Capital Punishment: In an exclusive interview with Crypto Casinos UK, Louis Saha accuses Manchester City of trying to get away with murder as Premier League hearing moves into second week
The former United striker also slams Erik ten Hag’s treatment of Marcus Rashford and communication with the press & urges United to make a move for Victor Osimhen to solve scoring crisis.
Full Transcript
Q: We’re five games into the Premier League season, has anything stood out for you?
Louis Saha: “The first five games in the Premier League have shown that there are several teams that can compete for fourth place. The quality of the league seems to rise every single year, which is good for the fans.
Aston Vill and Newcastle, I think they can fight for a place in the top four and sustain that push over the course of the season.
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by Chelsea and some of their performances. I wasn’t a fan of how they conducted their transfer business – I don’t like the strategy – but if all their talented players can click, I think they can do something this season.
Liverpool’s players have completely embraced the new demands that have been placed on them by Arne Slot. When a new manager comes into a club, it’s normal to expect a bedding in period, but I think that transition and the time it takes for the club and the players to adjust from Jurgen Klopp is going to be very quick; much quicker than everyone expected at the start of the season.
Everyone knows that Manchester City have the greatest talent pool and Pep has the best squad in the Premier League, but even so, it looks like individual players have improved. If you look at Erling Haaland’s game, he is playing like a man possessed and has ten goals already.”
Q: Which clubs are you tipping to finish in the top four and why?
Louis Saha: “From the way that the season has started, I think the title race will be between Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool. I don’t think it will be that different from last year.
I like what Arsenal’s and Arteta has done over the last few years. They have added quality to the squad, but, more importantly, their main players have become more experienced in fighting for the Premier League title.
Arteta looked at his defence, which was the best in the Premier League last season, and he added to it. They’ve changed their style and have become a team that is a lot harder to beat. They are a very difficult team to play against – quite streetwise. Ruthless.
The only thing I would say about them is, they still don’t have a killer striker who will score a guaranteed twenty goals a season at a minimum. Arsenal are missing that player who can score a goal when things are really, really tight.
Liverpool have got brilliant firepower. Like Arsenal, you look at them and think in the number nine position, who is going to score twenty goals for you? That isn’t much of an issue when you have Salah and, Luis Diaz has started the season on fire. I’m a massive fan of Diaz.
Darwin Nunez is a player that has a lot of interesting qualities. If he could put everything together, he would be a very dangerous player in the Premier League.
Both Arsenal and Liverpool can challenge Manchester City, but you have to say that City are the favourites. City have the best squad, the best striker and they have a wonderful collection of defenders. They have an arrogance about them because they’ve done it all before and they also have stability. When you put all of those things together, it’s worth an extra five points over the course of a season. You never hear anything about players being unhappy or discontent behind-the-scenes.
In terms of the fourth place, Chelsea, I would say Tottenham. I think Aston Villa and Man United can fight for it, but it all depends on consistency. With the quality in the league, anyone that wants to finish in the Champions League position needs to be consistent.
Chelsea have the talent, but they have a very inexperienced team. There will be days where it doesn’t click for them. They have a lot of potential, but with potential, you don’t have consistency. Chelsea are a young team, and they will make mistakes this season. It’s really difficult to find super consistent performances every week when you have so many young players.
I’m optimistic about Chelsea because they’ve created a lot of chances in the five games they’ve played. They’re also conceding a lot less stupid goals and making silly mistakes.
I can see a very, very strong race for the fourth spot. I think it’s going to be interesting to see that this season.”
Q: Who has been the best player in the Premier League so far this season?
Louis Saha: “It’s such an easy decision. As a former striker, the only answer I can give you to who has been the best player in the Premier League this season is Erling Haaland.
Haaland is above every single player in the league. 10 goals in five games, I’ve never seen anything like it. He’s such a brilliant striker. He’s got unbelievable pace – he’s quicker than many wingers in the Premier League. He’s a player that has absolutely everything in terms of the physical power and technical mastery.
People questioned whether he would be able to score goals at the same rate as he had done in Germany when he joined. People were ready to hammer him, but he’s proven everyone wrong. I always knew that he would be a success because he has everything that you need if you want to be a successful striker in the Premier League.
He’s a threat for 90 minutes in every single game. Whether it’s in the air, running in behind or in the box. He seems to be a player that is always in the right place to finish things off, and, when you play the football that City does, you’re going to score so many goals.
He works hard. He’s dedicated. Mentally, he’s really strong. He’s a perfect professional and that’s why he deserves so much respect. He’s one of those rare animals that has gone into City and improved them – he has given them a different dimension.”
Q: What would you consider to be the best signing of the transfer window?
Louis Saha: “It’s difficult to say which signing was the best because, this season, we didn’t see any truly world-class players or big stars join the Premier League. There were younger players, players with potential that can blossom into world-class players signed, and one of them was Leny Yoro.
I want Manchester United to be successful. I’m a United fan. When the club signed Yoro, I was delighted because, to be honest, I didn’t think he would join a club that weren’t playing in the Champions League. I know he’s only 18, but this guy is such a talented prospect.
He’s one of the biggest talents to come out of France in years. It was obvious after watching him play for Lille last season that this guy was too good for the French league. I can’t wait to see him get on the pitch for Manchester United when he recovers from his injury.”
Q: Was there a transfer that left you scratching your head thinking ‘why have they signed him?’
Louis Saha: “I didn’t like what Chelsea did with Raheem Sterling and how they handled that situation. I thought that the club showed Sterling a complete lack of respect in the way they went about their business. I didn’t understand it and I don’t really understand Chelsea’s transfer strategy in general.
They did the same thing to Trevoh Chalobah. To cast off your players like that, it’s strange because they’re both top players.
I also thought it was strange that Manchester United let Sancho go. There was a lot of talk in pre-season about how he would be given an opportunity this year, but I don’t think that was ever going to happen.”
Q: Who do you think is the most underrated player in the league?
Louis Saha: “I don’t know if their underrated because they’re players that are playing every week in the Premier League, but maybe they don’t get the same level of respect as some of the bigger names.
I really like Leon Bailey at Aston Villa. I’ve always been a big fan of his and I feel like he doesn’t get the accolades that he deserves.
It’s the same with Mohammed Kudos at West Ham. There are player that register less numbers that get more headlines, but I think these guys are really talented.
I also like what Harvey Barnes is doing at Newcastle. He had a nasty injury last season and was missed – he’s made an impact in the last few weeks, and he looks like a player that wants to make up for spending a long time on the sidelines.”
Q: Who is going to be the breakout star this season?
Louis Saha: “If I had to pick one player that will be the breakout star in the Premier League this season, then I have to pick Luis Diaz. He has really stood out for me in terms of his power, his commitment and his desire. I love his aggression without the ball – he’s always looking for an opportunity to hurt his opponent.
We know that he’s a great finisher. We know that he can create. I’m astonished by what he has brought to Liverpool in the first five games of the season. The guy looks completely unplayable at the moment – that’s how highly I rate him.”
Q: It’s the race that no one wants to win. Who do you think will win the sack race this season?
Louis Saha: “It’s a really difficult one, but when I see the Everton manager, Sean Dyche, I think if there was to be a manager to go first, it could be him. I don’t enjoy saying that because I have so much respect for Everton – I have great memories of playing for the club and its fans.
I like Sean Dyche, I just think that he is going to be asked a lot of questions if he loses his next two games against Crystal Palace and Newcastle, I think he will be in danger. They aren’t easy games, but they need to put a performance together that gives everyone the confidence that this can still be a decent season for the club.
I was pleased that they got a point on Saturday against Leicester, but we saw the same problems in that game that we’ve seen all too often this season. The club can’t hold onto leads and these defence lapses are costing them too many points.”
Q: The Premier League’s case against City is moving into its second week. If they’re found guilty of breaking the rules, what do you think will be an appropriate punishment?
Louis Saha: “Nobody knows how the independent panel is going to deal with Manchester City’s case.
If you look at it from the outside, it looks like Manchester City have been trying to get away with murder! We’re not talking about one or two infringements, mistakes that could have been made innocently, we’re talking about 115 charges.
That makes you think that they must have known what it was they were trying to do. There must have been a strategy at play to bend the rules to their advantage. It’s calculated, well-thought out. It has to be when there are that many charges levelled against you.
It’s unfair. I know that the charges are from 2009, but this team that we’re seeing now was built on the success of teams that have been accused of breaking the rules.
I’m not sure what the appropriate punishment will be, but the rules are the rules, and every club has to adhere to them. For clubs like Everton, it must be hugely frustrating to have points deducted so quickly, while City’s case has been allowed to drag on and on and on. They’ve been given time to organise their case, they’ve been given time to actually defend themselves, or even hide something. That’s not fair on any of the other clubs in the Premier League. That’s a double-standard and you can’t allow double-standards in any walk of life.
The Premier League also needs to take some responsibility here. They need to have a stronger process and, perhaps, maybe it would have been better for them to focus on the breaches they were certain they would win on. The paperwork for over 100 cases must be absolutely insane.
I am baffled by the Premier League’s decision-making when it comes to members who break the rules. You can’t punish one club and not punish the other. That makes a mockery of the rules and the organisation. This has taken far too much time.”
Q: Rodri recently complained about the number of games elite players are being asked to play. He said he would go on strike and that is an idea that is supported by others – do you agree with him, and do you think players could strike?
Louis Saha: “I completely understood Rodri’s points about striking and I think he’s right. Anyone that loves football and watches the game with their own eyes can see that the quality if the play has dipped. The games are not as good as they used to be.
What’s happening is, the truly elite players, the guys that play 60 games in a season, they’re almost picking their games where they give everything. They are playing at 70% and you can see it in their performance.
I remember games where I was looking at Kylian Mbappe playing for Paris Saint-Germain, he was picking his games. I’m not saying that he wasn’t trying to play properly or that he couldn’t be bothered, but the reality is that he was playing so much football. It’s impossible for him to play full tilt in 60 games or more in a single season.
Ultimately, it’s the fans that are missing out because they’re watching games that are not as exciting.
I think the governing bodies in football pay lip service to the issue of player welfare. They say the right things, but they’re only interested in making as much money out of the game as possible.
The football industry is about entertainment, but if it’s controlled by people with a financial interest, they don’t care about the product if its profitable. These are the guys that are not good for the game. We’ve seen these types of people try to make as much money from the game as possible, and we can all see them for what they are.
I think adding more games where the standard is low, it weakens the product. It’s cheating the fans that pay a lot of money to watch it on the television or to go to the stadiums.
The Premier League is a Ferrari. If you want to buy it, you have to pay the top price because there are certain things that you get with a Ferrari. You know it’s a high-quality product that is the best in its category. Football is in danger of turning into a used car showroom flogging cheap cars to the highest bidder. The product can’t be world-class without the players. They are athletes not commodities.”
Q: Does your old team mate Mikel Arteta need to win a trophy this season?
Louis Saha: “I don’t think that Mikel Arteta needs to win a trophy to demonstrate that he is a top, top manager. He’s shown that he’s one of the best by challenging Manchester City for the title in back-to-back seasons.
I think to do what he did, that’s an unbelievable achievement. I’m really impressed with his ability as a coach and winning a trophy wouldn’t change that – everyone can see how good Mikel Arteta is.
For a club like Arsenal, and for Mikel himself, he will want to win something. He’s got so close with his group of players, the next step is lifting that Premier League title or winning the Champions League.
The best managers are addicted to winning trophies. There’s no doubt that we’re watching a great Arsenal team this season, but for this team to be recognised as one of the best in Premier League history, they need to add some trophies to the cabinet. That is the only thing that is missing at the moment.”
Q: You’ve played with some massive players, serious leaders, guys with unbelievable pedigree. Out of your ex-team mates, was Mikel the one who you thought ‘he’s born to be a manager’.
Louis Saha: “I wouldn’t say that Mikel Arteta was born to be a manager, at least that wasn’t something I thought when he captained Everton, and I played with him.
I’m not surprised that he has gone on to be a very good manager though. He was involved in almost every single detail at Everton. He was really tactically aware about things, and he wanted to know as much as possible about the reason David Moyes would make certain decisions. Arteta and Moyes, they were always speaking.
You could tell that he had a football brain. He liked to talk about football and was a good communicator. Even though I played with him and know him well, it’s still a bit strange for me to see him as the manager we see now every week with Arsenal.
I think what he’s achieved at Arsenal over the last few years has been spectacular. He’s established a playing style, and he’s improved players. He’s taken the club up several levels.
He made some big decisions early. I was surprised by the ruthless approach used to handle the Aubameyang situation, and he did something similar with Ozil, which couldn’t have been easy for him because he played with him.
He’s over-delivered on the initial expectations that I had for him.”
Q: Emile Smith Rowe joined the club for a record fee from Arsenal. He’s been in great form for his new club – could Arsenal regret letting him go?
Louis Saha: “I hope that Arsenal regret letting Emile Smith-Rowe leave because that would mean that he has been a great signing for Fulham.
I absolutely love Fulham Football Club. They will always have a special place in my heart, and it makes me happy to see that the club are able to sign top, top talents, players that don’t see moving to Fulham as a step down, but more like a trampoline and an opportunity for them to boost their careers.
Andreas Pereira, for example. He was finding it difficult to establish himself in the Manchester United team and now you see him at Fulham, and he’s blossomed into a proper playmaker. Having Smith-Rowe and Pereira in your midfield adds a lot of creativity and gives Marco Silva some great options.
Fulham have wingers that want to attack, and Smith Rowe will complement the way that they can hurt opponents. These days, Fulham are playing a type of football where they will give anyone a game. They can cause problems to anybody in the Premier League. It’s amazing to see them use this approach.
You can tell when you watch Smith-Rowe that he was educated at Arsenal in terms of his speed of thought, the way he does things. He’s incisive and he makes Fulham play with more purpose and speed.
There were a lot of games last season that they drew, when really, they should have won them. If they can turn those draws into wins this season, then I think there is a chance that they could qualify for a place in Europe.
What I love about my old club is that the ambition is not just to avoid relegation. They want to play beautiful football, and they know that they can beat the best teams in the country when everyone is playing at the top of their game.
I think Fulham will have a great season.”
Q: Judging by Everton’s collapses in games do you think Sean Dyche has lost the dressing room?
Louis Saha: “I don’t think that Sean Dyche has lost the dressing room. I think Dyche has challenged his players to improve publicly because he felt like he had too and everyone in the club will be tired of going into games prepared for a fight. It’s draining when you’re going into games and your confidence is low.
I think the managers comments were designed to wake up his players. He didn’t pick on any individuals, and he said what everyone can see if they watch the club play, but it’s never nice hearing those kind of comments from a manager if you’re a fan of the club.
Everton have conceded 14 goals in five games. Sometimes you need to get your players to face reality, even if it can be unpleasant.
They have the players and the manager to turn things around. They have all of the material. They need to work hard and, in many ways, go back to basics and start trying to be a team that is difficult to beat and hard to break down.
They showed a lot of resilience last season. They weren’t impacted by the points deduction at all. Everton is a club that has overcome difficult moments in the past, and I think they will do so again.
I’m backing Sean Dyche to turn things around. He needs to make them a lot more sound defensively and quickly. The next two games at home to Crystal Palace and Newcastle are absolutely massive for him.”
Q: Newcastle’s performance at Fulham was uncharacteristically slack. The vibes at the club are a bit sour. Does the game against Man City give the club the perfect opportunity to show the world that the performances are not going to be impacted by what is happening behind-the-scenes?
Louis Saha: “That’s the reality of the football industry, you always have the next game to respond and show your fans and the world what you’re made of. Whether you win or you lose, you have to be ready for the next weekend. Newcastle knows this; they know that there on a journey and that there is a process that Eddie Howe is trying to implement.
If Newcastle’s ambition was to finish in eighth place, I think they could achieve it easily because they have got some great players, but that’s not the ambition of the cub or the vision of Eddie Howe. They want to establish themselves as a top six club year after year.
If they want to show the world that this is a team that wants to win trophies and compete with the best sides in the Premier League for a place in the Champions League, then putting in a good showing against the champions is a great opportunity.”
Q: On tensions between Paul Mitchell and Eddie Howe
Louis Saha: “Listen, stability and togetherness bring more than just a harmonious squad, it brings points. The best clubs are the clubs that are stable.
I look at the best example of a club that I played for and that’s Manchester United. At United, you would never ever hear anything being said about the direction of the club or have Sir Alex Ferguson’s decisions questioned by people on the board or on the sporting side of things.
You wouldn’t ever hear Sir Alex speaking negatively about his players in the press. He protected every one of his players. Every issue was handled in-house.
I’ve never seen anything like this tension between Eddie Howe and Paul Mitchell with David Gill and Alex Ferguson. Personal things, disagreements, they need to remain confidential and said behind-closed-doors. They shouldn’t be discussed in the papers.”
Q: What is going on with Marcus Rashford and Erik ten Hag – he left him on the bench, he said that his lifestyle wasn’t right….is there a danger that Rashford could become the next Sancho or Ronaldo and fall out with the manager?
Louis Saha: “I struggle to understand Erik ten Hag’s communication and the way that he talks about players in the press. From the point of view of a former player it’s not the kind of thing a manager should be saying in a press conference before a game. The timing of it is all wrong.
Ten Hag must have known when he made those comments about Rashford that he was going to be on the bench against Crystal Palace. Rashford is not a small player – he’s one of Manchester United biggest and most important players.
We’ve seen managers pick on players before. It’s common for a manager to pick on the biggest star and make an example of him to show the other players who is the boss and that anyone can be on the bench, but there is a way to do it. I think Erik ten Hag has done it completely wrong, and, in the end, there’s a danger that he will upset the player. That won’t be good for anyone and that can create problems in the dressing room.
We’ve seen Erik ten Hag fall out with Cristiano Ronaldo, with Jadon Sancho. These are players with big reputations. With Ronaldo, people are talking about him every day, all over the world. Even now – he’s a superstar. Anything with him or with Rashford is going to create headlines – that’s why you have to handle your communication with these players privately. You speak in the dressing room, not in the press.
I’m not a manager, but I don’t think that this approach ever brings anything good or gets the best out of a player.”
Q: What is the best way to manage Rashford and bring him to his best levels? The tough love approach from ten Hag isn’t working…
Louis Saha: “I think in the first four games, he’s tried to bring the player back to life. He’s been rebuilding his confidence slowly. He scored in his last two games and then you put him on the bench when he starts to find his confidence?!?
That is a strange decision to make. Why do that and then say what he said before the game – it creates more problems than solutions. The confidence that you’ve slowly started to build in the player evaporates.
I just don’t understand how these techniques are ever going to be motivate Rashford.
United have a quality squad, there are players who can play in Marcus’ position, but the timing to drop him was completely wrong.
I’m not here to manage, but when you look at a players mental state, his mindset isn’t going to be helped by incidents like this.
Everyone always questions Marcus Rashford’s body language. Maybe this could be one of the reasons behind it.”
Q: Sir Alex tended to keep everything in house – is it a mistake for ten Hag to be airing his dirty laundry in public? Does it put more pressure on him?
Louis Saha: “I think ten Hag’s negative comments about his players does put more pressure on him, which is why it’s the wrong decision. I’m not saying that every decision a manager needs to take has to be perfect; as a manager you have to make difficult choices and work under difficult circumstances.
I just think there are certain things that you say to your players that you should be saying behind-closed-doors. For example, if a player isn’t training well, you don’t expose him for that and destroy his confidence.
Negative comments about players just attract unwanted attention. It’s a lot easier for a player to rediscover his best form when he doesn’t have his name in the papers every single day.
You don’t treat your best players like that. Marcus Rashford is the only player in that United squad that is completely unplayable on his day. He is the only player in the squad that has the capacity and the potential to score 30 goals a season.
Bruno Fernandes can create a lot of assists and dictate the game for Manchester United. He can be the leader on the pitch, but the one player who can win you a game on his own is Marcus Rashford.
This is why Erik ten Hag needs to realise that if he wants to have a team that is capable of winning or challenging for the Premier League title, he needs to get the best out of Marcus Rashford.
I don’t think that Erik ten Hag understands the consequences of his communication and how it negatively impacts his players.”
Q: One player that we haven’t seen yet is Leny Yoro. The young French defender is highly rated – what will he bring to the team when he’s fit, and do you expect him to establish himself in the starting eleven quickly?
Louis Saha: “I think Leny Yoro has the ability to establish himself in the Manchester United defence very quickly. He’s the type of player that is dangerous in both boxes, and he’s very comfortable on the ball.
I think he will be a good fit for the Premier League because he has all the attributes you need to be a success.
Let’s also remember that he is still a really young player. He’s going to need a bit of time to improve his physicality, and he will need to improve tactically. He’ll make mistakes, but that’s part of the process. If he works on what he has, then I don’t see any reason why he can’t blossom into one of the best defenders in the Premier League eventually.
He can play in a back three. He gives ten Hag flexibility if he wanted to play with a three.
When Manchester United signed him, I thought it was a very exciting signing. I thought they did really well to get him because every single top club in Europe wanted him.”
Q: Were you surprised that Erik ten Hag stayed as the manager given the public interviewing process that went on to find a new coach? Is that a decision that the club may regret? Would it have been better to start afresh?
Louis Saha: “We can never say conclusively that Manchester United would be in a better position now if they made a managerial change in the summer. We don’t know that for certain.
In football, you can’t anticipate anything. There are not many guarantees in this sport.
The people that made the decision to give ten Hag a new contract might think in three months that is was the wrong decision, but that doesn’t mean that the club would have been any better off with a different manager.
The football executive team have a very difficult job. I think that is why the process of offering ten Hag a new contract in the summer went on for so long. Do I think it was wrong of the club to speak with potential managers? I don’t think it was at all – when you’re a top, top club like Manchester United, you have to be prepared to make big decisions and you have to hold up a mirror and ask yourself if you can improve. You also need to have an option in case the man you want, in this case ten Hag, says that he doesn’t want to be in the job anymore.
You have to assess every single option. It’s an audit. You can’t leave anything to chance and that’s why the decision to extend ten Hag’s contract took as long as it did.
It wasn’t a pleasant situation for anyone. It made planning a lot more difficult for the club.
In his defence, he can say, I’ve won two cups since I’ve been here and I’ve beaten our biggest rivals in one of the finals, and no one can take those two cup victories away from him, but we need more. When you watch football, all of the best teams have a clear foundation and a clear way of playing. They all have an identity; nothing is left to chance on the pitch. They don’t change things on a weekly basis and rip things up and start again. I don’t think we’ve seen that identity in an Erik ten Hag team.
Perhaps, in the last game against Crystal Palace, if you’re looking for positives, then that you could say that was the first game where you could see something moving in the right direction in terms of an identity on the pitch. You could see they were playing with principles.”
Q: When you were at the club, there were so many top strikers. You had Van Nistelrooy, Rooney, Ole Solskjaer was there…Tevez, Ronaldo. United need more – will they continue to drop points until that is addressed?
Louis Saha: “That is the reality of having inexperienced players or players with potential, you will always drop points. Players like Zirkzee and Hojlund have potential, and I rate them as players, but potential means that they are not the finished product.
Van Nistelrooy, he was a finished product. You can’t improve Ruud van Nistelrooy. He knows what his game is and he can do his job perfectly.
You don’t improve Carlos Tevez. You don’t improve Solskjaer. I was playing alongside players I could learn from. The Manchester United strikers are learning from each other, and, OK, they have Ruud in their working with them too.
I had the best teachers in the world when I was at the club. There aren’t any players that are there to help them. Ruud helped me with my movement. Rooney helped me with my aggression. Carlos Tevez helped me with my link-up play. I learned from the best, whereas Zirkzee and Hojlund are relying on each other.
Marcus Rashford is the senior man in the squad for the forwards at the age of 26. Players like Amad and Garnacho will be learning from him, but it’s hard for him to also be considered an example, when the manager says negative things about him in the press.”
Q: If you feel like the club are missing that striker, who is the player you would love to see them bring in?
Louis Saha: “It would be a difficult signing to make, but I think he is exactly the type of player that Manchester United need and that is a striker like Victor Osimhen. I don’t know if it’s a realistic option because he is on loan at Galatasaray, but if you’re talking about a proven goal scorer with pedigree, he is the man.
He would instantly improve the team. If you signed Osimhen, you’re not signing potential. You know exactly what he is going to give you.
A striker like Osimhen is exactly the kind of signing that Manchester United need to make. If it takes a lot of money, and it will to sign Osimhen, you go and do it.
I think that Manchester United should have broken the bank and signed Harry Kane two seasons ago. He’s a player that you should be willing to break the bank for because you know that he will score at least 30 goals and he’s a wonderful professional for the next generation to learn from.
I’m not here to give the Manchester United Sporting Directors a lesson in who to sign, and I know it’s a new team since then, but if you want to take the club on an upward trajectory, if you want to win the Premier League, then you need a striker with the profile of Kane or Victor Osimhen.”
Q: Dom Solanke get off the mark for his new club. Do you expect the goals to start flowing now for the Bournemouth man?
Louis Saha: “I think Dom Solanke will prove to be a great signing for Tottenham. He’s a player who is at the top of his game and his link up play has really improved over the last couple of seasons.
I think he’s done really well. Technically, he’s really good. He loves to score goals, and he is a player that, although he hadn’t scored until this weekend, he was always in the right area. That gives me the confidence that Solanke will score a lot of goals for Tottenham because he’s got quality players like Maddison who will keep feeding him.
Son and Kulusevski will create chances for him. They are dangerous players who occupy defenders and that will give Solanke more opportunities to score goals.
The one issue that Spurs have had is someone applying the finishing touches to their games, because they create so many chances. They needed to add a deadly finisher because they will always give the opponent a chance to score, but in most games, they will create a lot more chances. Solanke can score the goals that Tottenham need to turn their domination of the ball and chance creation into three points.”
Q: Given his playing style, is Solanke the closest thing that Tottenham could have found to a Harry Kane replacement?
Louis Saha: “I think that Dominic Solanke is the closest like-for-like player they could have signed to replace Harry Kane. His link-up play is a massive plus to his game and it’s something that has improved so much over the last two seasons. He’s very comfortable on the ball and he doesn’t make bad choices or silly passes.
Over the last few years watching his games, I thought that he was a very classy player. At Bournemouth, he created goals for himself and for his teammates. He would often be the player that started a move and then he had the ability and the instinct to get into the right position within the box and finish it off. That is a rare talent and that was something that Harry had in his locker. He was the master of it.
It’s not only the goals, but it’s the ability to create chances for the rest of the team and Spurs play with a lot of dangerous attacking players like Son, Kulusevski and Johnson. They will all benefit from Solanke’s ability to find them.
The only number nine I played with in my career who could do the same thing – score and create loads of goals – was Wayne Rooney.”
Q: Ange second season trophy statement
Louis Saha: “I’ve said this before, but Tottenham are not far away from winning major trophies and competing with the best teams every single week. I really like what Ange has brought to the club.
When they appointed him last season, I liked the appointment because of the football that he plays and because of his personality. I think he is the man that can lift trophies at the football club, and I like the fact that he said that he normally wins something in his second season. I thought it was a clever statement because he’s put himself under positive pressure and he’s laid down the challenge to his players to win something by also saying subconsciously that he believes that they can.
He’s bold. He’s ambitious. He has a winning mentality, and he is also a very good communicator – he treats all of his players in exactly the same way. By making that statement, he’s also taken responsibility.”
Q: The Europa League starts this week. Is that a trophy that Spurs should be looking to win?
Louis Saha: “Spurs need to compete for every single competition they play in. It’s as simple as that. They don’t have a choice.
Winning the Premier League is like trying to climb Mount Everest. You need a lot of oxygen to do it, it takes a lot out of you. It’s so demanding. It can be very hard to make that step, and, by playing in the Europa League, it helps improve the quality of your team. It’s a tournament that you can give opportunities to younger players in which can prove invaluable.
The Europa League is a massive opportunity for Tottenham this season. There isn’t a reason why they shouldn’t be able to go very far in the competition.”
Q: Manchester United vs Tottenham
Louis Saha: “The relevancy of these two teams winning that game is minimal. You can’t say what a win would do for either club in terms of finishing in the top four because it’s so early in the season.
Both teams are looking for consistency. Both teams need confidence. If Manchester United can bring a performance similar to what they did at Palace, where the only thing missing was the goal, then I think we will see an interesting game. United played with a midfield that wanted to go forward and they got the balance right.
Tottenham are a really difficult team to play against. I think it will be an interesting game. I hope that Manchester United can come out on top, and I’m expecting it to be a very open contest with a lot of chances for both teams because both teams have some very talented players.
I’m looking forward to seeing how the Manchester United defenders deal with Tottenham’s attacking threat. Son and Johnson bring a lot of pace to the wide areas, but I have to say, that I’ve been impressed with United’s defence so far this season. I really like Lisandro Martinez and Dalot has been solid for a while now. I also like what the new players have added to the team in Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui.”
Q: Do you think Wayne Rooney has got what it takes to become a top manager in the game?
Louis Saha: “Wayne Rooney has got an enormous desire for football, and he’s got an enormous desire to transmit that knowledge to players. I would love to see Wayne Rooney managing a big, important club, but it’s a difficult journey and Wayne knows that better than anyone.
Sometimes, you must be in the right place at the right time. You need the right opportunity. I don’t think Wayne has had that opportunity yet to manage the type of players that he would really like to work with. I’m talking about players with exceptional quality.
In many ways, it’s a similar problem to what Patrick Vieira had. He went into Palace, it took him a bit of time, but he wasn’t working with players that were anywhere near the level he played at. Sometimes, that can be hard for a manager to deal with.
Frank Lampard is the other example. He got the opportunity to manage his club, Chelsea, early in his career. OK, he had managed Derby, but making the jump from Derby to Chelsea is huge.
I don’t think Wayne Rooney expects anything in management to be handed to him on a plate. You can tell he’s hungry to show that he can manage because of the club’s he’s taken on. Nobody could describe those jobs as easy.
He’ll know that he needs to improve to get a big opportunity, but I hope he gets it because he has so much to offer, and he had such an unbelievable playing career.”
