Tag: Football

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In a notable development at Manchester United, 16-year-old Jim Thwaites participated in first-team training at Carrington on Wednesday, according to Manchester Evening News.

Despite his young age, Thwaites was among the academy players brought into the session to fill out the squad ahead of their upcoming match against Brighton.

His involvement at this level is significant, underscoring his rising status within the club’s academy.

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Thwaites is widely regarded as one of the top prospects in his age group within the Manchester United academy.

His reputation was further solidified last season when he won the club’s Goal of the Season award at both the Under-16 and Under-18 levels.

This achievement is indicative of his exceptional talent and potential, which the club is keenly aware of.

One of Thwaites’ standout moments from the previous season came during an Under-18s match against Derby County.

His goal, scored deep into added time, secured a 2-2 draw and preserved United’s unbeaten record in the league at that time.

This crucial strike not only showcased his ability to perform under pressure but also played a key role in maintaining the team’s momentum throughout the season.

Although the Under-18s’ unbeaten streak in the league eventually came to an end, they only lost two games all season.

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Despite this, they comfortably clinched the title, finishing six points clear of their rivals, Manchester City.

The team’s success was highlighted by their remarkable goal-scoring prowess, netting 78 goals in their Premier League North campaign.

Interestingly, the dominance of United’s Under-18s last season did not go unnoticed by their counterparts at Manchester City.

Having won the league for four consecutive seasons, City’s Under-18 staff privately acknowledged United’s superior quality during the last campaign, admitting that United had been the better side.

During the previous season, Thwaites predominantly played for the Under-16s but was also called up to make nine appearances for the Under-18s.

Additionally, he was given two substitute appearances for the Under-21s, reflecting the club’s recognition of his rapid development.

This season, Thwaites is expected to play a more prominent role under Adam Lawrence’s management of the Under-18s.

The opportunity to train with the first team on Wednesday serves as a testament to Thwaites’ progress and the high regard in which he is held within the club.

As he continues to develop, Manchester United supporters will no doubt keep a close eye on his journey, hopeful that he can one day make a significant impact at the senior level.

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Manchester United’s hopes of offloading one of their players may now have received a boost with a new club joining the race to sign the midfielder.

We know that United have a list of eight players they’re looking to part ways with this summer.

Of these eight, we know that half of the list are as good as gone, with Facundo Pellistri heading to Panathinaikos, Will Fish moving to Cardiff City, Maxi Oyedele to Legia Warsaw and Radek Vitek going on a season-long loan to BW Linz.

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However, of the remaining four which consists of Jadon Sancho, Christian Eriksen, Scott McTominay and Hannibal Mejbri, United are still waiting for offers to be made.

Now it’s emerging that one of the remaining four is now at the centre of a transfer race, with a Belgian giant interested his signature.

Anderlecht in talks to sign Christian Eriksen

Belgian giants Anderlecht are reportedly interested in signing veteran Danish playmaker Christian Eriksen from Manchester United this summer.

According to a report by Het Belang van Limburg, as relayed by Sport Witness, Christian Eriksen is the subject of interest from Anderlecht.

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The Belgian giants are keen on bolstering their midfield unit before the summer transfer window shuts down. They have reportedly initiated the discussions to sign the veteran Danish playmaker from Manchester United.

Recent reports have claimed that Manchester United expect clubs to submit formal bids to sign Christian Eriksen before the summer transfer window shuts down.

Meanwhile, Anderlecht might not be the only European club pursuing the Dane, with Ajax also keen on securing his services.

Eriksen is not expected to command a hefty fee, with recent reports suggesting Manchester United will seek around £5 million for his departure.

As the final week of the summer transfer window approaches, it will be intriguing to see if Eriksen ultimately finds himself at Anderlecht.

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Manchester United are still hoping to sign Arsenal wonderkid Chido Obi-Martin this summer.

Sports journalist Fabrizio Romano confirmed previously that the Arsenal academy striker is moving to Old Trafford, with new coach, Ruud van Nistelrooy, being a key feature to his move.

The report explain that van Nistelrooy spoke to Obi-Martin about development plan at United and convinced him to join. Also, it appears that the move has nothing to do with money, with clubs from Germany offering more money, showing his desire to play for United.

Manchester United is known for providing considerable match time for young players, second only to Brighton in the Premier League. Last season, United gave their teenage players 2,898 minutes on the pitch, compared to Brighton’s 3,751 minutes.

Comparing to the stats of his previous club, Arsenal only gave their teenage players 13 minutes of game time in the 2023/24, an incredible 2,883 minutes less than United.

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With the hope of more game time on the horizon, with his move to United subject to Premier League approval, Obi-Martin has been putting the work in to stay ready.

Academy Scoop on X has recently posted a video of the striker in training taking a touch before firing the ball into into the top righthand corner of the goal. The video is captioned with “The work they don’t see @chidoobi.martin” with a lighting bolt and surprised face emoji, highlighting how impressive the player and this performance is.

The video appears to come from the Instagram handle @coachedbymatteo, a performance development specialist and Pre-Academy coach a Arsenal.

More footage of Chido Obi-Martin preparing for the season while his move to Manchester United remains subject to Premier League approval pic.twitter.com/0wZ4qBc3uU

— SCOOP. (@AcademyScoop) August 21, 2024

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New Manchester United CEO, Omar Berrada, has recently turned down a request from one of  the clubs supporters’ group around fan representation.

The Red Army have recently called for an “atmosphere and fan culture” representative to sit on United’s Fans Forum. The group feel this role is needed within the forum with the Red Army having “growing concerns” around the atmosphere inside the iconic stadium.

In charge of the atmosphere section at United, The Red Army have been in regular opposition with United over its future, with the club considering plans around a new stadium.

Whilst the potential of a rebranding of Old Trafford coming from minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the club are now looking to build an entirely new stadium and scale Old Trafford down to be a 30,000 capacity venue for the Women’s and Academy teams.

The Red Army have now written to Berrada directly regrading their request for an “atmosphere and fan culture” representative role to be created.

Unfortunately for the supporters group, Berrada has rejected the proposal as he does not believe that a responsibility like that should fall on only one person to advise around such an important factor.

Despite his rejection, the fact that Berrada responded to The Red Army will have given the group some encouragement of being heard after years of silence from senior officials at United.

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Well the Premier League is back and we’re off to an exciting start. Manchester United managed to get off to a positive start with a 1-0 win at Old Trafford over Fulham, hoping to build on this performance going forwards.

The victory came thanks to United academy success story Alejandro Garnacho and new signing Joshua Zirkzee linking up to grab a debut goal for Zirkzee, marking his arrival at Old Trafford.

Despite the victory, there were definitely areas of improvement, but that’s only natural with the pre-season being disjointed and new players joining the fray.

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With the Copa America and Euros this summer, some key United players returned to pre-season much later on, giving less training and preparation time before the season started.

However, one man in particular is going above and beyond get lift his game to new heights and be ready to compete asap.

Garnacho and his extra work to improve performance

The Daily Mail have recently reported that Alejandro Garnacho request to come back off holiday early in order to be ready for the Community Shield match up against Manchester City.

The winger was on extended leave after his successful campaign with Argentina, lifting this year’s Copa America trophy.

However, the 20-year-old is clearly determined to constantly improve his already impressive performances. After their win over Fulham, Garnacho has been putting in extra work to ensure he is always on form to avoid his blunder in the match repeating itself.

The Argentine unfortunately missed an open goal, being released by a Marcus Rashford pass in the dying moments of the game. The shot from inside the box went well wide of the post, and whilst the shot wasn’t vital for United to win the game, it would have helped Garnacho get his goal tally off to a great start on Matchday 1.

However, Garnacho isn’t letting the miss get the better of him, with the 20-year-old attending the NAS Elite Sports Performance Centre in Manchester. The centre is a favourite of United players, past and present, with the likes of Kobbie Mainoo, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Sofyan Amrabat regularly attending.

The centre provides access to a range of services, including; physiotherapy, osteopathy, strength and conditioning training, nutritional support and wellness essentials such as phlebotomy services, IV drip therapy and vitamin shots.

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Manchester United’s hopes of offloading one of their players may now have received a boost with a new club joining the race to sign the midfielder.

We know that United have a list of eight players they’re looking to part ways with this summer. Of these eight, we know that half of the list are as good as gone, with Facundo Pellistri heading to Panathinaikos, Will Fish moving to Cardiff City, Maxi Oyedele to Legia Warsaw and Radek Vitek going on a season-long loan to BW Linz.

However, of the remaining four which consists of Jadon Sancho, Christian Eriksen, Scott McTominay and Hannibal Mejbri, we are still waiting for offers to be made.

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Now it’s emerging that one of the remaining four is now at the centre of a transfer race, with two Championship sides fighting for his signature.

Championship sides to fight for United midfielder Hannibal Mejbri

Hannibal Mejbri has recently found himself at the centre of attention, with newly relegated Burnley looking to the Tunisia international.

The Championship side have recently found themselves without their star midfielder after Fulham have signed Sander Berge out of nowhere. As a result, the Clarets are now looking to bring Mejbri to Turf Moor as Berge’s replacement.

However, they need to brace themselves for a fight for the 21-year-old’s signature, with Leeds United now joining the race.

The Daily Mail have reported that the Whites have now declared interest in Hannibal, however sit as outsiders to sign the star.

Leeds have parted ways with six of their midfielders this summer so are in desperate needs of bringing in some more options for manager Daniel Farke to use in this position. However, the sales of some of their significant players means that Leeds have the funds to play with this summer.

The Whites have recently parted ways with striker Georginio Rutter to Brighton for £40 million and midfielder Archie Gray to Spurs for £35 million as their top sales this summer. It’s understood that the Championship side, thanks to the extent of their sales and limited purchases, have generated just shy of £124 million this summer alone.

With this in mind, if Leeds do decide they are determined to sign Mejbri, they have the funds available to go to war with Burnley for their man.

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With Facundo Pellistri on his way out to Panathinaikos and Maxi Oyedele heading to Legia Warsaw, Manchester United are hoping a few more of their players will also be completing deals to move away from the club.

Recently the Red Devils have also seen Will Fish on his way to Cardiff City, with goalkeeper Radek Vitek heading for a season-long loan with Austrian team BW Linz.

United are still hoping to get their deal with PSG for Ugarte across the line, but unfortunately they’ll need to complete even more sales, as these three and the loan aren’t enough to generate enough for the Uruguayan.

Now, reports have come out on the remaining players United are hoping to offload within the next week before transfer deadline day.

United’s further four players to offload

Manchester Evening News have now reported that there are four more players United are looking to sell before September.

Whilst three of this featured in the recent list of eight that United are trying to sell, there is now a new addition to the mix.

1. Jadon Sancho

Sancho has been a regular on the list since the start of the summer and is still a firm name as we come to the end. After he was sent on loan to Borussia Dortmund, a move from United was always on the cards this summer. However, a repairing of his relationship with Erik ten Hag threw a spanner in the works.

French champions Paris Saint-Germain have been the favourites to sign the 24-year-old, with the Ligue 1 side meeting with United to discuss the deal. Now, Juventus are re-entering the race for the winger, giving the French side competition for Sancho.

2. Scott McTominay

McTominay has been regarded as United’s most sellable asset with interest from Everton, Spurs, Fulham, Brentford, Napoli, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce. Whilst Fulham were long-term favourites to sign McTominay, they’ve now abandoned the deal, signing Burnley’s Sander Berge instead.

It’s understood that Napoli are the new favourites to sign the Scotland international after keeping him on their radar for some time now.

3. Hannibal Mejbri

Hannibal Mejbri is currently finding himself at the centre of a a transfer race between Championship sides Burnley and Leeds United.

Burnley are looking to the midfielder to replace their recent departure Sander Berge, whilst Leeds are without a number of midfielders after they’ve parted ways with six this summer. It’s understood that Burnley are the favourites at the moment, however Leeds have considerable funds to be able to compete for the Tunisia international.

4. Victor Lindelof

Finally we have Victor Lindelöf. The Swedish defender has featured in lists of priority sales since the start of the summer and has now been reintroduced to the list.

Throughout the transfer window, Lindelof has been the subject of interest from Saudi and Italian clubs, however nothing has materialised. A move away from United may be even less likely now with the defender on crutches and having missed 21 games through injury last year, with only 90 mins of game time across the whole pre-season.

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Manchester United have recently completed their sale of Facundo Pellistri to Panathinaikos and now his fellow countryman has sent a message to show his support.

The Greek club were keen to get the deal across the line as soon as possible, wanting to register the star ahead of their UEFA Conference League game against Lens on Thursday.

The deal has gone through for £5.1 million (€6 million) which includes a sell-on clause for United for if Panathinaikos sells the star on in the future.

This approach of a low fee with a substantial sell-on clause appears to be becoming common practice for United when offloading their youngsters, with a similar deal agreed for Maxi Oyedele to join Legia Warsaw.

It’s understood that the Greek club’s manager, Diego Alonso is a massive fan of Pellistri, wanting to bring the winger to Athens this summer.

Now, fellow Uruguay teammate and United transfer target, Manuel Ugarte has shared his support for Pellistri’s move.

In a post on his Instagram, Pellistri wrote:

“Dear Reds,

“My time has come to say goodbye. It’s been an incredible journey, full of unforgettable moments and experiences that I will cherish forever.

“Your unwavering support, both on and off the pitch, is something I will remember for ever. I’ve grown as a player and a person, and that’s because of you.

“As you say, once a Red, always a Red. Manchester will always hold a special place in my heart.

“Wishing the club and all of you nothing but the best for the future.

“With gratitude, Facu Pellistri.”

Responding to this heartfelt farewell, Ugarte has commented with a love heart emoji, showing his support to the words being shared by his international teammate, and no doubt wishing him the best at his next club.

Image Credits: Instagram – @facupellistri

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Manchester United are currently showing their appreciation to a number of squad members by extending current contracts.

Last month, Ethan Ennis, a highly rated academy graduate had his contract extended beyond next summer.

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Now, another one of Erik ten Hag’s men is being rewarded with a new contract seeing him remain at Old Trafford for years to come.

Samuel Mather gets new long term contract

The club has officially announced that Salford-born left-winger Samuel Mather has signed a new long-term contract at Manchester United.

The details of the contract are unknown, however the deal will see young Mather at Old Trafford until June 2027. United do however have an option to extend the contract by a further season.

The 19-year-old winger spent the second half of last season on loan to Rochdale where he got two goals in ten appearances.

Featuring in the second half of United’s pre-season friendly with Rangers, Mathers had a strong showing, helping the team secure a 2-0 win.

Samuel Mather and Ethan Ennis were both involved in United’s 2022 FA Youth Cup triumph and have developed well since.

Versatility is a trait highly valued by Ten Hag and the Salford-born star will be hoping to catch the manager’s eye in training.

The England U19 international scored four goals in a single game last term against Norwich reserves in the Premier League 2 while also netting one more in PL 2 and one in the PL 2 playoffs against Arsenal.

The former FA Youth Cup champion was sent to Rochdale on a flexi-loan during the second-half of the season to help him gain experience from playing games in a senior team environment while also benefiting from staying and training at Carrington.

He netted twice in six starts in the National League and will be hoping to earn another loan move, this time to a club higher in the pyramid in the upcoming season.

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Manuel Ugarte’s arrival to Manchester is now getting closer than ever before.

United are still desperate to sign a midfielder this summer, and recent report suggest a turning point with their top target.

The journey that United have been on this summer for a midfielder has been full of disappointment.

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Their priority target, Manuel Ugarte has stalled for weeks on end and secondary target Youssouf Fofana has picked AC Milan over the Red Devils.

However, United may now have a breakthrough, with developments in a deal for Ugarte.

The Uruguayan defensive midfielder, who joined PSG from Sporting last season for €60 million, is reportedly heading towards joining Old Trafford.

United close in on Manuel Ugarte deal

According to a latest report from reliable outlet Le Parisien, Manchester United is now close to an agreement with Paris Saint-Germain for a transfer of around €60 million.

An amount almost similar to what PSG paid for the player’s arrival last year. Although details remain to be settled to finalize the operation, the parties are confident in the progress of the file in the coming days.

The report explains that United feel a completion of a deal for Ugarte can be sorted before the transfer deadline.

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United have prioritised a move for Ugarte throughout the summer, agreeing personal terms with the player, but PSG’s resilience in their asking price has seen the move stall.

This is a developing story, more details will follow soon…