{"id":9517,"date":"2026-05-17T06:26:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T06:26:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=9517"},"modified":"2026-05-17T06:26:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T06:26:18","slug":"man-utd-agree-deal-as-damaging-chelsea-mistake-exposed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=9517","title":{"rendered":"Man Utd agree deal as damaging Chelsea mistake exposed"},"content":{"rendered":"


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16 May 2026 21:07 BST |<\/span>
\n 6 min read <\/p>\n

\n \"Michael<\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n
\n News<\/span>
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\u00a9 IMAGO <\/figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\n \"Tom <\/figure>\n
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Tom Weber
\n |<\/span>
\n Writer<\/span>\n <\/div>\n

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Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Saturday delivered plenty of big news as Man Utd agreed a potentially transformative deal.<\/p>\n

Article continues under the video<\/center> <\/p>\n

Plus, one of Chelsea’s biggest recent mistakes was laid bare and Arsenal received a major boost in their pursuit of Julian Alvarez. There’s plenty to cover, so let’s jump right in.<\/p>\n

Carrick agreement reached <\/h2>\n
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\"Michael<\/source><\/source><\/picture>
\u00a9 IMAGO – Michael Carrick<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Man Utd have reached an agreement to appoint Michael Carrick as their next permanent head coach, and an announcement is imminent.<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/b><\/p>\n

Chelsea close in Alonso <\/h2>\n
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\"Xabi<\/source><\/source><\/picture>
\u00a9 IMAGO – Xabi Alonso<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Chelsea are accelerating their pursuit of Xabi Alonso.<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/b><\/p>\n

Alonso’s first task <\/h2>\n
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\"Nicolas<\/source><\/source><\/picture>
\u00a9 IMAGO – Nicolas Jackson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The Spaniard’s first order of business will be to find a solution for Nicolas Jackson, who has become the poster boy of Chelsea’s error-strewn transfer business.<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/b><\/p>\n

Barca exit Alvarez race <\/h2>\n
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\"Julian<\/source><\/source><\/picture>
\u00a9 IMAGO – Julian Alvarez<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Barcelona have withdrawn from the race to sign Julian Alvarez due to Atletico Madrid’s asking price, leaving Arsenal and PSG in pole position.<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/b><\/p>\n

Chelsea make Diomande approach <\/h2>\n
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\"Ousmane<\/source><\/source><\/picture>
\u00a9 IMAGO – Ousmane Diomande<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Chelsea have held talks with Sporting CP defender Ousmane Diomande.<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/b><\/p>\n

Fernandes price tag laughed off <\/h2>\n
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\"Matthew<\/source><\/source><\/picture>
\u00a9 IMAGO – Mateus Fernandes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

West Ham have been told that their asking price for Mateus Fernandes is ridiculous.<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/b><\/p>\n

Salah wants Slot gone <\/h2>\n
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\"Mohamed<\/source><\/source><\/picture>
\u00a9 IMAGO – Mohamed Salah<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Mohamed Salah has taken a parting shot at Arne Slot ahead of his final game for Liverpool.<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/b><\/p>\n

Froholdt breaks silence <\/h2>\n
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\"Victor<\/source><\/source><\/picture>
\u00a9 IMAGO – Victor Froholdt<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Porto star Victor Froholdt has unequivocally told Arsenal where he will play next season.<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/b><\/p>\n

Coulibaly “movement” <\/h2>\n
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\"Clemens<\/source><\/source><\/picture>
\u00a9 IMAGO – Clemens Fritz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Werder Bremen director Clemens Fritz has confirmed that there is “movement” around Chelsea target Karim Coulibaly.<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/b><\/p>\n

Mourinho returns to Real Madrid <\/h2>\n
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\"Jose<\/source><\/source><\/picture>
\u00a9 IMAGO – Jose Mourinho<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Benfica boss Jose Mourinho will be Real Madrid’s next manager.<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/b><\/p>\n

Onana not welcome <\/h2>\n
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\"Andrew<\/source><\/source><\/picture>
\u00a9 IMAGO – Andre Onana<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Man Utd have told loaned-out goalkeeper Andre Onana that he will not be allowed to compete for the No.1 role next season.<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/b><\/p>\n

Riera’s Frankfurt disaster <\/h2>\n
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\"Albert<\/source><\/source><\/picture>
\u00a9 IMAGO – Albert Riera<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Ex-Liverpool winger Albert Riera is making the managerial mess at Chelsea look like child’s play at Eintracht Frankfurt.<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/b><\/p>\n

Rashford agreement <\/h2>\n
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\"Marcus<\/source><\/source><\/picture>
\u00a9 IMAGO – Marcus Rashford<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Marcus Rashford has agreed to change his contract with Barcelona to make triggering his \u20ac30m buyout option more appealing.<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/b><\/p>\n

Related stories:<\/h2>\n

Build The FIFA World Cup 2026\u2122: LEGO\u00a9 releases stunning football-inspired collection<\/b><\/p>\n

Arsenal Transfer News Today: Alvarez decision made as \u20ac100m deal laughed off<\/b><\/p>\n

Chelsea Transfer News Today: Diomande talks opened as Liverpool battle erupts<\/b><\/p>\n

Man Utd Transfer News Today: Deal confirmed in 48 hours as Rashford pulls U-turn<\/b><\/p>\n

Transfer Rumours: Man Utd and Chelsea set to battle to sign breakout La Liga forward<\/b><\/p>\n

The FootballTransfers app<\/h2>\n

Check out FootballTransfers’ new app for all of football’s big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.<\/p>\n

The FootballTransfers app is available on Google Play and in the Apple App Store. Download here:<\/p>\n

\u2022Google Play<\/b><\/p>\n

\u2022App Store<\/p>\n

\n Read more about:<\/b>
\n <\/p>\n

The League <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

Serie A <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

Portuguese League Bwin <\/span>
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Bundesliga <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

Super League <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

Ligue 1 <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

Premier League <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

Arsenal <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

Atl\u00e9tico Madrid <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

Barcelona <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

Benfica <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

Bremen <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

Chelsea <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

E. Frankfurt <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

Liverpool <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

Man Utd <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

Porto <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

PSG <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

Real Madrid <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

Sporting <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

Trabzonspor <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

West Ham <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

Andr\u00e9 Onana <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

Julian Alvarez <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

Karim Coulibaly <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

Marcus Rashford <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

Matthew Fernandes <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

Mohamed Salah <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

Ousmane Diomande <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

Victor Froholdt <\/span>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

16 May 2026 21:07 BST | 6 min read News \u00a9 IMAGO Tom Weber |…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5205,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9517\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}