigour as well. I mean, Andy might know better than me, but, you know, he's more attacking, isn't he, Dogu? That's his mindset. He wants to get forward. And it is interesting, well, he is going to be your left winger, it feels like, this season.

30:16David Ornstein: You've got Cunha there, you've got Rashford there. it's kind of a crowded, to get to that 10 goals that the viewer, the listener posted in, he's going to have to play a decent number of games, isn't he? But it is quite a crowded area of the pitch now. And so, yeah, I can understand why people are still saying we need a left-back because for all that Pelaba could maybe cover and you've got Masrawi, you've got Dalo that could switch across, I suppose it's just that slight reservation as to how many games is Shaw going to play. He was brilliant last season playing every Premier League game. He obviously can't do two, three games a week on a regular basis, maybe at all, I don't know.

30:52David Ornstein: So to have a kind of ready-made left-back to kind of come in as an alternative makes sense to me. And they have been looking, right? I mean, again, Andy, you might know better than me, but Lewis Hall clearly is the guy that I think a lot of people would like to have at the club. It's just that I think Newcastle have basically said he's not for sale, particularly after Anthony Gordon, Bruno Gimeraich and Sandro Tonali. United have left it later to perhaps focus attention on that left-back role and whether they now think actually Nexum is the better way to approach that one because I think he'll have two years left on his contract at that point.

31:30David Ornstein: I don't know if he'd be okay about waiting. I guess if he didn't have any other options, he'd have to be. And then as an alternative, Jorge Salinas is a name that I've heard, the Racing Santander left-back. I know we mentioned this before, but I'm also told that Atletico Madrid are making an approach for him. So maybe it won't be all United to wait if they do decide to go for him. And then Joaquin Seiz, I think, is the other one that's been linked maybe in the public at Club Bruges. He played for Belgium against Spain, did well actually against Laminya Mal at the World Cup. But Club Bruges are basically saying he's not for sale.

32:06David Ornstein: So, yeah, let's see. I agree with you, Andy, though, in terms of it feels like it's going to now be, if they get one, a lower cost one.

32:13Carl Anka: Yeah, Seize is not someone I've heard. The lad at Racing Santander, so they've just come back into La Liga for the first time in years and is a homegrown player. Leave the lad alone. Let him play for his hometown club.

32:23David Ornstein: They drew 2-2 against Villarreal. 2-0 up. I think, well, they were in the lead. Got another goal, which was chalked off for offside and had a little bit of a wobble. And yeah, local lad. Seems really, really good. Barcelona have been interested in him, which prompted their manager to sort of say, oh, it's just typical. But I think the appeal of Salinas is that he's got a very affordable release clause.

32:52Carl Anka: And he's very young. And Atletico, as Laurie said, have been linked with him as well. Look, left-back is definitely an area Manchester United have looked at. And this is a gradual rebuild. It's not all going to be done in one, two, or three or four transfer windows. I've said numerous times on this podcast the need for a future defensive leader, central defensive leader. that might be for next year you've got a number of players who are out of contract at the end of next season, people like Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire I'd laugh my socks off if Luke Shaw played 56 games this season and Shaw's up completely playing all the time.

33:27Carl Anka: I do know he's started taking

33:29David Ornstein: I do know he's been doing Pilates for a bit so maybe that is helping him You've seen that on Instagram then yeah? Sources say Sources say. Sources close to Luke Shaw's social media account say Yeah, it caught my eye that as well in Dublin. It was like a local studio, some description, that Luke had been in there while United were away and over there. I mean, I'm sure he will be doing everything in his power. I know in the past he's been very upset with how his injuries have gone and his recovery as well at different points. And he's also felt the criticism from people as well about how many problems he's had with injuries in the past.

34:06David Ornstein: So I'm sure the stage he's at, he'll be doing his utmost to ensure that he's available for as many games as possible for Manchester United. Right, welcome along. If you've only just joined us, where have you been? We've been here for half an hour on our first ever live stream on Talk to Devils. Welcome along, everyone who's in the comments on YouTube. Welcome along as well if you're listening to this podcast. Next time, get yourself on YouTube, get yourself subscribed, get those notifications on. And of course, you'll find out when we do our next live stream. We are planning one when the Champions League draw takes place next week.

34:38David Ornstein: so please join us for that but let's have a look at some more of the questions then get involved in the comments if you want to ask anything uh right we've got matt bennett when everyone is fitting up to max speed we ask this question every single podcast and it's changed every single podcast so matt asks when everyone is fitting up to speed who are the two starting midfielders for united would anyone like to answer that with any confidence if belaba signs um if belaba signs I think it'd be Tielemans and Balaba Do you actually? Yeah, I think Balaba signs It'll be Tielemans and Balaba And then you get into a Very nice horses for courses Routine for certain matches Because Balaba is such a Multifaceted defensive midfielder You can have different combinations Based on what you need I think Santos and Balaba Could be your Anfield and Emirates pairing I think Tielemans and Balaba Work quite well if you are up against Hull, for example.

35:39David Ornstein: Belaber won't be available for that game, but that works quite well. I think it's going to be Telemans and Santos this weekend. You're not putting Manu in any of these situations, Carl. It's a 60-game season. We hope it's a 60-game season. If Belaber arrives, it's a 60-game season. It's a 46-game season, at least. No, 48. Sorry, 48. If Baléba arrives, I would like to say with some confidence they should be aiming for a 60-game season. And yes, OK, you can't predict who you get out of the hat in the FA Cup or the League Cup. But I believe in Baléba. Can I twist this a little bit? Should we be talking about who the three is?

36:22David Ornstein: OK. Fernando Fernandes is now part of this conversation. Not necessarily people starting in his place for what the strongest line-up is, but when you are in certain games in certain circumstances, Laurie, do you think that the midfield three might not include Bruno Fernandes and he could be a false nine or he could be wide in one of the midfield positions? And also, I go back to something I remember Ruben Amorin saying, buried at the end of one of his dramatic press conferences last season, or I think it was last season, where he said at some point Bruno Fernandes has got to accept the idea of being rotated.

36:54David Ornstein: Is that going to happen? Well, I see. You sort of said up front, out left, on the right or on the bench. Yeah. He's just such a pivotal figure tonight that I think the starting point is he's your number 10. And then obviously, as you've touched on there, as games go on, you can certainly see Tielemans play number 10. You could see Mason Mount play number 10. So it's just whether or not those situations arise and Carrick and the coaching staff think that actually that's the best thing to take Bruno out and give him a bit of a rest. so he's 32 isn't he in a couple of months um he's just a machine he's played so many matches hardly ever been injured and so that's why he's kind of this freak that you just sort of think he can just keep going and going and going and and maybe this this does touch a little bit into the contract talks that i mean maybe i'm getting ahead of myself on the script there even but it feels like a decent point to to touch on just because obviously they're ongoing at the moment and you know is a part of it seeing how the season starts to a degree, you know, and seeing where they pitch the salary, pitch the terms, the length of contract, and what Bruno then thinks about where his position is in the squad and the team.

38:04David Ornstein: I mean, clearly he's such a vital player on the pitch, but also around the club, you know, he was there in Poland when he was signing autographs for a good length of time after the game and outside the team hotel. And he's brilliant with the academy players, isn't he? So he's an absolute treasure to have at the club. but clearly they've also got this negotiation ongoing behind the scenes and then how much does that feed into how much he plays? I'm sure it won't do really, but it's an interesting debate to have certainly now that United have actually got a few more options that you think could legitimately complement what he can give.

38:34David Ornstein: Bruno stays, doesn't he, Andy? Long term?

38:37Carl Anka: Yeah, I think so. Best paid player, easily the best paid. Is he the best paid player? I think he is, yeah. I think Rashford might be on more.

38:50David Ornstein: Disagreement. Just an opinion. They both paid a lot of money.

38:56Carl Anka: Yeah, they ain't going short if they want to buy, you know, whatever they want to buy these lads. I think he's also an excellent captain. The stuff he does off the field. So he's respected on it. But I think he knits together what has been a very complicated dressing room. One which I think has improved a lot, in part because Ruben Amarin helped improve it and that's probably going to be his strongest legacy. And it's relentless when you're Manchester United's captain because you're having to deal with so much outside noise. But I think he does it really well. It's a shame we can't get another 10 years of him.

39:36Carl Anka: I'd love Ruben Amarin, sorry, Bruno Fernandes to...

39:41David Ornstein: You've done that before, haven't you? It's a little rewind, hasn't it? to be a trophy winning

39:48Carl Anka: Manchester United captain you know the idea of him winning the league title would be fantastic as for the midfield pairing well Champions League finals in Madrid this year isn't it it's got to be Mount and Agar Harry Maguire scoring

40:01David Ornstein: at the Bernabeu is it at the Bernabeu no it's at the

40:05Carl Anka: Metropolitano it's at the Atletico's ground I was trying to bring it

40:08David Ornstein: all together there you could do the double do the double in Madrid well I was going to say scores in the Bernabeu in front of Mourinho and then Mourinho signs him on a free next summer.

40:17Carl Anka: Which would be a massive turnaround because when Manchester United first wanted him, when Jose Mourinho wanted him, he said, don't pay above 50 million. So Manchester United's executives acted on that advice. But of course, no manager or no one football club controls the market. And then Manchester United ended up paying a lot more for Harry Maguire, who remains an important player. He turned his season around and his status at Manchester United. Injuries, if De Ligt comes back and he's playing, he's a really strong player. If Martinez is playing and not getting injured, if Mason Mount can play a lot of games, that could have a significant difference on Manchester United's season.

41:01Carl Anka: We've been really lucky with Bruno that he doesn't get injured a lot. I've seen players try to negotiate contracts in recent years and the club turn around to him and go, you've played half the games, of Paul Pogba, for example. So a bit of luck with that, a bit of progress, and we can sort of feel the optimism that I feel pre-season. Yeah, Champions League final, Metropolitana. Give you travel directions later if you want. It's a brilliant stadium.

41:27David Ornstein: Right, let's get back to some of the questions because we've got tons coming in here. Sports fan says, can you discuss United's sell-on fees? Willie Camboile are joining Como. Does that provide more funds? Any knowledge on that? I've forgotten what he went for. So he went to Villarreal.

41:43Carl Anka: I think sell-on fees are a really important part of Manchester United's revenue stream now and hopefully in the future because you've got all these little add-ons that could realise tens of millions and if done successfully. Is it good for football? If the big clubs are hoarding these players with the idea of getting sell-on fees, if some of them work out or don't work out, that's another argument. but it could be considerable amounts of money for Manchester United.

42:14David Ornstein: Yeah, there's definitely been a few already this summer and obviously you look at the deals that are being put in place for people like Reddit Vitek, I'm sure Harry Amas, if he left, those sort of players, there's lots of different clauses included now in these modern deals, including obviously the sell-on fees and buy-back clauses and matching fees and whatever else the terms are these days. So I'm sure it would provide a little bit more. Riaz this is something that we've talked about on recent shows as well and I don't know if we've got an update on this but he's asking do United still have intentions of signing an additional set piece coach?

42:53David Ornstein: You're putting us on the spot again on a live stream. You've answered that one. It's pretty strong wasn't it? Yeah it was.

43:03Carl Anka: I can't say whether it's going to happen or not but I certainly heard it at the start of the season so can't confirm.

43:07David Ornstein: We'll go away and ask some questions and bring you answers on this. I'm sorry, I didn't realise I wasn't supposed to put questions to you, Laurie. No, please don't. We're allowed to say I don't know. That's the joy of a lot. We're allowed to say I don't know. It's two podcasts. That's what I'm here for. We'll know the third time. Okay, we'll go away. I promise you it will last this time. You'll know the answer to this next one. I can guarantee it. Okay, so this is from Martin Furlong. What's the greatest goal you've seen scored against United? Excuse me? It's a strange question.

43:38David Ornstein: in real life in the stadium or just on the telly I don't know I mean I almost want to invert it straight away and say what's the greatest goal you've seen scored by United to be honest nothing jumps out against I and Robins goal to knock United out of the Champions League in 20 bloody hell you're going strong oh that was awful that one's a dagger that one happened on my birthday wasn't that just bad marking on the edge of the box he also celebrated with like a ooh I was like I'll give over Darren Gibson's goal was better that game anyway what's the greatest goal you've seen United score I mean I wasn't there for Alejandro Garnaccio but if anyone was that overhead kick's got me up there I was there for Wayne Rooney's that was pretty special I genuinely didn't know how to react for Alejandro Garnaccio's bicycle kick because it happened so early in the game and so much of the atmosphere at Goodison oh great shout sorry Carl Harry in the comments says Ben Seke's overhead kick for Liverpool, Trafford, which was just a complete consolation goal.

44:39David Ornstein: I like the fact that we're picking one that was just a consolation against United rather than one that did some serious damage. Sorry, carry on. Yes, Garnaccio's goal. Because so much of the preamble was about Goodson Park and Everton being handed this points deduction, because the goal happened so quickly, Goodson's nearly immediately silenced. I'm sort of typing going, goal, Garnaccio. Can't really believe that happened so early. And I remember loads of people responding to me on social media going, this is the most understatement I've ever seen you react to a goal. Because it basically short-circuited me.

45:14David Ornstein: Do you remember the Batistuta one for Fiorentina? Just being reminded of that by Sunil. That was a hell of a goal. Yeah, that was good.

45:21Carl Anka: Trezeguet for Monaco. Yeah, that Monaco one, because I think it was quite early in the game. And that was a proper standing game.

45:28David Ornstein: It was a blow at the start of the game, wasn't it, as well? A way goal.

45:32Carl Anka: It wasn't how it was supposed to be. and a couple more stank, stung, sorry. Marco Zermas, in 1998 at Old Trafford, like 15 minutes to go. That was a horrible one. And then Vincent Kompany in the derby, 2012. I don't know the merits of them as goals, but you just... Martin's done this on purpose, Andy.

45:54David Ornstein: We've lost him. He's done this on purpose. We've lost the league, yeah. He's got to be a rival fan of some description to get us down this particular rabbit hole. But well done, Martin. You managed it. No more.

46:22David Ornstein: Are you the kind of sports fan that wants to dig into the story behind the stats? Then join us daily on The Athletic Live, where we'll be live on YouTube to cover all the sports stories you can't stop talking about. On game days, we watch the biggest matchups live alongside the Athletic's most tapped-in reporters. Or come hang on an off night for an inside look at how headlines happen. We want you dropping questions in the chat, and we'll bring answers straight from the source. The Athletic Live is presented by Google Gemini. Subscribe now on YouTube. Hey, this is James from Raiders of the Lost podcast.

46:55David Ornstein: We've learned over and over on our show, while talking to people in entertainment, that success comes when you bet on yourself. How many times have we talked to an actor who took a big risk with a challenging role because they believed they could pull it off? Well, it's a lot easier to take those risks when you've got the practical stuff covered. And that's what Geico does so well. Imagine an actor driving to set to film the scene that's going to win them an Oscar. They're focusing on the scene, not on dealing with managing an insurance claim because Geico is handling that. And they don't even expect a shout out in the acceptance speech.

47:31David Ornstein: GEICO provides peace of mind and they'll do the same for you. Maybe it's not an Oscar-winning performance. Maybe it's building a career, starting the business you've dreamed about or just taking care of your family. Whatever you're betting on, GEICO will make sure you're covered. Learn more at geico.com. Grainger knows if you're a procurement manager at an industrial manufacturing facility, you're balancing inventory and budget while sourcing critical supplies across the operation. Too much inventory? Costs climb. Too little? Production slows. Grainger's$2 billion in on-hand inventory helps you get what you need when you need it.

48:08David Ornstein: So you can help keep budgets balanced and lines moving. Call 1-800-GRAINGER, click grainger.com, or just stop by. Grainger, for the ones who get it done.

48:29David Ornstein: Keep the questions coming, but we need to talk Hull City, who Manchester United face in the season opener this weekend. They've been looking at some of the records and United have never lost to Hull in the Premier League ever. They've never lost in the top flight when facing a promoted side in their opening game of the season. and no Premier League side has won more opening matches in a Premier League campaign than Manchester United. So it'll be easy, Carl, won't it? Sort of. I think if there is a time to play, Carl, it's to do it before the window closes because they've spent a lot of money, more than£70 million, and they look like they're going to get some more signings in before the window is closed so that their squad is in flux transition, still to congeal together.

49:14David Ornstein: So early kickoff has been a bit worried. Playing away from home has been a bit worried. I think the first 20 minutes atmosphere there is going to be really, really loud. They're going to want to put on a show. We might get one of them stodgy first halves. But I think once United settle into their groove, really start dominating possession and hopefully camp in their half for prolonged periods of time, which is something they've been better at, albeit in pre-season. They just seem to be playing self-possession a lot more. I think United should come out the other side with a victory. I just think it might be a tricky 25 minutes.

49:51David Ornstein: Yeah, the thing for me, you can look at it two ways. You can look at it as, you know, Hull's record isn't fantastic. Even last season, to be honest, they finished sixth in the Championship. They were 22 points behind the eventual winners' Coventry. They only snuck into the playoffs on the final day, beating Norwich. No team in the top half of the division conceded more goals than them. It was a huge shock, really. They started the season as favourites or one of the favourites for relegation in that division and obviously ended up coming up and beat Middlesbrough in the final of the playoffs after all the Spygate controversy with Southampton and Middlesbrough going through.

50:26David Ornstein: So there's that side where you think they've done very well to be starting the new season in the Premier League. But the other side of it, Andy, they've been out of it for a decade. And in terms of an occasion for them, having Manchester United at home and in the opening game back in the big time again, then there's going to be an energy to that place that United need to match.

50:44Carl Anka: There is, but I don't think it's a particularly intimidating place to go. I've been there twice this year. I was at the playoff game against Millwall. I saw 3 ,000 Millwall fans easily heard from where I was in the main stand. You're quite right to say it's a surprise that they came up and they finished sixth. That said, they were third and fourth for a long time. They really did have a standout season. I went once to see Toby Collier there. who didn't play as much as he'd hoped for because he was injured. It's a good club and it's well run. They've spent a lot of money this summer, although several of the new sign-ins are not going to be able to play.

51:24Carl Anka: The player who stood out for me was the Algerian winger, Mohamed Baloumi. I think he's a really exciting player. He's still young and raw. I would expect him to play against Manchester United, so watch out for him. Hull's assistant manager is a big Manchester United fan, Dean Holden, he's also been in professional football a long time and is absolutely going to be going out to win it. So I think the point about quieting the crowd, they're coming into the Premier League. It's not expected. There's going to be 24 ,000 there, 3 ,000 away fans, just less than that. I think 15 ,000 reds applied to go to it.

52:00Carl Anka: So that just shows what the demand is like for away tickets. And it's pretty much like that for every single game. But you would hope that Manchester United do have the quality. against a Hull City side. Hull City's aim this year is to stay up, but it's a surprise that they did come up. But we've seen clubs come up just pumped up and get results. So United have just not got to be the story on Saturday with that early kick-off. And it's just another... You're going to get the Real Madrid-Barcelona test this year, but you're going to get tests like Hull City, and they're going to be equally important.

52:36David Ornstein: I've just realised, you said that, Ian, that they haven't been up in a decade. I've realised that I was at the last opening game at their stadium in 2016.

52:45Carl Anka: Okay.

52:46David Ornstein: And maybe it's a little bit of an omen. I don't know. Here it comes. I was covering Leicester. So Leicester were the champions and they went to Hull as the champions, managed by Mike Feele, I should add. And they lost 2-1. And that was kind of like the start, the wheels coming off for Claudio Ranieri. But it was a pretty good atmosphere. They were up for it. They'd just come up through the playoffs. I hadn't realised they got relegated that scene didn't they under Marco Silva I think in the end but yeah so it's been 10 years since they've opened it I'm back on Saturday so hopefully it's not a repeat but they have got what you're discussing they've got an owner who's pretty ambitious ambitious easy for me to say Achan Ilicay hopefully I've said that right probably haven't got that bit right it was the easy bit you got wrong but I think he's like pretty famous isn't he in Turkey 30 million followers on Instagram, broadcast the turn businessmen.

53:38David Ornstein: Yeah, so we actually met him over in Istanbul when United played Fenerbahce when Eric Tanag was manager and he invited a group of journalists round for like a kind of late night, it was like two o 'clock in the morning by the time we were eating, but really interesting character, he was telling us lots of stories about his interactions in the football world, big ambition for, he was a sort of sporting director, he's kind of adjacent at Fenerbahce, he's kind of involved in Fenerbahce as well, but obviously holds his passion in the UK, so yeah, I imagine he'll be there at the game and giving it the fist pumps and everything, but he certainly seems to be backing their team.

54:10David Ornstein: Let's see what that then produces on Saturday. Harry Maguire would have been in that Hull team back then as well, Laurie, that you saw. He came off the bench the last time Manchester United played away at Hull City, for Hull, obviously. Ten years ago this month, a 1-0 win. Marcus Rashford in the 90th minute, if you remember it. It was right at the start of Jose Mourinho's time in charge at Manchester United. It made it three wins out of three to start That is United reign before that Manchester derby, which we talked about on the last show, the 2-1 defeat against Pep Guardiola's City. So, yeah, it's been a while.

54:43David Ornstein: It certainly has been a while. We need to have a look at the team news, really, as well. Michael Carrick will hold his press conference later on, on Thursday, if you're with us live. If you're listening to this back, you may well have this news already. But obviously, Benjamin Sesko and Matthias De Ligt were both pictured back in training for United this week. But no Mason Mount, Paul, is asking, do we have an update on his situation? I guess Carrick will provide one by the time this goes out, but for anyone on the live stream, does anyone know his situation at the moment? Yeah, I've got a little bit of information.

55:14David Ornstein: I need to sort of check it out to make sure it's accurate. But yeah, I think he won't be available, will he, for Hull? Possibly might be longer than that a little bit. But yeah, I think they're sort of still ascertaining exactly what... It'd be interesting to see how much Carrick does reveal because he's kind of kept his cards pretty close to his chest, hasn't he, on injuries and the like. You think about both De Ligt and Sesko, you thought they were back a lot sooner than they ended up being. I know that De Ligt probably had a few different debates around how to handle his issue. It was Ruben Amarin putting off questions about his fitness, wasn't it?

55:44David Ornstein: It's been that long. Yeah. This is one area where Amarin wasn't revealing all, to be fair to him. And then in the end, De Ligt had back surgery, didn't he? And the same for Sesko. I mean, he's been in a lot. He's been on the grass, but I think it's only recently that he's been back with the team. Obviously, we saw that this week. with a couple of sessions. So you'd imagine that Hall's too soon for him and likewise to Ligt. But it's good to see them back on the grass and it feels like a pretty full bill of health, doesn't it, for United? Yeah, it does. It does, to be fair. And that's good news, obviously.

56:16David Ornstein: Lots of problems for Michael Carrick in terms of picking his starting line-up and obviously picking the team moving forward, which is the situation I'm sure that he wants to be in. Just in terms of this opening game, Carl, I mean, we talked about it again on the last show, but you just want United to take advantage of this two-game stretch against promoted size, just to try and get some points on the board and begin to get yourself in that conversation. Because like we've mentioned, there's so many clubs with new managers. So many of United's rivals have got significant issues still to resolve in the transfer market.

56:51David Ornstein: And you just want United to be able to take advantage of that a little bit with these two matches that they've got to kick it off. Absolutely. It's also a point in time where squads aren't really finalised. Teams are getting used to each other, getting used to their internal rhythms. You've still got players who might possibly have World Cup hangovers, for example. So if United can start well before we go into that long international break, that should set things up. Andy has spoken in the past about how United have had slow starts to the season. And that has sometimes had a, I don't want to say debilitating, but slightly frustrating shape to your season there.

57:25David Ornstein: So if you start well, I think that'll be good. I think Tielemans is going to be really important in these opening two games. I mean, we spent so much time on the interim Michael Carrick talking about, oh, how am I just going to play against low blocks? How are they going to play against low blocks? Well, having another creative force in your midfield, someone who can supplement things behind Bruno Fernandes, I think that was going to go a long, long way to helping you break down those low blocks, particularly as well when you consider Casemiro is not going to be around to help you get goals-wise set pieces too.

57:54So I think some of the processes we've seen during pre-season

57:58David Ornstein: look really, really good. And the confidence United have now playing this sort of one-touch, two-touch football when they're getting the ball from one penalty area to the other looks great. So two good performances, two clean bills of health, hopefully two clean sheets, and some two good UAT-leman performances. Sounds good to me. Pingers crossed. Anyone want to predict the starting line-up?

58:20Carl Anka: I think Michael Carrick should keep things close to his chest I don't know Carl I was going to let Andy speak but I didn't want to cut across him you know what I mean

58:32Carl Anka: if you're Hull City and you're planning to play against Manchester United I like the idea that you don't know whether Benjamin Chesko is going to play for example because if he does play it's a very different front line to the different type of players who might want to play there So I don't mind if Michael Carrick is coy, but you are right. And there is a lack of injuries. So he's got a very strong squad to pick from. I'd normally say that the players have been featuring strongest pre-season. I would have said Mason Mount would have started two weeks ago, but he's not been playing. Andre Santos has been playing.

59:08Carl Anka: It's a nice choice. And Manchester United have got a lot of quality there. They should be able to go to somewhere like Hull, override the wave of euphoria. and hopefully get a result and a good start to the season. And then Ipswich Town, you know, these are clubs who aim is to stay up this year. Manchester United really should be decisively getting results against both.

59:29David Ornstein: Shreya's telling us off in the comments here. We've not mentioned that it's Paddy McNair coming up against his old club because he is a Hull City player now and obviously came through the ranks for United under Louis van Gaal.

59:40Carl Anka: There's a lot.

59:40David Ornstein: It'll be interesting to see him again.

59:41Carl Anka: There was a load about 10 years ago, I did a piece on a number of former Manchester United players, people like James Chester, I know Laurie knows, Fraser Campbell. There was loads of them who ended up going to Hull. And then Paddy McNair, about four years ago, I wanted to interview him. He was at Middlesbrough and I got a polite no thanks. And then this year I went to Hull and got, yeah, I'm up for doing an interview. So I don't know why he's changed his mind. Still not got right at doing it like.

1:00:08David Ornstein: I thought you were going to say I got a polite no thanks and then I got a really aggressive no thanks and stop asking me. They actually did sign a former Manchester United player this summer, didn't they? Hull? Yeah? From Rangers?

1:00:22Carl Anka: Yes, Jack Buckland. Go on, Andy. And one of Manchester United's greatest ever cult heroes came from Hull City, Stuart Pearson, who was born in Beverley, Cottingham, that area just north of Hull. So he came from the old Boofrey Park, which was the only football ground with six floodlight pylons and a railway station. That's enough from me. Carry on.

1:00:46David Ornstein: Score predictions and get involved in the comments if you want to have your say on this. What are we going for? 2-0. First half goal, second half goal.

1:00:55Carl Anka: They'll have to ride through some difficult moments, I think, but I think they'll have the quality to do it. Yeah. 2-1 Manchester United. Carl?

1:01:03David Ornstein: I'm going to be bold. I'm going to say 3-0. I think this might be a season where... How many times did Man Utd win 3-0 last season? We're getting a lot of 3-1 shouts in the comments. Shocking for Leafs says 6-0. That would be quite a start to the season. 3-2 from Roger. Make it exciting. I think Brian and Brimo might have a little purple patch. We'll have a purple patch at some point this season. I think he might not be involved in build-up in the same way that he was last season, but I think there's going to be a lot of moves where he goes, comes out to Mbumo, bang. Yeah, I think Brian Mbumo could have a strong start to the season and take advantage of the fact that he's playing as the number nine.

1:01:46David Ornstein: It's just whether he's been better in games where United have had a bit more space, haven't they? And if Hulls sit deep and they play against a low block, I prefer Benjamin Sesko in that situation. Obviously, his injury situation's in question at the moment. Andy, this one's for you. So I've had this message from Dave. It's a quiz question. We're going to finish up in a moment with some bad take amnesties. So please get involved if you want to say a few more. But he's got a question for you, which I thought would be nice to do. It's a bit random, but anyway. Hi Ian, a quiz question for you to ask Andy.

1:02:17David Ornstein: The first ever penalty shootout in English football was where and between which teams?

1:02:23Carl Anka: I don't know the answer to that.

1:02:26David Ornstein: It was in 1970. Does that help?

1:02:30Carl Anka: Watney Cup, Manchester United.

1:02:32David Ornstein: Watney Cup, Hull City versus Manchester United. How has he done that? Viva Ronaldo! I love how his mind just instantly switched. Something sparked, didn't it? There'll be someone who knows more about the human mind

1:02:48Carl Anka: than any of us who will know what's going on inside there. I don't know. I think you're a unique case, Andy.

1:02:53David Ornstein: I don't think anyone can explain what goes on inside your head. The hamster wheel's going around, yeah. Do you remember what score the shootout was and who won?

1:03:00Carl Anka: No and no.

1:03:01David Ornstein: No, United won 4-3 in the shootout. That was Dave Beach who got in touch with that. So thank you, Dave. You brought out an Andy Mitton moment there on our first live stream. No talk the devils is complete without one. Right, let's go back then to your bad take amnesties. So IRL Hunter 381, Mbumo to win the Golden Boot. Ooh. That means Premier League Golden Boot. Qualjo Santos Player of the Year, Andre Santos. Jakey Chappas, City finish outside the top six. I mean, that would be hilarious, wouldn't it? United haven't finished above City, have they, in the post-Ferguson era? No. I mean, that would be a huge thing to tick off, wouldn't it?

1:03:41David Ornstein: Obviously, it's not the main ambition of the season for the club, but to be able to do that again consistently, if you're beginning to finish above City again, you're going to be pushing the top places, certainly. Zendian thinks two trophies, one big, one small. So a double of something good and something still quite good, but not as good as the big ones. This season will be the closest points gap between 1st and 20th, says Huggy. Closest? The closest points gap. So he thinks it's going to be the most competitive league the Premier League has ever been. I like that. Yeah, I mean, I don't know if the promoted sides are as strong as they've been in previous times, but let's see.

1:04:20David Ornstein: Steve Langan just simply says, can we have 10 minutes of Andy slagging off our rivals, please? Yeah, if you've not got any beef with Hull, Andy.

1:04:28Carl Anka: Hull? I got locked in the training ground there this year. There was a power cut and I was locked inside it for an hour and a half. So I could have a beef with them, but no.

1:04:39David Ornstein: As opposed to breaking into stadiums, you didn't try and break out of a training ground.

1:04:43Carl Anka: I didn't try and break out. You know, for a long time, Hull was the biggest city in England who'd never had a top flight football team. And it's a big rugby city as well. I was told this week that that's Plymouth now

1:04:54David Ornstein: that's never had a top flight off Premier League 2.

1:04:57Carl Anka: Oh, wow. Yeah, the other one is Wakefield because the way the boundaries have now been sort of…

1:05:03David Ornstein: Right. Because you get excited there about boundaries changing.

1:05:07Carl Anka: The early inspiration for United We Stand, Hull City had a brilliant fanzine back in the day. There was an amazing record shop underneath the City Hall called Sydney Scarborough Records. And Paul Heaton, the singer who now lives in Manchester, used to live on Grafton Street in Hull. And he only moved to Hull because he wanted to live near the sea. He had no connection at all. And he moved to Hull, which I think even people from Kingston upon Hull would recognise is no New York or Paris. But yeah, Paul did a stint there. Good city. It was a capital of culture, wasn't it, the other year?

1:05:39David Ornstein: It was. It was. Yeah. Well, anyway, if you're making the trip up to Hull this week and enjoy yourselves, sample all of that culture that we've just talked about, and hopefully sample Manchester United starting the Premier League season with a bang. That's it for Talk the Devil's first ever live stream. Thank you so much for everyone who's joined us for it and got involved in the comments. Thank you, of course, as well, if you're listening back to this and make sure you get involved on our next live stream. We are planning to do one next week when the Champions League draw takes place. And obviously we'll be back with a podcast after Manchester United play Hull.

1:06:13David Ornstein: That will be out on Monday, reacting to whatever that game has in store for us. But for the minute, Andy, Laurie, Carl, it's been fun, hasn't it? Great fun. Thanks so much for everyone coming down. There's a few of you in the end, I think. absolutely brilliant yeah we always appreciate the support and moments like this we should say a big thank you to everyone um it's been fantastic to do it so thank you for getting involved and thanks for making it an enjoyable experience for us we'll see you after hope whatever happens thanks for listening and watching take care bye

1:07:06David Ornstein: The Athletic FC.

1:07:13David Ornstein: Blowing ad budget on metrics that look great till the CFO sees them. That's bull spend. And marketers are calling it out in Dashboard Confessions. I remember telling my boss, it'll be good for the brand, when leads were slow. Yeah, it wasn't. Cut the bull spend. LinkedIn lets you target by company, job title, and more. Advertise on LinkedIn. Spend$250 on your first campaign and get a$250 credit. Go to linkedin.com slash campaign. Terms and conditions apply. Grainger knows if you're a procurement manager at an industrial manufacturing facility, You're balancing inventory and budget while sourcing critical supplies across the operation.

1:07:54David Ornstein: Too much inventory? Costs climb. Too little? Production slows. Grainger's$2 billion in on-hand inventory helps you get what you need when you need it. So you can help keep budgets balanced and lines moving. Call 1-800-GRAINGER, click grainger.com, or just stop by. Grainger, for the ones who get it done. Wouldn't it be great if life's little upgrades didn't feel like a splurge? Like getting the aisle seat with extra legroom for a one-hour flight, ordering extra guac with zero hesitation, or paying for assembly on that swing set because you'd rather spend your Saturday doing literally anything else.

1:08:28David Ornstein: It's called living filthy comfortable. And whatever filthy comfortable looks like to you, Schwab can help you find it with investing, trading, education, and human help, all in one place. Learn more at schwab.com. Investing involves risk, including loss of principle.