The Red Devils' revival starts with retaining Mourinho

Just when many self-media and some media reporters in the Eastern country were fantasizing about who would join Manchester United, the second wave of transfer storms of Manchester United Club had quietly arrived.

On June 26, Manchester United Club and French Saint-Etienne Club issued announcements on their respective official websites and social media: William Saliba, a French player of Cameroonian descent and a central defender of Saint-Etienne born in 2001, joined Manchester United Club for 25 million pounds.

In the announcement, Manchester United Club gave William Saliba a very high evaluation, calling him a new force with great potential in the team's defense. Since William Saliba started playing for Saint-Etienne in 2016, he has emerged on the field with his excellent physical fitness, keen defensive awareness and superb aerial confrontation ability.

He is tall and has long legs, and has a natural advantage in defending set pieces and high-altitude balls, and can often clear the ball cleanly. Moreover, Saliba's footwork is also quite outstanding in the central defender position. He can calmly pass the ball when facing the opponent's pressing, successfully resolve the crisis, and lay the foundation for the team's defensive counterattack.

Manchester United said that the introduction of William Saliba is the result of careful consideration and long-term planning for the team's defense, and is an important move for the future. The team hopes that he can quickly understand the English football philosophy and quickly integrate into Manchester United's defense system with his own strength, and further consolidate the team's defense line.

In the announcement, the Saint-Etienne club, although reluctant, also sent sincere blessings to William Saliba. They reviewed William Saliba's outstanding performance during his time in the team. From the immaturity when he first started to gradually grow into the backbone of the team's defense, every step of his growth is vivid.

Saint-Etienne mentioned that William Saliba's departure was to pursue a higher football stage, and they understood and respected his choice. At the same time, the transfer fee of 25 million pounds will also provide certain financial support for the club's subsequent development and be used to train more outstanding young players.

For William Saliba himself, joining Manchester United is undoubtedly a big leap in his football career. He will bid farewell to the familiar Saint-Etienne and step into the legendary Old Trafford. There, he will face stronger opponents and meet the challenges of higher intensity games.

Not long after, Manchester United and Scottish Premier League team Aberdeen announced on their respective official websites and social media: William Saliba, a French player and Manchester United defender born in 2001, joined Aberdeen on loan for one year.

After the announcement, Manchester United's sports director Solskjaer quickly accepted an interview with a Manchester United TV reporter, explaining in detail the many reasons for the introduction and loan of William Saliba, which the fans are very concerned about.

Reporter: "Hello, Mr. Solskjaer. There is news that Arsenal has also made an offer to Saliba. So is Manchester United's purchase of William Saliba for 25 million pounds and free loan related to this rumor?"

Solskjaer smiled and answered calmly: "I understand that there will be many speculations about this, but I can clearly say that Manchester United's series of decisions have no direct connection with the rumors of Arsenal's offer. In fact, our Manchester United scout team has been observing William Saliba for almost a year. During this long observation process, our scouts have carefully examined his performance in every game. Whether it is in the league battle of Saint-Etienne or his appearance in other competitions, William Saliba's every move is within our scope of attention."

Reporter: " Then can you tell us specifically what qualities of William Saliba made Manchester United so determined to make the decision to introduce him? "

Solskjaer nodded and continued: "William Saliba has many shining points, which let us see his great potential in the future. First of all, as a central defender, he has excellent physical fitness. He has a good height advantage, which is particularly important when defending high-altitude balls. He can effectively head the ball in the penalty area and not give the opponent the opportunity to use high-altitude balls to create threats. And his confrontation ability is also very strong. In the close combat with the opponent's forward, he can often gain the upper hand with his own strength and successfully curb the opponent's offensive situation. "

He paused for a moment and continued to explain: "Furthermore, William Saliba's defensive awareness is very sharp. He can always predict the passing line of the opponent's offensive player in advanceThe route and the next move, so as to make defensive actions in time, or steal, or stand in advance to block the opponent's offensive route. This excellent defensive awareness is not something that every young player can have, and William Saliba is particularly outstanding in this regard. "

Reporter: "What about the arrangement of renting him out for free? What are the considerations?"

Solskjaer crossed his arms in front of his chest and responded seriously: "The reason why we made the decision to rent Saliba out for free is also from the perspective of his growth. Although he has good potential, he is still young after all, and needs more game experience in different environments to further hone his skills.

Everyone knows that William Saliba has been playing in a French football club, and French football and English football are still quite different in terms of football concepts. One of the important reasons for renting him to Aberdeen Club in the Scottish Premier League this time is to let him get familiar with and understand the English football style as soon as possible. English football has a unique rhythm and characteristics. Its confrontation, fast pace of the game and diversity of the styles of each team are different from other leagues. We hope that through this loan, he can experience and feel the English football field in person, which will accelerate his integration process so that he can better play for Manchester United in the future. We also believe that after the loan experience, William Saliba will be able to better integrate into the team when he returns to Manchester United in the future, adding stronger protection to our defense line. "

Solskjaer said to the camera with a focused and serious expression, "Furthermore, William Saliba's loan contract includes a minimum requirement for appearances. We arranged it this way to facilitate him to get more game training.

Although Manchester United will compete in the UEFA Champions League, English Premier League, FIFA Club World Cup, English FA Cup, English League Cup and other competitions next season, it is well known that Manchester United's current lineup already has legendary central defenders such as Kepler Laveran Lima Ferreira (Pepe), three world-class central defenders such as Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire and Ruben Dias, as well as young talents such as Josh Gwadiol and Timothy Fosu-Mensah who have adapted to the English football style. William Saliba will not have the opportunity to play for Manchester United's first team in the short term. For young players, no amount of training can completely replace the growth brought by actual combat games. Only in fierce games can he truly face various emergencies and improve his adaptability, technical application and tactical understanding. Therefore, we hope that he can make as many appearances as possible during the loan period, accumulate rich game experience, and hone his skills to make himself more mature and comprehensive. "

Solskjaer looked determined, paused for a moment, and then elaborated: "In addition, Manchester United will send a technical team to follow up William Saliba's training and games throughout the next year. This technical team is composed of experienced coaches, analysts and other professionals. They will pay close attention to every detail of William Saliba's training, observe his technical improvements, physical fitness, etc.; during the game, they will also analyze his performance on the field, including defensive positioning, passing choices, cooperation with teammates, etc.

Through such a comprehensive follow-up, we can give William Saliba guidance and advice in time to ensure that he can continue to improve in the right direction during the loan period and make the best preparations for his future return to Manchester United. "

Reporter: "Mr. Solskjaer, Arsenal Club recently publicly accused Manchester United of buying William Saliba for driving up prices. What do you think of this?"

Solskjaer heard that his expression instantly became serious. He looked directly into the eyes of the reporter and refuted it firmly: "This accusation is completely groundless and ridiculous. Manchester United has always adhered to the principles of fairness, justice and based on the true value of players in the transfer market to operate every transaction. "

He paused for a moment and then said: "We bought William Saliba after a long period of investigation and evaluation. The scout team made a detailed observation of him and recognized his potential and his future contribution to Manchester United. The offer of 25 million pounds we made is a reasonable price based on William Saliba's own ability, growth prospects and other factors. It is by no means an act of price gouging. "

Solskjaer's expression became more serious: "I think Arsenal Club's unwarranted accusations are more due to hisIt is probably an emotional expression after we failed to achieve our goals in this transfer. But Manchester United will not change our normal transfer operation logic because of such false accusations. We believe in William Saliba's value and believe that this transaction is of positive significance to the long-term development of the team. "

Reporter: "Thank you for your clear response, which has given everyone a clearer understanding of this matter."

Solskjaer nodded slightly: "I hope everyone can look at these situations in the transfer market rationally, rather than believing in some unfounded accusations." After this interview, fans have a deeper understanding of Manchester United's move to loan William Saliba, and are full of expectations for William Saliba's performance during the loan period.

At the same time, William Saliba, the person involved, also accepted an interview with the local French media. Facing many issues of concern to the outside world, he responded one by one.

The reporter first asked: "Mr. Saliba, what is the reason behind your decision to join Manchester United this time? "

William Saliba recalled the scene at that time, with a smile on his face, and said: "In fact, when I received the call from Mourinho, I was already very touched. Mourinho told me clearly on the phone that he thought I was the future of Manchester United, he saw the potential in me, and believed that I could play an important role in Manchester United's defense. As everyone knows, Mourinho is a very prestigious and talented coach, and his recognition means a lot to me. I felt that I had ushered in an excellent development opportunity to get such an evaluation from him, so I was determined to join Manchester United at that time. Manchester United is a wealthy club with a glorious history and many fans. It has always been my dream to become one of them. Combining these two, joining Manchester United became my choice without hesitation. "

Then, the reporter turned the topic to joining Aberdeen on loan and asked: "Why did you take the initiative to join Aberdeen on loan? "

William Saliba looked serious and replied, "Yes, I know how important it is for a young player to have a chance to play. Although I joined Manchester United, I know that if I want to really grow and improve myself, I must have enough practical experience. Aberdeen is a very good team with fierce competition and many excellent players. I took the initiative to go to Aberdeen on loan, hoping to get more opportunities to play there, to hone my skills and improve my game reading ability through real games, so that I can return to Manchester United in the future and contribute more to the team. "

Finally, the reporter mentioned the transfer rumors with Arsenal and asked, "Regarding the rumors that Arsenal has also made a transfer offer to your club, how much do you know about it?"

William Saliba shook his head slightly and said, "To be honest, I don't know whether the club has received a transfer offer from Arsenal. During the transfer process, many things are operated by the club's senior management and related staff, and my main focus is still on training and competition. I only know that I joined Manchester United in the end and made arrangements to go to Aberdeen on loan. I don't really know the details of other rumors. "

Through this interview, William Saliba gave the outside world a clearer understanding of his transfer to Manchester United and the subsequent arrangements.

Of course, no one would have thought that behind William Saliba's transfer, there was a man far away in the East who was controlling the whole process. The main purpose was: first, to directly intercept Arsenal and snatch the future cornerstone of the Gunners' defense, which was exactly the same as the introduction of Ruben Dias last season; second, it was because of William Saliba's iron man attributes. As a man who was hanging on the wall, Luo Lie clearly remembered that in the 2023-24 season a few years later, William Saliba became the first Arsenal player in the history of the Premier League to play every minute of the entire season and the first Arsenal player who played every minute of the season since Lee Dixon in the 1989-90 season. He was the absolute hero of Arsenal's runner-up in the Premier League that season.