Today, we ran the latest edition of our subscriber-exclusive Ask Ornstein Q&A.
Once a week for an hour, The Athletic’s subscribers can ask me for my views on anything from the football world. I have pulled together some of my favourite questions and my answers to them below.
Got a question? Join us again next Thursday.
Julian N. asked: “Do you have any insight on Florian Wirtz? Is he considering staying at Bayer Leverkusen or going to Manchester City, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich? Is there already a preference?”
David Ornstein: I’m pretty sure Wirtz is City’s top target, Julian, and that seems to have been the case for a fair while. But it doesn’t mean they will get him.
It’s an extremely expensive deal for whoever wants to do it, and then it will be a decision for the player, of course. Many I speak to in the industry believe Bayern are in the strongest position to sign him at present — but let’s see how it evolves. If City don’t get him, they will obviously pivot to other options and, as I revealed last month, Morgan Gibbs-White of Nottingham Forest is high among them.
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There will be other candidates, too. Should City miss out on Wirtz, it will be interesting to see whether they reallocate that budget to a couple of lower-cost players in the same area of the pitch or divert some of those resources elsewhere, with their defence among the areas they are looking to bolster.
Gibbs-White is high among City’s options if they do not sign Wirtz (Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)
A reader asked: “Matheus Cunha to Manchester United seems to have died down a little. Could you give us a little update in regards to that, please?”
Ornstein: I don’t think it has died down, there’s just not a great deal that can happen until the season ends and Cunha’s release clause at Wolves becomes active.
In the meantime, United will seek to get personal terms in place; they’ve made an offer but I’m not aware of an agreement yet, so they’ll continue discussing it in an effort to get there.
If/when that happens, and the clause becomes active, they can get the deal done.
Also, they’ve got the small matter of a Europa League semi-final — and likely final — to be focusing on, although whether or not United can offer European football next season will not impact their ability to sign Cunha.
Hugo K. asked: “Can you tell us about the connection between Liverpool and Kevin De Bruyne? How possible is it for him to play for them next season?”
Ornstein: As far as we understand, Hugo, Liverpool won’t be signing De Bruyne once his Manchester City contract expires this summer.
He is good friends with members of their squad, notably Virgil van Dijk, and I’m sure those guys would love to play alongside him, but any notion of the Premier League champions moving for him is thought to be wide of the mark.
Jonny K. asked: “There are strong links for strikers and midfielders to Arsenal, but is there any concrete interest in wingers?”
Ornstein: The interest in Athletic Club’s Nico Williams is well documented, Jonny. I’ve also previously mentioned that they like Anthony Gordon of Newcastle.
I saw the Rodrygo rumours a few days ago, but I don’t have any info regarding the Real Madrid forward at the moment. And there will be other options. I’m not sure we should expect a quick resolution on this position; Arsenal have been keen to add a wide attacker for what feels like years!
I think it would require a departure, and also, the more immediate priority seems to be a striker.
Wcrice88 asked: “Could Manchester United’s main centre-forward target change from Liam Delap if they win the Europa League, and who are the other strikers they’re interested in that they otherwise may be reluctant to spend on without the prize money winning the final will bring?”
Ornstein: We understand the finances are already in place to do their first-choice targets, Delap and Cunha, irrespective of European football. Delap will likely take longer than Cunha to be resolved because there are so many suitors for him and, to our knowledge, the Ipswich striker has yet to decide where he wishes to continue his career.
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We know of Ruben Amorim’s affiliation with Viktor Gyokeres from their days together at Sporting CP, but I’m not sure yet where he will end up (Arsenal, and others, are interested parties).
There have been lots of reports on Victor Osimhen and I’ve no doubt United and most other top clubs appreciate him as a player, but for whatever reason (it seems to be his salary and whether he’s the character they’re looking for) these teams don’t seem to be advancing on that, and currently I’m not expecting United to sign Galatasaray’s Napoli loanee.
Anonymous U. asked: “When did Youri Tielemans get this injury, and what’s the seriousness of it? Are there any longer-term effects likely to affect him next season?”
Ornstein: I’m not aware of it being more severe, hence our report saying there is a chance (however slim) that he returns for Aston Villa’s final game of the season against Manchester United in a couple of weeks’ time.
It sounds like it’s around the calf area, so I’m sure club and player will want to avoid taking any risks, regardless of how big a blow his absence is and the magnitude of these last three matches.
Tielemans has been key to Villa’s return to form (Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images)
Brian S. asked: “There are a lot of articles about the players who clubs should target, and those players may or may not actually be available. Who are the biggest names you think are actually available this summer?”
Ornstein: In no particular order and completely off the top of my head… Gyokeres, Benjamin Sesko, Delap, Cunha, Darwin Nunez, Marcus Rashford, Jonathan David, De Bruyne, Jadon Sancho, Christian Eriksen, Jamie Gittens, maybe Alejandro Garnacho, Bryan Mbeumo, potentially Antoine Semenyo, Jonathan Tah, Dean Huijsen, possibly Marc Guehi, Jorrel Hato, probably Cristian Romero, Milos Kerkez, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Mike Maignan.
How many more? I’m out of breath!
Alfio O. asked: “Is there any real interest in Carlos Baleba? I’m surprised such a complete player is being talked about so little in terms of this summer. Greetings from Argentina.”
Ornstein: Hola, Alfio! Baleba has many admirers, believe me. And rightly so. However, I imagine Brighton have no desire or need to sell him in this summer’s window and when that is the case, they tend to get their way.
He has enjoyed a superb first couple of years with them and is under contract until 2028. That puts Brighton in a position of great strength. There is also no indication he is agitating for a move. So it would take a king’s ransom for Brighton to even consider parting with Baleba — and I’m not aware of anyone preparing to go to such lengths at present.
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We’ve seen this movie many times over: Brighton and their owner, Tony Bloom, are among the shrewdest operators in the market, and they control these situations particularly well.
That probably explains the lack of chatter you refer to.
Colette B. asked: “What do you think Liverpool’s net spend will be in the next window?”
Ornstein: How long is a piece of string, Colette?! There is, of course, money available at Liverpool this summer — largely because of the prudence shown a year ago.
But I think we should avoid phrases such as “war chest”, because Liverpool have never spent crazily. As always, I suspect the priority will be quality, rather than size of outlay. Don’t forget the extensions of Mohamed Salah and Van Dijk come at a significant cost, and there may be others to follow, such as Ibrahima Konate if an agreement can be reached.
There is a lot to do, in and out, and Liverpool’s finances are in decent shape. But the focus will inevitably be to trade intelligently, as opposed to lavishly.
Sebas P. asked: “Could Dean Huijsen be in play for Spanish clubs such as Real Madrid or Barcelona?”
Ornstein: We know Madrid like him, Sebas, and vice versa.
But I still have no info yet to suggest they are actively pursuing the situation. Whereas Premier League clubs (mainly Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool, but also Newcastle and Tottenham) are.
Bournemouth and the player want a decision by the end of the season, so we’re going to get clarity soon.
Premier League clubs have been more active around Huijsen (Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)
Harry L. asked: “Is there a chance Manchester United don’t sign a traditional striker this summer and instead go for Cunha and Mbeumo, for example?”
Ornstein: This is something I touched upon recently, Harry. I suspect that is plausible if they can’t get what they want at No.9.
In such a case, you’ve got Cunha, Mbeumo, Semenyo and Tyler Dibling of Southampton, who have all been or are on United’s radar. I’m sure there will more more, too.
Still early days, though, so very tricky to say with any certainty.
Caolan M. asked: “Do you have any information on attacking players Liverpool are looking to sign?”
Ornstein: We’ve gone through the striker situation in previous weeks, and I don’t have any fresh updates on that, Caolan. Alongside that, as a priority, is left-back. Bournemouth’s Kerkez is looking the most likely but, naturally, Liverpool will have other options, too.
What they do there may influence the thinking on right-back. This position isn’t as high a focus because they’ve got Conor Bradley and Joe Gomez. If a recruit is sought, we know Liverpool are among the clubs who admire Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong because of the profile he represents.
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In other words, should an addition be made (which is not guaranteed), they seem keen to go for someone who offers something different and multi-faceted.
Frimpong fits the bill there, and I’m sure his release clause of around €35million (£29.6m/$39.3m) will appeal to clubs such as Liverpool, as we’ve seen in the past. He would be keen on the possibility, so it’s one to keep an eye on.
(Top photo of Florian Wirtz: Getty Images)
