Premier League: 10 talking points from this weekend’s action

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/may/25/premier-league-talking-points

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1) Van Gaal has a definite transfer plan

“I have talked with every player I think I have to talk to,” Louis van Gaal said, “I know which players have to go and which have to come.” It was a slightly disarming aside midway through an otherwise tediously routine post-match press conference, during which Manchester United’s manager seemed more taken with the passion of Hull City’s fans than with an end-of-term nil-nil for his evolving team-in-progress.

There was a slight element of double take about it, though. Last year Van Gaal was frustrated by his inability to get his squad by the scruff of its neck during a congested tournament year. And while he also dropped in how much he was looking forward to his holidays in Belgium, either side of the Summer of Louis there is clearly plenty of transfer business trussed and ready to go. So who’s on the way out?

Current intelligence, rumour and guesswork suggests some combinations – possibly – of the following: David de Gea (to Real Madrid, possibly); Radamel Falcao (back to France or similar); Jonny Evans (to Everton); Adnan Januzaj (ditto on loan); Ángel Di María (PSG perhaps? Pace Ronaldo …); Rafael (anyone who’ll have him). The question of new arrivals is more intriguing. Money will be spent in the key areas down the spine of the team – striker, central midfield and centre half – while United also need a genuine right back and a new goalkeeper.

Some names have already been suggested. Bastian Schweinsteiger would be a great signing, on two-years-ago’s form. There are few obvious striking contenders, although Alexandre Lacazette is on everyone’s shopping list. Petr Cech’s name has been mentioned. Otherwise Van Gaal might just have some surprises up his sleeve. Either way, United have a plan this summer. And it will at least, this time around, be the manager’s own. Barney Ronay

2) Newcastle could do with keeping Janmaat

Graham Carr, Newcastle’s super scout, has lost his magic transfer market touch a little in the past couple of years but the acquisition of the Holland right back, Daryl Janmaat, from Feyenoord last summer represented a return to form. In an indescribably awful season for the Tyneside club Janmaat has impressed – and did so again against West Ham. Not surprisingly, Manchester United, Liverpool and Southampton are said to want him. Their overtures must be resisted. In what should be a major summer clear-out on Tyneside, a top priority for the powers that be at St James’ Park is keeping Janmaat. Louise Taylor

3) Sterling’s non-appearance points to breakdown

Not since 1963 had Liverpool lost so heavily and, on the back of a dismal two-month period, the inquest after the 6-1 defeat at Stoke City focused on Brendan Rodgers’ future. Was the team and, by extension, the manager’s job prospects in a terminal state? As a consequence, Rodgers was only lightly grilled over his decision to drop Raheem Sterling, after the winger’s relationship with the club had deteriorated further last week. “With Raheem, I felt there has been a lot going on and I just felt that there were other players mentally better positioned to play in the game,” Rodgers said. On Friday, the sense had been that Rodgers was ready to include Sterling in his starting line-up but the non-selection revealed that the player’s thoughts are elsewhere. When a player has effectively lost the will or ability to do his job properly and/or the manager feels he cannot pick him, the road to reconciliation looks awfully long. David Hytner

4) This Chelsea team can still improve

Chelsea’s dominance this season has been plain for all to see. They have topped the division for 274 days, are the only club in the 92 to remain unbeaten at home all term and have eclipsed their nearest challengers by eight points having actually claimed the title three weeks ago. Yet the sight of eight members of the side who had won this club’s first championship in half a century lining up on the turf prior to kick-off had offered a reminder that the current team, perhaps terrifyingly for their nearest challengers, remains a work in progress.

José Mourinho has built a dominant team in these parts before. There, on the pitch, were William Gallas, Alexei Smertin, Carlo Cudicini, Eidur Gudjohnsen, Claude Makélélé, Geremi, Paulo Ferreira and Ricardo Carvalho, to be joined by Didier Drogba, Petr Cech and John Terry from the current squad, all celebrating that first success a decade on. Not all of those were Mourinho signings, but they revelled under his stewardship to take Chelsea back to the pinnacle. “Now that team of 2005 is over, finished,” said the manager. “Only John and Petr are still at the club now that Didier has gone. I belong to two generations. To have come back [last season] for the end of my team was hard. To see Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and Michael Essien leave, and now Didier, is very hard for me. But my job is Chelsea’s future, and that is this team that we’ve been developing the last few years.”

The likes of Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois, César Azpilicueta, Diego Costa, Nemanja Matic, Oscar, even Cesc Fàbregas – not to mention the cream of the youth players who emerged at half-time on Sunday to show off the three trophies they have claimed this term – can only emerge stronger from this campaign. They will attack next season with as much relish, determined to retain their trophy and make proper inroads into the Champions League. Mourinho set them a challenge post-match: to follow up this success with a similar haul to that achieved by his first side at this club. “That’s what makes the difference between someone who is a champion and ’the champions’,” he added. The chasing pack should beware. Dominic Fifield

5) Agüero deserves more credit

Manuel Pellegrini grinned knowingly in one of his pre-match press briefings on Friday when asked, tongue-in-cheek, if he thought there was a conspiracy against him and Manchester City players but, in the case of his Argentina forward Sergio Agüero, there may be some substance to the question. The topic was raised with the City manager in the context of José Mourinho winning the LMA manager of the year award this season, an accolade for which Pellegrini was snubbed 12 months ago despite an identical list of honours – Premier League and Capital One Cup. Pellegrini, however, pointed to his predecessor Roberto Mancini being similarly overlooked for honours, along with Yaya Touré last season and, more relevantly, Agüero this. His effort against Southampton left Agüero with 26 goals for the league season and the Golden Boot award, five ahead of his closest challenger, Harry Kane.

It is Agüero’s highest return in a City league career in which he has now scored 77 times in 118 league games – an astonishing four-year ratio of one goal every 1.5 appearances. Yet, just as astonishing, Agüero not only failed to make the six-man shortlist for the PFA player-of-the-year award this season but was not considered worthy of a place in the PFA Team of the Year – Kane and Diego Costa winning selection to the forward positions. Pellegrini refuses to take a leaf out of Mourinho’s book and scream “conspiracy” but it is hard to imagine what more Agüero can do, beyond this season’s 26 goals in 31 league games, to receive any plaudits.

However, if his manager is correct, Agüero is only going to become an even more complete player in the years to come, perhaps making it impossible for him to be overlooked for individual awards. “I work with him every day and know what a player he is,” said Pellegrini. “It is very important for him to win the Golden Boot for the first time in his career. I am sure we will see the next years of Kun as a better player. He has chances to continue improving. He is improving in the way he understands what football is and his contribution to our team.” Ian Whittell

6) Could Walcott lead the line at Wembley?

Tony Pulis was hoping that West Bromwich Albion’s defence would be spared from trying to cope with Theo Walcott’s pace. “Walcott is outstanding as a front player,” West Brom’s manager said after his side’s 4-1 defeat to Arsenal. “His movement is first class and you know he’s going to score goals.” Pulis had just seen Walcott demolish his West Brom defence by scoring a hat-trick in the space of 33 minutes in the first half and the question now is whether he should start instead of Olivier Giroud when Arsenal face Aston Villa in the FA Cup final on Saturday. Giroud has been out of form in the past month and has not scored since 4 April, so Walcott’s speed and ruthlessness as a finisher could be the answer for Arsenal at Wembley. Jacob Steinberg

7) Kane’s busy summer may prove problematic for Pochettino

Harry Kane, once again, made all the difference for Tottenham Hotspur as he provided the clinical edge to turn a dominant performance into victory against Everton and registered his 21st Premier League goal of the season. In doing so, he underlined why Mauricio Pochettino has such misgivings about his inclusion in the European under-21s championship this summer and its subsequent impact on Spurs’ start to the next season. The Tottenham manager plans to rest Kane after his summer exertions in the Czech Republic despite the inevitable repercussions at club level. He also made it clear, just moments after the 1-0 win at Goodison Park, that the club’s aim for 2015-16 has to be Champions League qualification. An upgrade on Roberto Soldado will be required this summer to compensate for the likely loss of Kane in early August and to strengthen those ambitions. Andy Hunter

• Match report: Everton 0-1 Tottenham

8) Pearson deserves great credit for holding his nerve

On 22 February Leicester City, bottom of the Premier League, were four points adrift of 17th-placed QPR. Twelve games later, they have completed the season 11 points and six places ahead of the London club and both sides’ recent form has been such that barely an eyebrow was raised at the margin of their victory on Sunday. The two have provided perfect case studies in how and how not to handle promotion to the Premier League and it is hard to escape the conclusion that a few years quietly rebuilding further down – how far further could yet depend on how the FFP scenario plays out – would not be a bad idea for a QPR setup that continues to send eyeballs rolling towards the heavens.

Leicester, for their part, would not have banked on winning seven of their final nine games but their survival – much like their ascent – has been a triumph of perseverance and a tribute to the confident pragmatism of Nigel Pearson. It was fashionable to focus on Pearson’s abrasiveness while his team floundered but he made few significant changes to the structure of a side that had been developed carefully over three and a half years – aware that Leicester were performing creditably most weeks and falling foul of fine margins inside both boxes. Leicester’s collective performance levels have not altered dramatically but their efficiency has and the excellent late-season form of the 34-year-old Esteban Cambiasso, who visibly warmed to life in the Premier League, was a major factor too. Pearson will doubtless make some changes in the summer but deserves huge credit for holding his nerve when many around him – including, if rumours at the time were to be believed, his board – seemed on the verge of losing theirs. Nick Ames

9) Pardew’s Palace transformation should not be underestimated

It is some feat for a manager to finish a Premier League season reviled by one set of fans and toasted by another, but while Alan Pardew takes no pleasure in the situation that spiralled out of control at Newcastle he is deservedly thrilled by the turnaround he has wrought at his spiritual home in south London since January. Palace’s win over Swansea was a sedentary affair, cheered only by Marouane Chamakh’s first league goal since 23 August, but it gave them a top-10 finish and underlined the fact that Pardew – who took over when the club were 18th in the table with 17 points from 20 games – has engineered a turnaround to match Pearson’s. They have averaged 1.7 points a game since he arrived and similar form over an entire season would have seen them finish fifth. It is second time lucky for chairman Steve Parish after his experiment with Neil Warnock failed but Palace look well set for an exciting future. Upwardly-mobile London clubs are an ever more attractive prospect for players and investors alike, and Pardew has stressed that he needs to “buy some quality” if Palace are to push on. Retaining some would come in handy too and Pardew’s biggest achievement has perhaps come in coaxing consistent form from Yannick Bolasie and Jason Puncheon, two talented but previously erratic journeymen who would each now command an eight-figure fee. It feels as if the right manager is at the right club this time, and much more of this from Pardew will create a highly positive impression of a career in which it has often been hard to tell exactly how good he is. Nick Ames

10) Benteke and Ings would be a good fit for Liverpool

If Liverpool had a scout at Villa Park, she/he would have appreciated the contributions of two strikers who could feasibly help ease the goalscoring burden at Anfield. Christian Benteke, with 12 goals in his last 12 games for Aston Villa, is a powerhouse oozing confidence and power while Danny Ings, claiming an 11th goal of a season which he ends as a free agent, has excellent mobility and close control. In days gone by, they might even have been an ideal front pairing, a latter day John Toshack and Kevin Keegan.

While Liverpool will be mourning Sunday’s events at the Britannia Stadium, they should move for Ings quickly. The England Under-21 striker not only has goals, youth and the ability to link play adroitly, he displays a hunger to press defenders and work for the cause. He’s not Luis Suárez just yet but, for where Liverpool are now, they could do a lot worse.

The case for Benteke is quite different. While he held his hands together in a silent appreciation of the Holte End that could have been perceived as a farewell, having promised not to discuss his future until after Saturday’s FA Cup final with Arsenal, the Belgian giant would surely cost £30m. But while he is imposing when galloping at defenders and a great target for teams willing to play forward quickly, Benteke takes an extra second to get the ball out of his feet and is not suited to sides such as Arsenal and Liverpool who like to create quick passing triangles to open defences up in the final third. Maybe he will stay at Villa but if he moves to another English club, Manchester United’s willingness to mix their game up with long diagonals could suit Benteke down to the ground – and up in the air. Peter Lansley