Category: Sports

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Manchester United’s only ever Chinese player, Dong Fangzhuo, has recalled his move to Old Trafford and his subsequent experience at the club.

Speaking to the official club website, the former Chinese striker claimed, “I’m so happy and excited to come back”.

The now 38 year old was on a whistle-stop tour of the north-west of England back in November and returned to his old stomping ground for a quick visit.

The player only made three appearances for the first team and never scored a goal after joining in 2004.

Fangzhuo spoke of the opportunity that brought about his dream move. “The trial was supposed to be two weeks. But ten days into the trial, United decided to give me another two weeks to test how good I could be. Halfway into the trial, the decision had been made for me to sign, but they wanted to see if my performances were consistent.”

The Chinese forward had his issues however. Despite putting pen to paper in 2004, he could not make his debut until 2007 due to being “ineligible for a work permit upon arrival in the UK”.

In the meantime, the player went out on loan to Belgian side, Royal Antwerp, and despite original difficulties with the language barrier and a solitary hotel life, he went on to become the team’s top scorer.

The former China international believes his success came about by bringing in his own trainers.

“I hired my own trainer at Antwerp – I explained to my coach why I needed a trainer and why I did extra training. The argument was: ‘I respect you, I respect your training sessions, but my ambition is not to stay at Antwerp, my ambition is to go back to Manchester United one day.’”

Eventually after his fine form in Belgium and sorting his documentation issues the player returned to Old Trafford and signed a new deal, primed to showcase his talent at the very top of European football.

However, on entering a squad containing the likes of Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, he said he “felt pressure, even from training with these massive players. There was a consistently high intensity in the training sessions every day. The more pressure I felt from playing with them, the more I wanted to prove that I could do that too.”

Dong finally had his chance at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea at the end of the 2006/2007 season when the Red Devils were already crowned champions and actually received a guard of honour from the side from West London.

Speaking of the debut, “On the pitch, I felt a bit nervous and when I look back, I feel I could have done even better. Some content creators made fun of me, mocked me with highlights as ‘lowlights’, showing me shooting the ball into the stands.”

However, the player would only get two more chances and he believes that his decision to ignore Sir Alex Ferguson’s advice and not get surgery on an injury may have been the death knell for his career at the club.

“Maybe Sir Alex took me continuing to play as a sign that I wasn’t professional, that I didn’t have a long-term plan for myself. Sir Alex thought about the club, he cared about his players and didn’t want them to risk their careers to keep playing with injury.”

The Chinese international’s reason for delaying the operation was so that he could represent his national team in their home Olympics in Beijing in 2008.

“He (Ferguson) made the call in person to inform me [that he was being sold], and I was really disappointed and sad. It was an ultimate honour to represent my country in such a tournament, so I would probably make the same decision again, but what I would change is to have had better communication with the manager and to have made smarter decisions.”

Fangzhou struggled with injury during the rest of his career and was forced to retire at only 30 years old. He now works as a pundit and runs the Dong Fangzhuo Football Club in Xiamen, which aims to develop players who “might one day follow in his footsteps but also at helping youngsters with special needs”.

The former attacker signed off the interview by stating, “maybe you have already forgotten me, but I have to say thank you for your support because as a Chinese player, having that opportunity to play in the red shirt at Old Trafford was already a dream come true.”

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Manchester United are one of a number of Premier League clubs who are sending scouts this weekend to watch Le Havre defender Arouna Sangante.

His side take on Lyon this weekend, and the 21 year old has cropped up on the radar of many top clubs due to his excellent performances for the French side over the last 18 months.

According to TEAMtalk, sources can “confirm that scouts from Chelsea, Manchester United and Fulham have made regular checks on Sangante this term”.

It has been reported by the same source that the Red Devils will also be in attendance for the match this weekend to run the rule over the young Senegalese centre back.

“The powerful defender has enjoyed a successful season to date and has helped Le Havre keep six clean sheets in 14 games – including in draws against top clubs Monaco, Lens and Lyon”.

Helpfully for the chasing English clubs, “Le Havre are understood to be willing to cash in on the player for the right price, who is also open to the prospect of proving himself at the highest level”.

United are certainly looking for help in this department.

The future of numerous centre backs at the club is up in the air and the club has been linked to a range of different options including Jean-Clair Todibo and Giorgio Scalvini.

It has been relayed here in the past that Sangante could be an option for the Old Trafford outfit.

The Mancunian side were claimed to be following the youngster since at least November, alongside both Chelsea and Manchester City.

There will certainly likely be movement in the summer in the defensive department in terms of both incomings and outgoings.

Raphael Varane has been regularly linked away and the future of the likes of Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof are also far from clear.

Moreover, the new part owners of the club, INEOS, are aiming to sign young players who are ready to take the next stop in their career. The Dakar born defender certainly suits that profile.

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The SvFF (Swedish Football Federation) reportedly met with former Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer over the national team job.

Solskjaer has been out of work since November 2021 when he was sacked by United after a run of poor results and dismal performances.

In the Old Trafford dugout, the Norwegian oversaw 149 matches as permanent manager. He was also in charge of 19 games as caretaker boss, immediately after his predecessor – Jose Mourinho –  was let go by the club.

A previous report covered by The Peoples Person relayed that Solskjaer was poised to take over as Besiktas manager.

It was relayed that the Turkish giants offered him a one-and-a-half-year deal to bring him back into action. However, it seems things did not materialize.

Besiktas appointed ex-Portugal head coach Fernando Santos as their new manager a few days ago.

Solskjaer is on the record admitting that over the past few months, he has been the subject of multiple offers, most of which he declined.

The 50-year-old explained that he is waiting for the right opportunity, which he is entitled to by virtue of the fact he once served as manager of one of the world’s biggest and most famous sporting brands.

According to Swedish outlet Football Channel, the SvFF held a meeting with Solskjaer earlier this winter to discuss the possibility of him taking over the Blue and Yellow.

It’s understood that it’s not necessary that the next manager of the national team be a Sweden citizen.

Solskjaer is of course well-versed in Nordic football, thanks to his time as a player and coach at Molde.

Football Channel adds that the SvFF also met with Jon Dahl Tomasson. A final decision regarding which candidate to exclusively pursue has not been made.

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Manchester United have struggled massively when it comes to putting the ball in the back of the net this season, netting only 22 times in 20 games to end up with a goal difference of -5.

Just to put that into perspective, newly-promoted Luton Town have outscored Erik ten Hag’s side and it is there for all to see that the Dutchman needs help up front.

New signing Rasmus Hojlund has been goal-shy domestically, scoring only once in the Premier League while missing a hatful of chances during his team’s FA Cup victory against Wigan Athletic on Monday.

Anthony Martial has failed to provide much support to the young Dane, and there is a good chance he leaves soon with the manager not too pleased with the United No 9’s commitment to the cause.

United’s need to add goals

The former Ajax coach was always wary of putting too much pressure on the former Atalanta starlet’s shoulders and the club need to bring in another natural goalscorer.

There have been links with plenty of stars in the recent past, both young and old, and the latest to be linked with a summer move is AIK Solna’s teenage prodigy Jonah Kusi-Asare.

The striker became the youngest-ever AIK player when he made his debut for the senior team at the age of 16 years, 1 month and 24 days during the Allsvenskan game against Varbergs back in August.

He has since gone on to play three more times for the senior team and not only that, but the 16-year-old also scored a hat-trick on his Sweden U17s debut in a 3-2 win over the Moldova U17 national team.

His displays have alerted Europe’s elites with Bayern Munich currently leading the race, even having made a bid for his services as per HITC Football. United have also been joined by Chelsea in the race.

“Manchester United and Chelsea are now considering a move to rival Bayern Munich for the signing of Jonah Kusi-Asare, HITC Football understands.

“Sources inform HITC Football that both the Red Devils and the Blues have been left very impressed by what they’ve seen from the 6ft 5in Swedish wonderkid, although Bayern Munich are currently in pole position.

Race on for Jonah Kusi-Asare

“AIK Solna are believed to be ready to sell the 16-year-old striker with his stock currently high.

“HITC Football also understand that Borussia Dortmund, Ajax, PSV Eindhoven and Atletico Madrid have expressed an interest in Kusi-Asare along with Manchester United, Chelsea and Bayern Munich.”

The young striker’s profile might not match the immediate requirements of Ten Hag but he is highly-regarded and someone who could prove invaluable in the years to come.

Missing out on such top talents has become something of a regular occurrence over the recent past and United will have a tough job on their hands to fend off so many clubs in the race for Kusi-Asare.

But it is one the Red Devils should try and win with INEOS needing to restore the club’s glory days in terms of youth recruitment.