^ ^ Gary Neville makes confident prediction for Man Utd must-win game against Fulham

Gary Neville’s former club Man Utd take on Fulham on Sunday at Craven Cottage (Picture: The Overlap)

Gary Neville believes Manchester United are fortunate to be facing one ofthe few Premier League teams in a greater state of disarray than his old side this weekend.

United’s abysmal start to the new season took a further turn for the worse last night when they let an early two-goal lead slip against Brighton at Old Trafford and crashed to another ignominious early Carabao Cup exit.

After restoring a sense of optimism during his interim spell, which culminated in Champions League qualification, Michael Carrick’s future is firmly in the spotlight just three months on from signing a two-year contract.

Defeat in last weekend’s Manchester derby against 10-man City has left Carrick’s side a distant eight points adrift of the top of the table with just four games played and another setback at Craven Cottage would leave them reeling heading into the international break.

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Neville, however, is confident that Fulham represent the perfect opposition given their own early season teething problems.

New manager Alvaro Arbeola has made a less than auspicious star to the task of succeeding Marco Silva and his new team are currently in the relegation zone, despite earning a creditable point following a goalless draw at Anfield last weekend.

Despite that encouraging performance and a Carabao Cup win over West Ham, Neville fears the writing is on the wall for the Cottagers this season.

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‘United will win this,’ a confident Neville stated on The Overlap. ‘I think United win Sunday.

‘To be fair having watched Fulham a couple of times I think they’re really going to struggle. I don’t know how they actually… just everything about them.

‘To be fair you’re probably clipping this up on Sunday night, but everything about Fulham for me now looks like they could be in real trouble. I think 2-1.’

Regardless of Fulham’s current form, United will need a much improved performance in light of another capitulation that Carrick termed unacceptable.

An evening that began with teenager Shea Lacey marking his first senior start with a dream goal and Mason Mount adding a second in the 10th minute ended in furious fans unloading at full -time.

Another disastrous night for Michael Carrick (Picture: Martin Rickett/PA Wire)

Brighton became the first side since 1976 to overturn a two-goal deficit and win at Old Trafford as Charalampos Kostoulas, Pascal Gross and Maxim De Cuyper secured a thoroughly deserved 3-2 third round comeback victory.

‘I mean, a couple of smallish things end up accumulating into… let’s be honest, you know, it feels bigger,’ the United boss said. ‘I understand why you’re asking the question (about bouncing back).

‘I think if you go to the Everton last-minute goal, to the (Manchester) City goal, it creates a bit of a feeling. Then the game today, we fully accept it. I totally take responsibility.

Fernandes also disappointed off the bench (Picture: Sports Press Photo/Shutterstock)

‘We can’t put ourselves in that position after being ahead in the game and the game finishing like it did. It’s kind of a couple of things have gone, and then all of a sudden it becomes a greater thing from nowhere, really, so we’ve got to react to it.

‘We’ve got another game on Sunday (against Fulham). We’ve got to react to it. I think that’s the crucial thing now.

‘It’s happened so quickly. To have the feeling that happened quickly tonight in the game, it’s happened over a period of a couple of weeks – maybe two, three weeks – where there’s a lot of frustration and disappointment around and we need to flip that and start winning games again.’

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^ ^ Fabian Hurzeler hints at worrying difference between Brighton and struggling Man Utd

Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton stunned Manchester United at Old Trafford (Picture: Getty Images)

Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler says his ‘well-structured’ club is able to topple Premier League giants thanks to the ‘great culture’ that has been created.

The Seagulls stunned Manchester United in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night, coming back from two goals behind to win 3-2 at Old Trafford.

Shea Lacey and Mason Mount had put the home side 2-0 ahead after just 10 minutes but Charalampos Kostoulas netted just before half-time to give the visitors hope.

Pascal Gross equalised before Maxim De Cuyper scored the winner to book a spot in the fourth round and pile the pressure on United boss Michael Carrick and his under-performing players.

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Brighton have had plenty of success against Manchester United in recent years, winning eight of their last 12 meetings with the Red Devils.

Asked how his team is able to consistently punch above its weight, Hurzeler hinted at the differences between Brighton and Manchester United which will concern Red Devils fans.

‘We are a club that is well structured,’ he told a post-match press conference. ‘We are a club, and I think it’s very important to emphasise this, that has had high expectations. We want to grow and we want to challenge the establishment in a consistent way and for that I think it’s very important to understand.

Brighton have scored 13 goals in their first four Premier League games ( Shutterstock)

‘We all need to focus on our daily behaviours because daily behaviours create habits and habits create this consistently to really challenge the establishment.

‘I’m part of it and I’m very privileged to be a manager from Brighton so therefore I always try to give my best, together with my staff, together with the players to make our supporters proud.

‘In the end we need everyone to be successful, we know that we need everyone to grow as a team and we want to go step by step, but what we definitely have is a great culture, our culture is always our foundation and our foundation is the base of every game.’

Michael Carrick is already under pressure this season (Picture: PA Wire)

Carrick was asked if there is enough resilience in his team, after conceding a late equaliser against Everton and losing to 10-man Manchester City in recent days.

‘Yeah. I mean, a couple of smaller things ended up accumulating into something bigger,’ he said.

‘I understand why you’re asking the question. If you go from the Everton last-minute goal to the City goal, it creates a bit of a feeling. Then there’s the game today.

‘We fully accept it. I’ve told them to take responsibility. We can’t put ourselves in that position after being ahead in the game and have it finish like it did.

‘A couple of things have gone against us, and all of a sudden it becomes a greater thing from nowhere, really. We’ve got to react to it.

‘We’ve got another game on Sunday, and that’s the crucial thing now. It’s happened quickly tonight, and over a period of two or three weeks there has been a lot of frustration and disappointment around. We need to flip that and start winning games again.’

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^ ^ JJ Gabriel saga won’t discourage clubs from searching for ever-younger talent

JJ Gabriel’s future has taken centre stage this week (Picture: Getty)

The story that a child wants to play football in a new place has been leading many sports sections for the past few days. The boy in question is the 15-year-old JJ Gabriel, the new place probably Spain.

But the aggravating factor in all this is that he is currently registered with Manchester United, still one of the biggest football clubs in the world.

In this context it feels a little icky adding my voice to the noise around this gem of a player but this both is and is not about him.

The outrageous level of interest in footballers too young to drive a car, smoke or hold down any other kind of job is only set to increase in the coming years – and the ages at which their moves become news will get even younger.

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There are a number of reasons for this but the speed of acceleration is a direct result of the spending we’ve seen this Premier League transfer window. More money than ever before was exchanged between Premier League clubs, with a £100million price tag no longer signifying a generational talent but instead merely a very good, currently suitable midfielder. £3.7billion spent all in across the window, nearly half of that in intra-Premier League transfers.

The financial might of the league means the rest of Europe has long been unable to spend comparably to clubs in England, with a few obvious exceptions in the ‘European Super League’ posse.

The knock-on effects become clear speaking with former Norwich and Huddersfield manager David Wagner this week in Germany, where he is now the boss of RB Leipzig’s academy.

‘We have to make a certain percentage – double figures for sure – of our team be produced by our academy… because the market in the last five, seven years went so expensive. It even makes it more important that we start to produce first-team players from the academy,’ he told me.

David Wagner is now the boss of RB Leipzig’s academy (Photo: Getty Images)

Leipzig’s amazing success signing Yan Diomande for €25m in July last year and selling him a year later, still aged just 19, to Real Madrid for €100m more is key to this ability to continue to compete.

‘You might have asked when we sold Benjamin Sesko, Xavi Simons, Lois Openda, I don’t know how many goals we sold last summer: how can you qualify for the Champions League if you sold your best players? Well, by buying Diomande and building him up.’

Clearly you can’t expect to find a Diomande-level signing every year.

Leipzig’s CEO of sport Marcel Schafer works closely with Wagner to plan for the team’s future and spelt out what this means.

‘You need to go earlier on the players. Obviously it’s tricky because we’re talking about really young humans. If you see in the market now 18, 19, 20-year-old players are the rising stars in any top five league,’ he said.

‘So we have to go a little bit earlier: bring them already into our academy and develop them quick as possible into our first team.’

When you consider that Lamine Yamal is only just 19 and has a World Cup to his name, what 16-year-old Max Dowman was able to do against Ipswich on Tuesday night feels less like an outlier.

JJ Gabriel has asked to leave United (Picture: Getty)

Many exceptional players are verging on complete when still boys. Three factors intensify the JJ Gabriel storm.

First he is really, really good and already well known – The Telegraph likened his possible exit to Barcelona losing Lionel Messi.

Second, Brexit, which means that English players must be 18 to transfer out of England but Gabriel, who has Irish and Cypriot heritage, could with either passport leave two years earlier next month, when he turns 16.

And third, the way that profit and sustainability rules work in the Premier League. Selling an academy product counts as pure profit, a curious quirk of rules aimed to encourage sustainable behaviour from clubs.

Kids as young as three are now being funnelled into football-focused environments, as the search for talent takes in boys who were lately toddling.

It may sound mad to be trying to distinguish the skills of one baby as distinct from another but as player cost at the very pinnacle of the sport continues on its wild ride, the only smart move for the more fiscally-constrained clubs is to continue to buy smarter and that means ever earlier in the food chain.

Just how good is JJ Gabriel?

There is good reason for the hype around JJ Gabriel. The teenager is considered to be the most exceptional young talent to progress through United’s youth ranks in recent years and across the game at youth level, he is regarded as the best player in the country born in 2010.

In addition to those Messi comparisons, his ability to effortlessly take the ball on the turn has seen him likened to Phil Foden, who progressed through the youth academy over the way at Manchester City.

Under the guidance of United’s Under-18 boss Darren Fletcher, he has developed into a lethal goal scorer, with the skill and variety in his finishing heightening the expectation around him.

Gabriel has shone at youth level (Picture: Getty)

Football is littered with stories of unique talents failing to make the step up to men’s football with some of United’s brightest young talents failing to make the grade. Angel Gomes, who currently holds the record of United’s youngest Premier League player in history, has carved out a decent career for himself in France having also been recognised at international level, but made just 10 more appearances for United after his debut. Shola Shoretire, the youngest player to represent the club in European competition, is currently playing for Greek outfit PAOK.

But the situation with Gabriel has felt very different. United hope the situation can still be rectified – but no matter how enormous the talent, the club cannot be seen being held to ransom by a schoolboy – or whoever is making decisions on his behalf.

Barcelona’s interest in him has already been well-documented and the teenager holds an Irish passport through his dad, former Republic of Ireland international Joe O’Cearuill, meaning any move abroad would be free of any Brexit red tape.

Tony Mogan, live sports editor

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^ ^ ‘It’s odd’ – Gary Lineker confused by Michael Carrick’s treatment of Man Utd star

Benjamin Sesko’s lack of minutes at Manchester United has been ‘odd’, says Gary Lineker (The Rest Is Football)

Gary Lineker has questioned Benjamin Sesko’s lack of playing time at Manchester United this season and believes the striker came on far too late in the side’s derby defeat to Manchester City.

Sesko hit an impressive run of form in the back-end of last season under Michael Carrick, scoring ten goals in 15 appearances, but the forward has been limited to substitute appearances in United’s first four matches in the Premier League this term.

Matheus Cunha has managed to hold onto his place as the focal point of Carrick’s attack in a false nine role, despite the fact he is still without a goal and has been found wanting for the most part.

Sesko will have been desperate for a starting role in Sunday’s derby and there were widespread calls for the Slovenian to be given the nod after he found the net in both of United’s previous matches against Everton and Sabah.

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But the 23-year-old again had to be patient for his opportunity and remained on the bench until the 67th minute, shortly after Erling Haaland had fired ten-man City in front in highly controversial circumstances.

The Red Devils ultimately come up short in pursuit of an equaliser at Old Trafford, leaving the club languishing down in 13th place in the table ahead of their trip to Fulham this weekend.

Sesko has come off the bench in all four of United’s Premier League matches (Picture: Getty)

The Slovenian had scored in United’s previous top-flight clash with Everton (Picture: PA)

‘Would you worry a bit about United? Apart from that Bryan Mbeumo chance… well, they hit the post a couple of times, Marcus Rashford with that free-kick, a long, great effort, and Kobbie Mainoo hit a really good effort as well,’ the former England, Tottenham and Barcelona striker said on The Rest Is Football.

‘I thought Kobbie Mainoo did some nice stuff but up top, though, they look like they’re lacking.

‘They’ve got Sesko on the bench. It’s odd, he comes on and he has scored in games but you wonder why he’s not getting a starting place.

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‘Obviously they’ve got Cunha, he’s more of a ten than a nine, Mbeumo plays mostly off the right, obviously Rashford is on the left.

‘You kept looking at it and thinking, “If you get someone up top… are you going to bring the big man on?, and he did come on bit a bit late.’

Alan Shearer, the Premier League’s all-time top goalscorer, echoed Lineker’s remarks about Sesko and felt the forward should ideally have been introduced at the start of the second half.

‘He could have given him more time, Sesko,’ Shearer chimed in.

Haaland scored a controversial winning goal in City’s derby victory (Picture: Getty)

‘I was saying, “He has to bring him on!”, and I thought he could have brought him on at least ten minutes earlier than he actually did.

‘There’s talk of how they’ve strengthened their forwards and they’ve strengthened the midfield but they didn’t strengthen defensively. I’m not 100 per cent certain that they’re that great up top anyway.

‘I think they’re all right [in attack], they’re decent. But when you compare them to a lot of the big teams…’

Carrick’s men are languishing down in 13th in the Premier League (Picture: Alan Martin/Shutterstock)

Manchester United legend Gary Neville has been left similarly puzzled by Carrick’s reluctance to call upon Sesko this season and felt it was ‘obvious’ the hosts needed to freshen things up far earlier on in the derby.

‘I think Michael Carrick maybe will reflect upon the fact that he could have made changes earlier,’ the ex-United and England right-back said on Sky Sports’ coverage.

‘When you know for 20 minutes before half-time that it’s not going your way with 11 men, I think then Sesko should have come on straightaway to be a bit more of a battering ram up top.

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‘It was obvious it wasn’t quite working.

‘He made the substitution eventually after 67 minutes which only left Sesko with 25 minutes so things like that will be reflected on and analysed I’m sure. That’s what they’ve got to concentrate on.’

The Red Devils return to Old Trafford this evening to host Brighton in the third round of the Carabao Cup.

Sesko and Co will then look to return to winning ways in the Premier League when they head to the capital to lock horns with Fulham.

United were held to a 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage before emerging with a 3-2 victory in the reverse fixture at the Theatre of Dreams.

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