Tag: Manchester United

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The 18-year-old academy product has burst onto the scene this season and been one of United’s shining lights of an otherwise disappointing campaign, with the club languishing down in sixth in the Premier League table.

Erik ten Hag will be sweating over the young maestro’s fitness ahead of this evening’s clash against Brentford at the Gtech community stadium.

Mainoo missed Thursday training after feeling unwell, before he reported to Man United’s Carrington base on Friday, and there are concerns whether he will be fit for the match.

The Dutch manager informed that the youngster missed training on Friday due to illness and that there remains a doubt over his participation in the Brentford clash.

The club is monitoring the player’s condition and a final call will be taken on the match day depending on how well the midfielder recovers.

Mainoo did report for training at Carrington on Friday, though, and Ten Hag hopes to be able to use the youngster at the Gtech Community Stadium

When asked about Mainoo’s availability on Friday, Ten Hag told reporters: “I don’t know, we hope. Today he is here, not fully recovered, but we still have many hours before tomorrow with kick off at 8pm.”

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Erik ten Hag’s side has been utterly underperforming all season, and especially in front of goal. The free-flowing and free-scoring team of last season seems to have evaporated, with everyone struggling for goals, including 30-goal man last season Marcus Rashford.

A team like Manchester United has no business recording just 39 goals in 28 Premier League games. This averages to just over a goal every game, which is completely unacceptable.

To put it into context, table-topping Arsenal have scored 31 more goals than Manchester United, 31!

The Red Devil’s goal difference is an even zero, meaning we don’t do much better defending.

As it is, ten Hag’s reds are on course to break the club record for least goals scored in a Premier League season.

Back in the 2014/15 season when Louis van Gaal was in charge, United only managed to find the net 49 times all season and with only ten games remaining, Man United are in grave danger of repeating this feat if they don’t find their scoring boots soon.

They may have something of a boost with regard to Brentford’s defence.

The Bees have conceded 54 goals this season, a record worse than only 3 other sides in relegation-threatened Sheffield United, Luton Town and Burnley.

Fresh off putting 4 past Liverpool, ten Hag’s team comes into the game with confidence and I expect them to score at least thrice, especially considering the manager’s preferred front three is fit and starting.

The race for the European spots is still very tight and in the balance, so United need to build their goal difference sooner rather than later in case it comes down to GD when all is said and done.

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Manchester United will be looking to push towards a European spot, The Champions League for that matter, between now and the end of the season.

The Red Devils will be seeking to push the momentum of the past two games into what is going to be a very important next few weeks.

The first test will be against Brentford in Saturday’s late kick off.

I expect nothing too different from the usual, although some adjustments have to be made, like Lindelof moving back to centre back to allow either of Dalot or Wan-Bissaka to move into right back and the other to left back.

A major boost is also expected in terms of injuries, with both Casemiro and Lisandro Martínez returning to the bench after some time out.

Mason Mount is also back in the squad after a lengthy injury period and is on the bench.

Here is the confirmed staring 11. (4-2-3-1)

Andre Onana, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Victor Lindelof, Raphael Varane, Diogo Dalot, Scott McTominay, Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmum Hojlund, Marcus Rashford.

 

 

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Reports coming in from Spain are linking Manchester United with a surprise move for Los Blancos seasoned striker Joselu.

According to Relevo, The Red Devils are considering a move for the 34-year-old Spaniard, who is on loan at Madrid from RCD Espanyol.

His loan contract to Madrid included a purchase option for €1.5 million, and he has exceeded expectations since joining the club, playing very well considering that he is not a regular starter

Joselu has scored 13 goals and provided three assists in 38 competitive games this season, 13 of which were starts.

He has experience in the Premier League having played for both Newcastle United and Stoke City, both of which were terrible spells, but that has not stopped United from sending an envoy to Spain to enquire about him according to Relevo.

He meets the criteria to be a part of Man United’s forward line with Rasmus Hojlund since he has a ton of experience – something that Hojlund needs to be around a lot as he builds his career as a proper Premier League 9.

An experienced striker like him would be the perfect back up and partner for Hojlund to alleviate some of the pressure off the Dane and assist in his development.

Joselu is on contract with Espanyol until 2025, but he has expressed desire to remain at Real Madrid even with the little game time he gets, which could be a stumbling block if United are serious about the move.

Said game time may even reduce further if Madrid manage to sign outgoing PSG and world superstar Kylian Mbappé, as all reports seem to indicate.

“I hope to stay with Real Madrid on a permanent deal. I had a clause that if Espanyol went down, I could go out on loan,” he said in a recent interview.

“Well, Madrid had the opportunity, they thought it was convenient to be able to trigger it. And here I am,” he added.

 

 

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Manchester United have a well-documented history of making big money moves that all eventually fail to work out: from Memphis Depay to Antony, from Alexis Sanchez to Ángel Di María.

This history of failed big money moves has become more of a cycle at United than incidental, and such has been the case with former Ballon d’Or nominee Donny van de Beek.

The Netherlands international made the move to Manchester United from Ajax back in 2020, and initially looked an exciting addition to the squad.

Van de Beek had impressed in his time in the Eredivisie, with United paying £35million to sign him almost four years ago.

The four years have been nothing as expected, struggling to find any form or consistency, albeit he did struggle with multiple injuries to be fair.

It finally seemed like his luck was looking up for the Dutchman when he secured a loan spell at Eintracht Frankfurt this January, but all has not gone according to plan.

Van de Beek has still been struggling to find his feet, failing to make any considerably impact in The Bundesliga.

According to Soccer News, Manchester United have had enough and are considering letting him go for as little as 10 million euros, which is a huge loss from their initial investment.

The report also further states that United are willing to even negotiate for a figure lower than that just to let Van de Beek go.

The Dutchman may not sit at the same table of big money disappointments at United as the likes of Pogba and Sanchez, but it still hasn’t worked out a tad.

This judging solely by their price tags, which in all honesty make the £35million United paid for Van de Beek seem like pocket change.

Something went badly wrong for the club to make him one of their top targets when they did, and it will be interesting to see if anyone is now ready to gamble on him this summer.

 

 

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There is a lot of uncertainty around Mason Greenwood’s future at Old Trafford, with most reports indicating he will be let go of permanently, especially after the attempt to reintegrate him back into the squad last year was met with so much backlash.

He has been drawing attention from lots of clubs with his fine form in Getafe and United are reportedly plotting to take advantage of this and use him in a deal to secure defensive target Gleison Bremer from Juventus.

It’s understood United have been monitoring Bremer’s displays across the campaign, and the club are reportedly pursuing a bid to prise Bremer away from Juventus under the recommendation of incoming sporting director Dan Ashworth.

Bremer will not be cheap, and it is reported Juventus will be asking for €60-70million plus bonuses for the defender, as reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport.

The report also states that United are not deterred by this massive price tag as they are desperate to sign a defender of Bremer’s class and are even willing to use Greenwood, who is well admired by Juventus, to seal the deal.

It’s understood Juve sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli is an admirer of Greenwood, which United could use to their advantage in their pursuit of Bremer.

Bremer has started all but one of Juve’s games in the Italian top flight this term, and his outstanding performances have been a key factor in the club boasting the second-best defensive record in the league behind leaders Inter Milan.

Erik ten Hag could desperately do with a defender of Bremer’s quality after the season his side has had defensively on account of all the injuries and constantly shuffled partnerships.

The Brazilian international ranks in the 87th percentile for successful aerial duels, a proper defensive force in every sense of the phrase.

Bremer signed a new contract with the Old Lady in December, tying him to Juve until at least 2028.

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After a seemingly long international break, the Premier League returns and for United fans, a date at the Gtech Community Stadium waits, as an under-performing Brentford host top-four outsiders Manchester United.

The Bees return from the international break reeling from a 2-1 loss to demotion rivals Burnley, while the Red Devils are still riding high from that euphoric FA Cup quarter-final win against Liverpool.

Manchester United players were hard at work on Thursday morning at Carrington, preparing for Saturday’s late kick-off at Brentford.

Most of United senior players were spotted including Bruno Fernandes, Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmus Hojlund and Scott McTominay.

Mason Mount was also involved as he continues to build his fitness following a return from injury.

On matters of personnel, Erik ten Hag will be pleasantly delighted as the majority of his injured squad are getting back to fitness, including Mason Mount, who has been on the sidelines for most of the season.

Lisandro Martínez who has also been on the sidelines for the longest time may be in contention to make the bench as he was on the bench for Argentina’s friendlies over the international break.

Harry Maguire is also only returning from injury, and he played an important role in the closing stages of that F.A Cup win against Liverpool two weekends ago. He may as well be in contention to make the bench again.

It will be touch and go for defender Jonny Evans, midfielder Casemiro and Turkish goalkeeper Altay Bayindir.

Luke Shaw, fellow left back Tyrell Malacia and Anthony Malacia are the three who have no chances of being fit by the weekend as they continue to nurse their respective injuries.

The weekend’s match is the first of 10 remaining Premier League fixtures, and everybody at United will be determined to finish the season on a high, with European qualification up for grabs.

Predicted lineup: (4-2-3-1) Onana, Dalot, Varane, Lindelof, Wan-Bissaka, McTominay, Mainoo, Bruno, Rashford, Hojlund, Garnacho.

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It was yesterday reported that Manchester United were planning talks with Wolves manager Gary O’Neil over a potential role in the new coaching setup that INEOS executive Dave Brailsford is putting together.

United want to build a new coaching structure led by a head coach focusing primarily on what happens on the pitch, rather than a traditional manager role overseeing multiple departments as Sir Alex Ferguson did for so many years.

O’Neil could be offered an assistant coach or an alternative coaching role, a step-down from his current managerial position at Wolves.

O’Neil, who has received a large amount of praise for his work at Premier League clubs Bournemouth and Wolves, is reportedly perceived by people within United as another example of a smart hire for the betterment of the club in a supporting role to another first-team head coach.

In what is only his first season at Wolves, O’Neil has been an undeniable success. Currently sitting in ninth place, O’Neil’s side are only six points behind Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United team.

As talkSPORT reports, O’Neil is ‘set to snub’ the approach from Ratcliffe’s team, as he views going from Wolves head coach to Red Devils coach or assistant as a ‘demotion’.

This is owing to the fact the role in question is still unclear, and it is rumoured the role will most probably be under the manager, which is why he probably views it as a demotion.

Wolves also plan to offer Gary O’Neil a new contract to fend off interest from Old Trafford.

O’Neil discussed his future earlier this month, noting that he is fully focused on finishing the season strongly at Molineux.

“I’m not available, so I shouldn’t be linked with any other jobs,” he said.

“I’m doing the job I want to be doing, love what we’re trying to achieve.,”he concluded.

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As Simon Jones of Daily Mail reports, Manchester United have reportedly entered the race for highly rated Spaniard and RB Leipzig attacker Dani Olmo.

Manchester United join other European bigwigs like Real Madrid and Chelsea who are all interested in Olmo although Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano confirmed the latter have not made any serious moves for Olmo.

The 25-year-old signed a new deal only last summer, but with a release clause becoming active in June, he will represent an attractive proposition for a number of clubs.

This ensures that despite the relatively straight forward task of meeting the midfielder’s release clause, there is still likely to be a battle for United to ultimately secure his services this summer.

It is understood that United greatly admire Olmo’s versatility, as he can play on both wings, as a ten and even as a false 9.

Erik ten Hag could do with such quality and versatility across his front line, and with Olmo’s release clause coming active this June, he will have the chance.

Olmo starred for Spain against Brazil on Tuesday evening, where he was utilized in the number ten position and scored an excellent individual goal.

Despite struggling with injuries this season, Olmo has scored 7 goals and 4 assists for Leipzig in only 1202 minutes – which equates to a goal or assist every 109 minutes – a very decent return from midfield.

Olmo is also strong defensively, despite being a more forward-thinking player. He is a willing running who is well-versed in pressing and counter-pressing principles.

Similarly, the Spaniard tracks back diligently to help his fullback – something ten Hag looks for in his attacking players.

Dani Olmo has previously expressed his interest to play in the Premier League, so willingness will not be an issue.

” We are talking about the best leagues in the world, and they all have positive things.  But those of England, Germany and Italy also attract me very much,” he told Mundo Deportivo while at Dinamo Zagreb a few years ago.

 

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It has not really worked out for once-teenage prodigy Anthony Martial at Manchester United, and all signs indicate these are his last weeks in red.

He will be out of contract in June and although his next club is still unknown, what is for sure is his future does not lie in Old Trafford.

French football Jonathan Johnson is of the conviction Martial could be headed back to France, where he began his career at Lyon and Monaco.

Johnson goes on to boldly suggest the forward could even work his way back into the French National Team which is not out of question considering all the talent the forward possesses.

“It’s been expected for a long time that Anthony Martial will leave Manchester United on a free transfer this summer. His career appears to be at a bit of a crossroads at the moment, but obviously the expectation is that, having come through the ranks at Lyon, he could come back and potentially rebuild his career with one of the European clubs in Ligue 1,” Johnson said.

Lyon definitely dies have a strong case for Martial to rebuild his career, as he was once in their youth system and came up in their ranks.

Lyon has never shied away from bringing back former players to try and revive their careers, and it sometimes does work out, as is the case with Alexandre Lacazette who is enjoying a fine resurgence this season.

All in all, Anthony Martial will not be short of suitors and the only deterrent will be his very high wages that may be a problem, especially for smaller clubs.

“He’s always been a fine talent, he just needs to find some consistency, and then who knows, perhaps it could even mean getting himself back into contention for a place in the French national side, which, at this moment in time, is extremely far away,” Johnson concluded.