In an exclusive interview with Spaceportsweden.com, Manchester United legend Louis Saha has revealed his sadness about Marcus Rashford’s ongoing omission from Ruben Amorim’s first team and believes that the England international only has himself to blame.
During a wide-ranging interview, two-time Premier League title winner Louis Saha also discussed the fortunes of former clubs Everton and Tottenham and all the biggest stories dominating the football news cycle including the latest transfer rumours.
Premier League observations
Q: Who do you think has been the Premier League’s top striker this season?
Louis Saha: It’s funny because it starts with a question with the quality and the numbers of strikers. You have an obvious one at the moment: it’s still Haaland, he’s the best striker in the Premier League by a distance.
Other than Haaland, I’m struggling. You’ve got Isak at Newcastle who is having a brilliant season, but I would out him in the same category as Ollie Watkins at Aston Villa and Dom Solanke at Tottenham. They’re good players, but they’re not superstars in the mould of Harry Kane or Robert Lewandowski.
Back in the day, the superstars in the Premier League were the forwards. We’re in an era now where it’s a bit different, goals typically come from all over the park and there aren’t that many superstar nines that teams always look towards to win them games. I think it’s sad that there are less out and out goal machines in the game these days.
Q: Which players would you pay money to watch in the Premier League this season?
Louis Saha: Over the last few years, it would have been Kevin De Bruyne, without doubt. At this moment in time, I have to say Amad Diallo. I love to see Diallo play. I love the boy, his capacity to excite me.
Rashford was another player that used to really excite me, but I can’t put him in the list because he’s not playing at the moment. He used to get me off of my seat. When the boy was on fire, when he was dedicated to his game, I would have paid money to watch him.
Cole Palmer is probably the only other player (that I would pay to watch). He’s a special player and he plays with so much freedom, so credit to Chelsea for giving him that freedom to express himself because in the Premier League these days, I’m seeing too many creative players being asked to play conservatively. There’s a lot of robots in the Premier League that are slaves to their manager’s tactics. Palmer and Amad are completely unique in the sense that they play with so much freedom.
Q: Who has underwhelmed this season?
Louis Saha: I expected a lot more from Phil Foden this season, even if he has picked up his form recently. I’m also really surprised by what Jack Grealish has delivered this season – I’m expecting a lot more from those two players in the second half of the season.
Looking at Manchester United, Mason Mount has disappointed me since he joined the club. I know he’s been injured, but he has not shown the courage and the personality that he had when he was at Chelsea, I was really hoping that he picked up his form and blossomed into an important player for Manchester United this season but it hasn’t happened for him.
Phil Foden, Jack Grealish and Mason Mount have been the three biggest flops for me this season. Those guys have so much talent, so I have expected much more. I want to see every player with such talent expressing themselves with freedom because they are the ones who make us go crazy in the stands. These players need to remember that they are not going to war; there is nothing to fear from trying to express yourselves on the pitch.
Premier League headlines
Q: Kyle Walker is heading for Italy. How do you think he will be remembered in the all-time greats of the Premier League?
Louis Saha: I think Gary Neville is still up there when it comes to the greatest ever right back in the Premier League era, but Kyle Walker isn’t too far behind him in second place.
Walker is a top player. He has proved that he’s a very consistent player for England as well. He has not faced a lot of opponents that have a good day against him, so he’s definitely one of the best.
The only thing that is a bad mark against him, and I don’t know how fair this is, is all of the off-the-field stories that have dogged him for the last few years. People don’t talk about the player and his performances without talking about his personal life, and that’s a shame, but having that kind of reputation stops you from becoming one of the absolute legends of the game. You have to have a perfect private life away from the pitch.
Even though the off-the-field stuff has nothing to do with his ability, it’s always mentioned and that is the difference between the legends, and the great, great players. It doesn’t help you when you want certain personal accolades. Like the Ballon d’Or where we have seen Vinicius and Rodri. I’m sure he will still be considered a legend at Man City, and in the Premier League.
Without the off-the-field issues, Kyle would have been more widely respected.
Q: What did you make of Erling Haaland signing a 9.5-year contract and the timing of that? Is there any danger with doing a deal for that length?
Louis Saha: As a Manchester United fan, I was gutted when Manchester City and Haaland announced that he was signing a new bumper contract. I was really upset that he didn’t sign for Manchester United when Ole was there – I know that we could have had him and that looks like one of biggest transfer mistakes that United have made in the last decade!
As a football fan, I’m pleased that he has committed his best years to the Premier League. As I said, when you look around the division for world-class strikers; superstars, I think he’s the only one. I’m glad that we will get to enjoy him in the Premier League and that he won’t be joining Real Madrid or Barcelona.
I’m very pleased that the Premier League can still be the main attraction when it comes to excitement during the season and also the main attraction for top, top players.
I’m not judging La Liga or the Bundesliga in a bad way, but those league’s aren’t anywhere near as competitive as the Premier League. Keeping one of the best in the word, is good news for the Premier League.
I also like the commitment from him and his club. They’re in it for the long-haul to win trophies and the news will give everyone associated to Man City a boost because of all of the issues that are happening behind-the-scenes. I also like his loyalty. It’s a huge contract, but it is deserved. I also don’t think there’s any danger that after signing a deal like that, Haaland’s desire will falter. He looks determined to smash all the goalscoring records in the Premier League.
Q: Despite the CL result can you see City going unbeaten and pushing Liverpool all the way for the title despite their injuries and bedding in new signings. They usually go on a strong run in the last few months of the season.
Louis Saha: You can see that it’s a difficult season for Manchester City. Having those types of bad runs never happened to Pep Guardiola, and it’s never happened to Man City in the last 10 years. They have a lot of things going on outside the club in terms of the court cases that they have.
The Haaland contract was some respite during a bad season. Recent results have also improved in the Premier League, but they had a horrible night in Paris last week.
I can see them going on one of their runs again this season, it wouldn’t surprise me to see them win 10 in a row. They haven’t been able to find the right solutions in midfield since Rodri got injured. I think they still look vulnerable, even with the new signings but that doesn’t mean they don’t constitute a threat.
This is a transitional season for them. I think they need to make a lot of changes in the summer to come back and challenge for everything. For them to come back into the title race, they would need to win every single game, and, from what I’ve seen of them this season, I don’t think they’re capable of doing it. I also don’t expect Liverpool to lose that many games this season.
Perhaps City can have a decent season in the Champions League, but I think in the Premier League, the best they can hope for is the top four.
Q: Are you surprised that there still hasn’t been any movement from Liverpool on the contracts of Virgl, Mo and Trent?
Louis Saha: It’s a tough one. We know that they Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mo Salah and Virgil are all top, top players.
The big question is: out of all of the players, who has the passion to want to continue their Liverpool career? From the noises that we’ve heard, Virgil and Mo are the two players that have said they want to stay.
It’s not an easy situation for the club to manage. Sometimes, even if players have been absolutely brilliant for you, and these three players absolutely have, the club may not be able to give them what they want or they may think that from a business point of view, it’s better to let them go. They may want to give Virgil and Mo big new contracts because of their age.
As a player, you want to feel that love from the club; you want to feel wanted. You want to be told the club wants you for many more years.
I think Salah probably deserves a little bit more grace if he decided that he doesn’t want to stay. I think he may want another challenge after being so successful for so long, and perhaps he feels a bit disrespected that he hasn’t been offered the contract that he wants from the club. He’s been quite vocal about his disappointment at not being offered a new contract, but I think from what he’s done this season, he couldn’t have done anymore to secure a new deal.
Why Trent and Virgil’s contract situation is different from Mo’s
Louis Saha: Virgil and Trent’s situation is a little bit different. One is the club captain and the other is a local boy – academy graduate – so perhaps we expect them to show the club a little bit more loyalty. It’s a different situation to Salah, for me.
Trent could be a one-club legend like Carragher and Gerrard, he would probably be Liverpool’s next captain, but it seems like he wants to go to Real Madrid.
I feel like Van Dijk is favourite to stay, because he’s the captain, the leader, and you want to see him show that leadership by signing a new contract.
It’s a really difficult situation for Liverpool. Allowing bug players to run down their contracts used to be really where, but it’s happening more and more these days. The only guys that do well out of it are the agents!
Q: Out of the three players, who do you think will stay and who do you think will leave?
Louis Saha: I think that Van Dijk will stay. That feels like the easiest of the contracts to get signed from a Liverpool point of view. It looks like he wants to stay, so they should just get it done.
Salah has come out and said that he is closer to leaving than staying. I think out of the three, I would put Van Dijk as the most likely, followed by Salah, but it looks like Trent will be heading to Spain.
Manchester United
Q: Do you think Hojlund (he has scored just 2 Premier League goals this season) and Zirkzee (he has scored just 3 Premier League goals this season) are capable of delivering the goals United need from their strikers in the years ahead?
Louis Saha: I think that Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee are good players. They work hard, you can see that they’re trying their best. Can they score 20 goals a season? Not right now, maybe in the future, but certainly not at the moment. I am not saying that they don’t have the quality.
The reality is that these are two players that have been thrown into the deep end of Premier League football. Manchester United are in a transitional period, and it’s difficult to blood players while the club are under so much pressure. It’s really difficult for them.
I think they need players around them to show them what it takes to be a top striker at Manchester United, and there is nobody there that can do that at the moment. When I joined, it was easy for me because I had some unbelievable players to learn from like Solskjaer and Ruud van Nistelrooy, I had players to teach me but also players that would challenge me to raise my level of performance otherwise I wouldn’t play.
At the same time, having players of that level at the club took the pressure off my shoulders.
In this United team, the players are nervous. Hojlund and Zirkzee are nervous. They are not being given the best conditions to develop into top players because of the situation at the club at the moment.
Q: How far can Amad go?
Louis Saha: Amad can go very far. He has the capacity to develop into one of the games superstars. I love his humility and at the same time, I love his determination. He’s a player with guts. He’s got the guts to grab the opportunity that he has been given. He’s got the skills and he’s also got good body strength.
He reminds me a little bit of Raheem Sterling when he first broke through. People thought they would be able to knock him off the ball because of his size, but they couldn’t.
What Amad’s done in terms of energy, in terms of his impact, it’s unbelievable.
I remember back in the day, I saw Cristiano, I saw Wayne Rooney, I saw Giggsy train. He’s got the same dedication. He’s got the same desire. He’s got the same level of dedication.
You can see that Amad is obsessed about his football, you can see that he wants to entertain the fans, and he’s got a real connection with the United fans. Ruben Amorim can play him in any position, and he knows that he will get a performance out of him. Amorim should give him the keys to this United team. They should build around this guy because he’s that good.
I really like what he’s doing. The enthusiasm that he’s got, it’s brilliant. I watch football to see guys like Amad play.
Q: What are your thoughts on Rashford situation
Louis Saha: The Rashford situation is a really tough one. it’s a tough one because he’s one of those players, that, on their day, really excites me. We all know what he is capable of when he wants to do it – he can give any defender nightmares. He was a forward that was unplayable on his day, a player with the capacity to win you the Premier League on his own.
Something clearly isn’t right with him. He has too many distractions around him – something has happened to him. Is it people in his entourage telling him things or giving him bad advice? I don’t know.
When you have Rashford’s ability, when you have the type of quality that he has, and you’re continuing to be overlooked by your manager, then something isn’t right. Amorim’s comments about preferring his goalkeeping coach must be because of how upset he is with Rashford.
I don’t think that Marcus has helped himself. He needs to take a long hard look at himself in the mirror, the only person to blame for what is happening to him at Manchester United is himself. Don’t blame anyone else.
Nobody benefits from Rashford’s ongoing absence
Louis Saha: Nobody is benefiting from this ongoing situation, apart from maybe the club who signs him. Because of what Amorim has said about the player and his application, because everyone in the football world knows that he is unwanted at Manchester United, any team that tries to sign him will be looking to get him on the cheap.
His next club is the only one that will benefit from all of the negativity towards Rashford at Manchester United, and I’m sorry, but I can’t understand how Marcus didn’t anticipate the consequences. He loves Manchester United; that’s the team that he supports, and you’re letting it come to an end like this? I think it’s really sad.
Amorim is the boss, Rashford must understand that
Louis Saha: Amorim is the boss, and you can do nothing about that. You have the choice: roll up your sleeves and be a professional for the club that gave you everything or throw your toys out of the pram because you feel like you’ve been disrespected.
We’ve seen plenty of players leave Manchester United in difficult circumstances that are still adored by the fans. Ronaldo recently, then we had guys like David Beckham and Roy Keane back in the Fergie days.
It could have been such a different story for him. I’m really upset by the current situation and how it is coming to an end.
I’m sure that he wanted to remain in that club all his life, winning titles, but it won’t happen.
If Rashford was in my era, with Fergie, this wouldn’t have happened
Louis Saha: It would have been good if Rashford was in my era, he would have played and won titles alongside the top players.
Unfortunately for him, he broke into the team when United was in a period of transition and in many ways, he was the hero that they needed at the time, but also, you have to say that the club failed him because they were not able to have a team that was strong enough to challenge for the biggest prizes in football.
That’s why Rashford broke in at 16-17 instead of 19-20. He didn’t have the opportunity to grow around players that had won everything with the club.
I’m very upset, very frustrated, because you know how good this boy is, how exciting he can be on his day. It’s lose-lose.
Rashford is still the best player at United but his attitude will out clubs off him
Louis Saha: The manager is upset, he said in his interview, he would have preferred to have Rashford in his squad, but he can’t because he’s not committed. He said he would rather play with his goalkeeping coach up front!
At the end of the day, I expect every single Manchester United player to work hard, fight for their place. If you don’t dedicate yourself to being the best, then you’re out. Those are the standards.
At this moment, there are too many players trying to impose their own influence on the club rather than listening to the manager.
Rashford’s got a massive salary. His performances in the last two years have been really bad. I’m sure some clubs will be attracted to taking a gamble on him because they know how good he can be, but everything that has happened will also scare a lot of managers as well.
Marcus needs to change. Wherever he ends up, he will need to change. I just hope that he wakes up and realises that he has the ability to be one of the best players in the world; I still think that on ability alone, he’s the best player at Manchester United. I would love to see him apologies and fight for his United future, but I think that is really unlikely and if it and when it comes to an end, there will be a lot of sadness from all parties.
Q: If you could sign one player for Manchester United in January, who would it be and why?
Louis Saha: Victor Osimhen is the striker I would do everything to bring in to Manchester United. I love him as a player. I think he’s the only striker out there who is transferable that would be a guaranteed success.
I also think that Osimhen is the type of player that would help the other strikers at United. They would be able to learn from him, while he would carry ost of the pressure of scoring the goals in the team. That would enable Hojlund and Zirkzee to play with more freedom.
He can also help the other players in the team. His link-up play is so good, he’s solid on that.
At the moment, the United strikers don’t win enough 50-50 challenges. They don’t go behind the defenders enough, they don’t have the best movement in the box. Osimhen would solve all of those problems.
I would love to see the club make an offer for him, whether it is in January or in the summer. He would be a revelation in the Premier League.
Q: Garnacho to Chelsea, would it be sad?
Louis Saha: If Manchester United sold Alejandro Garnacho to Chelsea, then it could be sad, certainly for the fans. I don’t know the situation financially, perhaps the club will have to sell him because they need to raise funds if Amorim wants to bring in. his own players.
Unless United absolutely need to sell for financial reasons, then I don’t see the point in selling him in January. With where United are, with the Rashford situation, the club needs as many players in the squad that are capable of scoring and creating goals and Garnacho is one of them.
For me, it would be a really strange decision to sell him, especially if you can’t use that money to sign a replacement.
The one thing that I would say is that a player like Garnacho and Mainoo as well, they become attractive options to sell because from a PSR perspective, academy products are counted as pure profit. If you cash in on these guys, then maybe you can do something special in the transfer market.
This might be an unpopular opinion, but football is a business as well. These are two players that have been massively hyped up, but for me, from what I’ve seen of them, there’s no guarantee that they can go on and become the next Giggs or the next Paul Scholes – I haven’t seen everything from them that makes me think these two players are non-transferable. I don’t see them as world class players yet, just prospects, and if the money is good, then maybe you take it while you can.
Q: Is Nkunku a good player for United to bring in?
Louis Saha: Yeah, I think Christopher Nkunku would be a brilliant signing for Manchester United. If they could bring him in in January, then I would be very pleased.
He’s a top player that I’ve followed since he was at PSG. When he signed for Chelsea, I was very surprised because they already had several players that could play in his position. I think he’s been really unlucky, because for me, his best position is playing just behind the striker and there is no way that he can get into the team in front of Cole Palmer, who has been one of the best players in the Premier League since last season.
He’s very mobile. He’s a very, very busy player. Believe me, I know him well. I followed his entire career. He’s a top player, and unless he’s injured, he guarantees you goals and assists.
When I look at Mason Mount, how much hope that we had for him, I think it will be really difficult for him to come back to the player that we all saw at Chelsea.
I don’t think Nkunku would have the same problems. We know he hasn’t played much, but when he has, he’s been effective.
I think he would be an excellent signing if Manchester United can do it. I think he would fit nicely into Amorim’s system.
Arsenal
Q: Can they win a trophy this season as they are long overdue? / Does Mikel Arteta need to win a major trophy this season to show that he’s the real deal?
Louis Saha: You can lose momentum if you don’t win something, and that would be the main danger for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal. From the last two years, looking at what Arsenal are doing this season, he may have lost a bit of momentum, so the team is not playing as well.
They’re not scoring with the same kind of style; they’re scoring from set-pieces. I think it’s a bit strange to see Arsenal, a team that in the last two seasons under Arteta played with so much freedom, come to rely on so many goals from set plays. bit strange in some ways to speak about Arsenal this way.
They used to play football that excited any fans, and I don’t think that’s been the case at all this season, so it’s a bit of worry.
They may have to compensate, become more ruthless to win things and to challenge for the titles.
After getting this team so close, Mikel now needs to win some major silverware because Arsenal fans are demanding success.
In terms of trophies, Manchester United have lifted more than Arsenal in the last two years. Obviously, one club has challenged for the title for the last few seasons and is building, but the reality is that United have won more titles. I don’t think that United have been more successful over the same period, but in a trophy sense, they’ve won more. That’s not normal. That’s not normal when you have such a good team.
I think it’s really important for Mikel, his players and his staff to put their hands on something this year. They definitely need to win a major trophy this season to silence a lot of the critics and also maybe some of the doubts that certain fans may have about their ability to win the biggest prizes in the game under Arteta. It will be a painful summer if they don’t win anything.
Q: Can Arsenal win the title with Kai Havertz?
Louis Saha: Havertz is a false 9, and we’ve seen Manchester City win the Premier League playing with one, so of course, if Havertz scored more goals, then Arsenal could definitely win the title with him up front.
I think Havertz is a good player. He links things up nicely and brings others into play, he has a good connection with his teammates. It’s the chances that he misses that frustrate, and those become even more analysed when Arsenal are struggling to get players like Martinelli, Trossard and Odegaard contributing goals.
He had three good chances against Wolves and he should have buried at least one of them.
I do think that Arsenal could do with bringing in another forward that can help Havertz. They would love to be able to sign a striker that will guarantee at least 20m Premier League goals in a season, but those players are hard to find.
Even Pep Guardiola realised that he needed a focal point, he needed a 9, and he went out and got Haaland. Football is changing all the time. He knew he needed to adapt his game to keep winning titles, which is why he signed Haaland.
The reality is, and I know this from experience, if you have a player that can score 25 goals plus, then you’ve got more of a chance of winning the Premier League.
Tottenham
Q: After Tottenham’s latest defeat, do you worry about the future of Ange Postecoglou?
Louis Saha: Yes, I’m concerned about Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham future, but I think that Mr. Levy should keep him as the manager for the rest of the season. I still believe in him. He definitely needs to improve the results of the team. He needs to get some players back, because he hasn’t been helped with all of the injuries.
When you’re not playing with your best players, it’s always going to be tough.
Tottenham aren’t defending correctly. Attacking, they can still provide a lot of threats, but they are missing those elements where they can’t defend correctly, and that is down to key players being injured.
The issue with them this season is that they can disappear for 20 minutes and lose a game. I don’t know why that keeps happening, but certainly in the Premier League that has been their story this season.
The biggest challenge for the manager is to get them performing consistently. It’s to find that formula that makes them really aggressive, hard to beat.
Mentally, something has to change because there is too much potential in his squad for them to be where they are in the Premier League table. It’s been a really strange and difficult season for them.
They need to keep the faith with Postecoglou. If they sacked him, the next manager would inherit all of the same problems and Spurs then go back to that rinse and repeat strategy that has held the club back since Poch was there.
Everton
Q: David Moyes was recently appointed Everton’s new manager. Were you excited by that appointment by the new ownership?
Louis Saha: Yes, I was really excited to see David Moyes, my old Everton manager, go back to Goodison Park.
You can see straight away that he has made them more solid and has brought an element of aggression to the team, while also asking for more from his attacking players.
When you’re in a team like Everton, you have to understand that you’re not going to create 10-15 chances to score goals because of the quality you have, so you have to be had to beat and you need your players to be completely dedicated to the defensive side of the game and to take their opportunities when they come.
That is exactly what David Moyes has done at every single club he has managed. From my experience working with him, I can tell you that he is a man with a real passion for football. He wants his teams to build a connection with the fans by giving absolutely everything for the badge. That’s the minimum he demands. He wants to create a hostile environment when his teams play at homes, and when I was there, there wasn’t a single team in the Premier League that enjoyed coming to Goodison.
That’s the Moyes formula. I think his appointment is very good for the club. I think Everton now has a better version of David Moyes after all of his other experiences managing in the Premier League and in Spain. He has definitely improved as manager since the last time he was there. I’m really excited for Everton with him in charge.
Fulham
Q: Your old team Fulham have been linked with Paul Pogba could you see him joining them and if not, where do you think he will end up?
Louis Saha: I think it’s gonna be an interesting few days for Paul as the transfer window comes to a close.
He needs a club, that’s for sure. He’s on the free, so in many ways that takes a bit of the pressure off him because he can sign for a club when the transfer window closes, but from Paul’s perspective, he will want to get onto the grass with his new teammates in training as quickly as possible.
The best thing for Paul is that he starts training with a club now, getting his fitness and tactical understanding to the best possible level. He will also want to know what kind of role he is going to play.
Would Fulham be a good fit for him? They are a club that would welcome him with open arms, and I think he would be a massive asset for them, he would fit in well there.
But if Paul Pogba is available, believe me, I would love to see him back at United at this moment in time. That’s how good he is. When he is fit and firing, he could go into the Manchester United squad and become one of the best players quite quickly.
There are a handful of players that really excite me. Amad excites me. Neymar excites me. Pogba excites me. There are only a handful of players in this world that can do what Paul Pogba can do. It’s as simple as that, and that is why I would love for him to write another chapter with Manchester United.
Newcastle United
Q: You know how passionate the Newcastle fans are, would a new stadium and the revenues that come with that catapult Newcastle into the title-challenge conversation?
Louis Saha: Well, the kind of revenue that a new stadium would bring would definitely put Newcastle in the bracket of challengers.
With the difficulty of PSR rules, that is the kind of mathematics and the type of business that you need to do as a club.
Even for a big club with the history of Manchester United, we’ve seen with their own announcements that they think they need to upgrade Old Trafford to compete with the biggest clubs in the world. That is the reality of elite football clubs: if you don’t have a big stadium with the type of facilities that brings in huge revenues, you will struggle now, especially with the PSR rules.
Newcastle is a massive club. I actually think that they are a club that can challenge for the title, but a new stadium and the revenues that go with that would supercharge that challenge.
They need a bit of improvement in the squad, but I don’t think that they are far off. They are close. If they can get their numbers right in terms of revenue, then there is absolutely no reason why Newcastle can’t take the next step. Of course it will take time, it isn’t going to happen overnight but having that infrastructure in place will secure the foundations of the team to be competitive for years and years.
They have so many fans in that region. It will be great, but you need to find a way to get the right fans as well. It’s strange what I’m going to say, but I remember back in the days the stadium was a bit smaller, and the atmosphere was absolutely crazy.