Coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer disappeared from the Premier League in 2021 after a weak start to the season and with superego Cristiano Ronaldo suddenly in the squad. History has shown Solskjaer was actually the best United manager since Ferguson, so the United legend still has a high star in England. This will be exploited by Besiktas when the club cleans up the squad and gets ready for the new season.
After a terrific start as Besiktas coach, the weaknesses of the shaky big club have come to light in the last two games. The Turkish media is used to labeling something as a disaster, but it is not Solskjaer who is blamed for the latest losses. There is clearly a consensus that far too many of the most experienced Besiktas players lack the will and mentality to stand in the “football war”.
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Solskjaer has made it clear that the squad has too high an average age, where efforts must be made to build a new squad with young and hungry players who can handle a higher pace.
“Players like Oxlade-Chamberlain, Immobile and Joao Mario should be banned from the squad. I can’t think of any other solution, writes Sinan Vardar at Fotomac.
“Besiktas needed replacements before Solskjaer came in. In the beginning, he got a lot out of the players he has, but now we see that replacements are needed. An example is players like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Ciro Immobile,” says Turkish journalist Karataş.
Besiktas have no room for manoeuvre with strained finances, in the winter transfer window the club brought in 19-year-old Keny Alexander Arroyo Alvarado and 21-year-old Elan Ricardo. Now it is reported that Besiktas have their sights set on a promising Premier League player.
Friend and former Solskjaer assistant coach at Manchester United, Kieran McKenna, leads Ipswich in the Premier League, after two promotions with McKenna as coach. English journalists threw themselves at the keyboard when Solskjaer was spotted in the stands at a Wolverhampton match in mid-December. This had to be the surest sign that Solskjaer was getting ready for the Wolves job.
It turned out that Solskjaer was in the stands to catch his buddy McKenna’s job with Ipswich against Wolves.
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Now Turkish Fotomac Besiktas reports that Ipswich player Jaden Philogene is on their wish list for a loan next season
The 23-year-old was brought from Aston Villa to Ipswich in January for £20 million. So far, there have been 8 games on the winger (as natural on the left side as on the right) with 3 goals.
The special thing is that two of Philogene’s goals came at Old Trafford against Manchester United, the first shocking United supporters after just four minutes.
This is a player Ole Gunnar must have flashed out, probably following signals from the Ipswich manager. We think a phone call to Kieran McKenna is what is needed to secure the rental of Philogene. Ipswich know Solskjaer gives the 23-year-old the best development opportunities.
Everything you need to know about the big match Besiktas – Galatasaray