The beginning of the Premier League season is only a month away. As the summer continues, significant transfers continue to be agreed to. Several teams will finish important signings to position themselves to compete in the title race over the next several weeks.
Arsenal has completed the signing of Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City to help strengthen their squad. Meanwhile, Manchester United has almost completed the first signing of the transfer window for the team, but faces the potential departure of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Gabriel Jesus Joins Arsenal
Arsenal hopes to qualify for next season’s Champions League this season. However, the team was sixth in goals last season and had a goal difference of 13, fifth in the league and 16 goals behind Tottenham, who finished last season fourth.
Jesus will be an important player for Arsenal this season. He scored eight goals and had 9 assists in the Premier League last season. During his career, Jesus has scored 58 Premier League goals along with 20 goals in 37 Champions League appearances.
Over the last few seasons, Jesus had played less at Manchester City as Pep Guardiola adjusted his system. Across 34 appearances in 2019-20, Jesus scored 14 goals, which is closer to the number of goals Arsenal will hope Jesus returns to scoring per season.
Arsenal has seen Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette depart the club in the last few months. With the club already needing to improve on offense before the two players departed, the signing of Jesus is vital to Arsenal’s outlook for next season.
This fall, Arsenal and Mikel Arteta will hope to take the next step forward in their rebuild. Jesus will be an important player for the future of the team as Arteta’s rebuild nears its end.
Cristiano Ronaldo Considers Departing United
Manchester United didn’t complete any transfers in the month of June. However, as July begins, the team is close to announcing the signing of Tyrell Malacia, who will be the first player to join United during the Erik ten Hag era.
The club has also tried to sign Frenkie de Jong throughout the transfer window but has been unable to complete the signing of the player. Cristiano Ronaldo, as a result of the difficulties United has faced on the transfer market and the club’s failure to qualify for the Champions League, has reportedly decided he may want to leave the team this summer.
Ronaldo, despite being 37 years old, is Manchester United’s best goal scorer. He was on last season’s Premier League Team of the Year, and scored 18 goals in the league after he returned to Manchester.
After pursuing De Jong and Malacia, the team had planned to focus on signing a defender. However, if Ronaldo does leave the team, Manchester United will be left with less than a month to replace their best offensive player.
Chelsea and Bayern Munich have been discussed as potential teams that could sign Ronaldo this summer. The next few weeks will be vital for Ten Hag, as Manchester United could spend the rest of the transfer window unexpectedly focusing on signing a center-forward.
This summer has not gone the way Ten Hag or Manchester United expected it to so far. The potential departure of Ronaldo would make it unlikely the club could contend to finish in a top-four, Champions-League qualifying position in the Premier League. The next few weeks will have a massive impact on the next few years for Manchester United and Ten Hag.
