The Devil's Den

Europe’s Most Wanted Defender An analysis on one of the world’s most sought-after centre back, and no it's not Phil Jones Not many players are privileged to play for their hometown club, many youth players may not be good enough to make the grade and hence, released once their youth contract expires. The demands of a footballer are high, especially in Europe where money can be spent seamlessly to fill a hole in the team. That said, when Torres became Villareal’s first local debutant in 13 years against CD Toledo in the Copa del Rey in the 2016/17 season, expectations on him were high and we can see him relishing his potential today.   Pau Torres is currently living the dream as a boyhood Villarreal fan, playing regular football for both club and country whilst being amongst the radar of Europe’s elite. The centre back has impressed alongside Raúl Albiol at the heart of defence for the yellow submarines, as they chase European football for the second successive season, this tim...

Man Utd name Darren Fletcher technical director and promote Murtough to football director [via FotMob] Manchester United Director of Football Yes, they're in the same sentence! For the first time in the history of the club, Manchester United have appointed a Director of Football . John Murtough has been promoted from Head of Football Development to Director of Football. Ex-Red Devil, Darren Fletcher takes up the helm of Technical Director alongside Murtough. John will have overall leadership and responsibility for operations and strategy across all football functions. Murtough presided over the recruitment reboot two years ago with Solskjaer and his work on the three fronts has seen him gain a reputation as a fixer at Manchester United. He has worked closely with  Solskjaer and the rest of the football staff to create the structures, processes and culture to deliver sustained success on the pitch. This has included successful overhauls of the club’s Academy and recruitment departm...

Can Jules Kounde solve Manchester United's defensive issues? [via Brazil Scout] Harry Maguire was part of the first transfer window under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The England international arrived at Ol d  Trafford for a world-record fee of €80 million . The hi ghest ever for a defender. But things haven't really gone too well for the player. A defender to compliment him is still an enigma for Manchester United. The near-perfect CB, Eric Bailly , is almost always injured. The Victor Lindelof pairing is not up to the mark and Axel Tuanzebe is relatively inexperience d . The club is looking for a new CB who can complement well for Maguire’s shortcomings. Amongst a host of options, Jules Kounde of Sevilla seems to be perfectly suited for the role. Here in this article, we see how Jules Kounde  will fit into Solskjaer's starting XI and form a world-class CB partnership with the skipper. The club will be hoping that th...