The former French player is optimistic that Karim Benzema will invigorate the Red Devils, but he also takes issue with the management team leader’s failure to give Rasmus Hojlund the necessary support in the center of the field, which has resulted in the 20-year-old Danish striker’s lack of goals in his Premier League debut.
Saha stated in the Goal newspaper: “If Benzema joins Manchester United’s assault, it will be a huge help. That is just what they require. He’ll undoubtedly score goals and improve playmaking. Since Benzema is still a professional, Hojlund may learn a lot from him as a striker. Either way, this is simply a dream.”
“Hojlund is at the right club, but it’s unfair to put him in charge of being the number nine without an experienced player to help him,” Saha continued. Although you can have attacking midfielders or skilled wingers, being a great striker is hard. I don’t think Hojlund can see that, thus you need someone to show you how to run in the box. That kind of stuff is tough in the Premier League. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ruud van Nistelrooy were my playing partners. I had the chance to observe those legends and pick up runs and techniques from them.
This season, MU is having a lot of difficulty scoring goals. After 20 Premier League games, the Old Trafford squad has only scored 22 goals, which is identical to Crystal Palace. In the Premier League this year, only Sheffield United and Burnley have scored fewer goals than Erik ten Hag’s squad.
Hojlund, who cost 72 million pounds to sign with Manchester United in the summer of 2023, only recently scored his first Premier League goal on Christmas Eve against Aston Villa despite scoring five goals in the Champions League.
Erik ten Hag’s team will be looking to start 2024 strong after winning only once in their previous four Premier League games. On January 9, the Red Devils play their first game of the year at 3:15 p.m., away to Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup third round.
In the meantime, Benzema has only created mayhem in Al Ittihad. There was a lot of conjecture regarding Benzema’s future at the reigning Saudi Pro League because he skipped training and left Saudi Arabia.
The 36-year-old striker is not on the preparation list for the match against Al Tai on December 30, 2023, and has not visited the training field since December 28, 2023, according to the Spanish publication AS. But then, a lot of rain forced the postponement of the game.
Following several days of Benzema’s unspecified absence, an unnamed Al Ittihad management announced that he had made his way back to Madrid, the capital of Spain.
“Benzema made his way back to Madrid due to unique circumstances. He requested a few days off, and the club granted his request. He is a member of the club and a professional player,” the manager continued.
The media in Saudi Arabia is responding negatively to Benzema’s disobedient actions. The “special circumstances” that helped Benzema depart the club were questioned by some tabloids. Some speculate that the owner of the 2022 Golden Ball wants to exit the Saudi Pro League because he is not happy with Al Ittihad.
“Benzema won’t put up any effort. He appears to have lost interest in playing football and squander opportunities easily, according to a Saudi Arabian source cited by the AS newspaper.
According to a different viewpoint, Benzema was dissatisfied with Al Ittihad. If the Saudi Arabian club did not purchase more elite players to bolster the roster, he vowed to leave.
Al Ittihad signed Benzema in the summer of 2023, offering him a salary of over $200 million USD year, which is comparable to what Cristiano Ronaldo made at Al Nassr. But after that, things weren’t exactly going well for Benzema and Al Ittihad.
Benzema was reported to be at odds with coach Nuno Santo after scoring 15 goals in 24 games. Nuno Santo was fired by Al Ittihad on November 7 and Marcelo Gallardo, a former River Plate coach, was invited to take over as coach.
No one player is to blame. There are eleven players in football. This is a soccer match, not a tennis match. We are discussing one of the world’s greatest players, who has won the most championships and created history with Real Madrid, the greatest team,” the speaker stated.
With Real Madrid, Benzema won four La Liga titles and five Champions League championships. Following his fifth Champions League victory in 2022, the 36-year-old striker was given the Golden Ball.
Due to numerous players having to return in January to compete in the African and Asian championships, the Saudi Pro League will take a vacation until February.
Jadon Sancho desires to go back to Dortmund, his home.
After Sergio Reguilon returned to Tottenham and Van de Beek went on loan to Eintracht Frankfurt for the remainder of the season, Jadon Sancho is set to depart Old Trafford as well.
Transfer analyst Fabrizio Romano commented on Jadon Sancho’s desire to rejoin Borussia Dortmund, saying: “Jadon Sancho is pushing for a transfer move, so the deal for him to return to Borussia Dortmund is moving quickly and the negotiations are going very well.” His time at Manchester United has not been easy; following issues with Erik ten Hag and the coaching staff, he was left off the team.
Sancho also had the chance to join Juventus, but the Serie A team chose to invest in other players instead of paying the loan fee or salary. After a challenging few weeks, Dortmund needs a guy like this to have an impact. They want Sancho, and he wants to return there as well.
In the coming days, Sancho wants to leave Manchester United, not at the end of the January transfer window, and he made this quite plain in his message. There are still talks going on, and these are important times. keep happening in order for him to go back to Borussia Dortmund.”