The Chippy: Angel Gomes has left Manchester United

Angel Gomes has left the club

Manchester United Academy graduate and first-team fringe player Angel Gomes has seen his contract with the club expire, and United have confirmed his departure. The creative midfielder, who set a record for youngest United player to make his Premier League debut, and youngest in general since Duncan Edwards, has been flirting with other big clubs in hopes of getting the extension and playing time he desired. He will now likely sign with another club that will guarantee him first team minutes.

Fellow Academy alum Mason Greenwood flashed an “A” during his goal celebration against Brighton yesterday, a sign of support for his friend and former teammate as he moves on to the next chapter of his career. He may not have had what it took to break through consistently at United, but can now explore his options.

Can’t wait to see how Graeme Souness links this to Paul Pogba’s leadership somehow!

United draw Chelsea in FA Cup Semi-Final

Manchester United will play Frank Lampard’s Chelsea in the FA Cup Semi-Final on July 18, 2020. Chelsea, who currently lead United by 2 points with a game in hand in the race for 4th, have come back from the COVID-19 suspension of football in good form. They’ve won each of their Premier League fixtures, including a win over City to give *them* the title, and beat Leicester City 1-0 in their FA Cup Quarter-final and the King Power Stadium.

The competition is one of two chances at silverware left for Solskjaer’s resurgent Red Devils, but they’ll need to play much better than they did against Norwich City in the Quarter-final. However, it’s safe to say that Ole has a pretty good idea of what it takes to beat Lampard’s Blues, as evidenced by these highlights videos:

Smalling/Alexis loan extensions

Manchester United have reached agreements with AS Roma and Inter Milan to extend the loan deals of Chris Smalling and Alexis Sánchez respectively. Chris Smalling will see out at least the rest of Roma’s season with the club, while Alexis will continue through the end of the Serie A campaign.

However, Alexis’ deal ends at the beginning of August. This means that he will not play a part in Inter’s Europa League campaign at the Frankfurt mini-tournament. Whether or not he will feature at all for United again remains to be seen, but the Chilean forward will not join Romelu Lukaku and Ashley Young as former United players who could potentially face off against the Red Devils, should they draw Inter in the next round.

Jadon Sancho rejects Dortmund extension

According to multiple reports, including Sky Germany and The Express, Jadon Sancho has turned down a contract extension and pay raise from Borussia Dortmund. Sancho has been linked with move to Manchester United for over a year now, and if this news is true it will only boost the hopes of fans that hope to see the English starlet at Old Trafford next season.

Solskjaer gave this odd answer when asked about transfer negotiations with Dortmund. United will almost certainly need to secure Champions League football next season before working out a lucrative deal such as this, but the signs are promising so far.

Oakland Roots SC joins Common Goal

Oakland Roots SC, an Oakland, California based club in the National Independent Soccer Association, has become the first Football Club from the United States to Join Common Goal. Common Goal is an organization of professional football players, managers, and clubs that aims to tackle social issues across the globe, and was co-founded in 2017 by Manchester United’s own Juan Mata,

This union will help Common Goal integrate into the United States soccer scene, and organize members of the beautiful game at all levels in addressing social issues such as racial inequality, gender inequality, poverty, education, and more in American Communities.