Tag: Manchester United

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According to the Mirror, Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino is eyeing a move for young Bournemouth left back Milos Kerkez who has been enjoying a great debut season in the Premier League.

20-year-old Kerkez has been phenomenal for Bournemouth and has been drawing interest from the Premier League ‘big boys’.

According to the report, Manchester United will prove strong competition for Poch and Chelsea as they are also interested in the left back.

Both clubs will be in the market for left backs, and it is expected they will be battling it out for the young Hungarian defender.

The left-back position has been a constant headache for the Blues.

Ben Chilwell’s injury issues do not seem to go away. The English international has regularly suffered injuries since joining the club from Leicester City.

Marc Cucurella on the other hand has as well struggled with injuries but that notwithstanding, the club hasn’t trusted him enough to make that left back position his own.

As such, Poch has more often than not had to rely on Levi Colwill, a centre back, to occupy the left back position.

The left back situation is much more dire for Manchester United.

Top left back Luke Shaw has struggled with injuries all season, being limited to only 15 appearances all season.

His worthy understudy Tyrell Malacia has been injured all season and hasn’t made a single appearance.

Diogo Dalot who can often fill in at left back has had his hands full at the right back position as fellow right back Aaron Wan-Bissaka has been injured most of the season.

Erik ten Hag has had to field Lindelof, a right footed centre back, at left back on most occasions.

Sofyan Amrabat has also been forced to put in some shifts at left back.

Given Kerkez’s influence at Bournemouth thus far, it is no surprise that Chelsea and Man United both want him.

The Cherries are expected to get a big profit on their investment of £15.5 million last season, the amount they paid to sign the defender from Dutch club AZ Alkmaar.

 

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Manchester United have been window shopping for centre backs all season as they gear up for a busy summer rebuild under new owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

Among the players being scouted has been Nice defensive stalwart Jean-Clair Todibo.

Manchester United has been interested in the Frenchman for a while now, even before Sir Jim’s investment, but the interest has never amounted to anything.

The Red Devils were interested in the defender last summer, but the move failed to materialize. It was thought a January transfer would be attempted, but that failed to amount to anything as well, leaving fans very disappointed.

Manchester United were a bit more hopeful this time as he plays for an outfit that is owned by INEOS as well.

According to a report by 90min, this INEOS connection will not do much for United as they are still expected to pay premium for the defender, which concerns the Red Devils.

OGC Nice are understood to be demanding a fee between €55m and €60m (£47m and £51m) to part ways with Todibo, and while that may be cheaper than other targets on United’s radar, such as Juventus’ Bremer and Everton’s Branthwaite, it is not currently seen as the best value for money.

What remains clear is United’s desperate need for a centre back as their best defender Raphael Varane may leave the club.

The World Cup winner’s contract ends in June, and it is still unclear if he will be offered a new one or be let to leave amid heavy interest from Saudi league.

This coupled with Lisandro Martínez’s injury woes this season compounds the need for ten Hag to rebuild his defence this summer.

Nice’s bargaining position has arguably weakened since the January transfer window amid a difficult run of form which has seen them fall from second in Ligue 1 down to sixth, outside the Champions League qualification spots.

 

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Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek needs to have an upturn in form over the next few weeks if he is to stay at Eintracht Frankfurt. This is according to a report by sportBILD.

According to the report, it is highly unlikely that the German outfit will activate the just under 10 million euros buy clause in the Dutchman’s loan contract.

The local Frankfurt paper condemns the move as a failure and suggesting that there is no chance the German side will be looking to make the deal permanent in the summer.

The midfielder joined Frankfurt on loan after a frustrating 3 years at United.

He greatly struggled for consistent game time when fit, suffering numerous injuries along the way.

After suffering from lack of game time under ten Hag, his fortunes seemed to take an upturn when he signed for Frankfurt.

He had been hoping to undergo something of a reset in the Bundesliga, establishing himself as a key player for Frankfurt and playing regularly between now and the summer ahead of the transfer window.

The 26-year-old started off in the first eleven for the Bundesliga outfit but after failing to make any sort of impression, he has once again been relegated to that of bench warmer.

To have any chance of winning back his place in the starting line-up before the end of the season, the midfielder must continue to contribute and make a difference when given the opportunity.

The United loanee will be aiming for longer spells on the pitch to prove he can still make an impact at the highest level between now and the end of the season.

While there is a plan to sign fellow loanee Hugo Ekitiké and activate his purchase clause, there’s still a debate about whether they want Van de Beek permanently from Manchester United.

They can do that for just under €10m but ‘what matters most’ is his performances over the next few weeks.

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Manchester United legend Dwight Yorke has advised the club to resign former striker Romelu Lukaku for a priceless quality he possesses.

Speaking to OLBG, Yorke explained how he is of the opinion that United still have the capability to compete with the best of the best if they resign the striker.

“Romelu Lukaku is absolutely still good enough to play for a top-six club. I think Man Utd or Tottenham should take Lukaku on a short-term loan deal and agree to pay a certain amount of his wages. As much as people say about Lukaku, he has a very impressive goalscoring record, and he doesn’t get as much credit as he deserves.” he stated

The big Belgian is currently on loan a Roma from fellow Premier League side Chelsea. He does not have a purchase clause on his contract which means he will be back at Stamford Bride come the summer.

Yorke’s remarks are not entirely unfounded, as Lukaku has been on fire this season.

He is currently on 18 goals and 4 assists in 36 matches. A return of a goal or assist every other game is still pretty respectable.

Manchester United have been struggling for goals this season. Club top scorer Rasmus Hojlund is on only 13 goals, and we are well into March.

Yorke, though, has urged United to strike a deal to bring the Belgium international back, having had him under their employment between 2017 and 2019, as a more senior alternative to Rasmus Hojlund.

“If you have a fired-up Lukaku who wants to play for you, he’s a match-winner and a handful for any opponent in the world. Man United have invested heavily in Rasmus Hojlund, but if you want to compete with the best then Lukaku is that player who can score 15 to 20 goals in a season, which is priceless and hard to find in today’s game.” he added.

“Lukaku is still only 30 years old and a proven goalscorer, I think whoever gets him on a short loan deal will have done good and subtle business.” Yorke concluded.

 

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Manchester United has been having a horrible season, struggling to gain and maintain any form of momentum and consistency.

They have struggled to put together attacks and a style of play and as a result, they have only managed to outscore 7 teams in the Premier League. That in itself is bad enough but combining that with such a leaky defence has spelt so much trouble for the Red Devils.

If Manchester United are to turn their fortunes around, they simply have to strengthen their defence.

They have been complacent of allowing opponents to cut through them at will and fire away at André Onana’s goal all season.

In United’s past 10 league games, their opponents have had a combined 185 shots; for contrast, Arsenal and Manchester City have faced only 232 in the Premier League all season.

Even Newport County, 13th in League Two, managed 17 shots in their FA Cup tie with United in January.

Last season, Ten Hag’s first at the club, United faced 482 shots in 38 Premier League matches at a rate of 12.6 per game.

This season, it’s jumped to 16.7 shots per game, and in 10 games (against Manchester City twice, Everton twice, Wolves, Newcastle, Liverpool West Ham, Aston Villa and Luton) they’ve faced 20 or more.

This is completely unacceptable for any Manchester United side.

Part of the reason has been defensive injuries.

Erik ten Hag has barely been able to field his preferred back 4 of Diogo Dalot, Rapha Varane, Lisandro Martínez and Luke Shaw.

To put the personnel woes into context, ten Hag has had to use 11 different centre back pairings this season, and it is nigh on impossible to build any kind of rhythm or familiarity in a team that’s constantly changed.

Jonny Evans and Varane have been the most paired centre backs playing together, only 7 times.

Compared to last season where ten Hag had his preferred duo of Varane and Licha paired together 22 times, it has been a rough season injury-wise.

The way Ten Hag has set his team up defensively for much of the season has been determined in part by the players he’s had available.

This notwithstanding, Manchester United certainly have to improve their defending if there is any hope of saving this wretched season.

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Former Manchester United defender Pat McGibbon has insisted that there’s no reason why Jonny Evans should not be handed a new deal and extend his stay at the club.

Academy graduate Evans rejoined United in the summer of 2023 after eight years away and has impressed in his 24 appearances

Evans was signed last summer after impressing Erik ten Hag and his coaches at Carrington. He was added to the ranks primarily to provide cover and ensure United aren’t short in the defensive department.

However, as a result of injuries picked up by several members of the backline, Evans has played more games than either he or the fans would have certainly anticipated.

He has been rock solid whenever he has been on the pitch, with his most recent display against Everton earning his manager’s praise.

“Oh yeah, I have been very impressed, We are so pleased we signed the fifth centre-back because normally, you say: ‘Why five centre-backs in the squad?’ But you see, we are so happy we did this,” ten Hag said about Evans, in his post-match press conference.

“As you see, his performance across the season, he’s such an important player for this squad. He will always be there when he’s needed and give good performances.” ten Hag concluded.

According to McGibbon, who spent five years at Old Trafford, Evans has proven he deserved to stay at the club a little bit longer.

“I’ve been really impressed with Jonny, and he was outstanding against Everton. On the pitch he is still a really good influence and there is no reason why he couldn’t be handed another year. It’s the club’s call but from a coaching capacity, the club would benefit from keeping Jonny on and helping the young lads to develop,” Pat stated.

“Nothing beats good experience on the pitch. I know from my time under Sir Alex Ferguson that the players manage on the pitch, and Jonny’s experience is invaluable,” he concluded.

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Paris St Germain are gearing up for a new era without mega superstar world cup winner Kylian Mbappé.

The world-class winger is set to leave the Parisian club after 6 years of breaking record after record at the Parc des Princes. It is going to be an enormous change for the club, losing such an influential figure in Paris.

According to the Mirror, PSG are ready to swoop for Manchester United’s winger Marcus Rashford in an attempt to fill the void left by Mbappé.

The Ligue 1 champions are set to test Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s resolve by slapping a big-money offer on the table at the dawn of his rebuild.

It is reported that PSG are readying a 75 million pound offer in an attempt to finally land the Englishman’s signature after failing last season.

PSG made a concerted effort to sign Rashford in 2022, but the move failed through. They were willing to offer him a £400,000 a week compensation.

Rashford opted to stay at United and went on to have himself a 30-goal season, earning himself a new improved contract.

He signed a new long term extension last July, a contract which will keep him at the club until at least 2028 and on £350,000 a week.

Rashford has struggled to repeat those heroics this season, with just seven goals from 34 appearances for United, and has endured difficulties off the field as well.

PSG are convinced they can take advantage of Rashford’s current predicament at United by making a renewed bid to sign him as Mbappé’s replacement, with an opening bid of £75m.

United could be tempted by such an offer – although they value Rashford closer to £100m – particularly against the backdrop of such stringent financial fair play regulations, which have restricted their spending in the transfer market.

A fresh start could appeal to Rashford although his commitment and bond to his boyhood club may just come out trumps.

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Brazilian club Flamengo are reportedly interested in signing failed high profile United winger Antony.

According to a report by journalist Julio Miguel Neto the Brazilian giants are allegedly looking to bring the flopped United winger back to Brazil for a season long spell.

The report as cited and translated by Sport Witness states how it just hasn’t worked out for Antony at Old Trafford and that has opened up the possibility of him returning to Brazil.

The former Ajax man has struggled to replicate even a modicum of the talent he put on display back in the Eredivisie.

Antony is still relatively young at only 24, and he still has a chance to revive his career, even if it’s not at Old Trafford.

One can never know for sure, but maybe a move back to his native Brazil is the right move to getting back to the best of his abilities.

Antony has been nothing but underwhelming these two seasons he has been at Manchester United but especially this.

He has only scored once and assisted once this season in all competitions.

2 goal contributions in 29 appearances is not a return one expects from a Manchester United winger, and it has cost him dearly.

Erik ten Hag has always trusted him, giving him numerous chances even when he did not deserve said chances, but his benevolence has been lacking for the past couple of months.

Ever since Alejandro Garnacho impressed at right wing, Antony has barely had a kick being limited to inconsiderable substitute minutes.

A loan would be the best move for both club and Antony.

The club would have a chance to assess if the pressure of ‘Manchester United’ or the massive price tag he came with got to him ergo the way under par performances, or he has genuinely dropped in quality.

A decent loan spell would massively improve Antony’s confidence whilst raising his stocks and market price, so the club can make better revenue when the time to sell him comes.

 

 

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According to a report from today’s edition of SPORT, Manchester United are highly interested in signing Barcelona and France centre back Jules Kounde.

Barcelona’s summer is projected to be a busy one in terms of sales as the club tries to bounce back from an economic mess created by former president Josep Bartomeu.

They will have to make lots of sales if they want to make even a single signing and United will be hoping to pounce.

Barcelona currently have 5 senior centre backs in Kounde, Ronald Araújo, Andreas Christensen, Iñigo Martinez and fast rising Pau Curbasi.

Come the summer, loanees Clement Lenglet and Eric Garcia will be returning as well, so there definitely will be some CB offloading to generate revenue.

The centre back surplus has meant Kounde has often had to play at right back, which is his less preferred position. Kounde has been having a mixed bag of a season, and he is currently on 2 goals and 5 assists.

Barcelona desperately needs to make some sales and word is they are willing to sacrifice one of Kounde or Christensen.

Manchester United will be looking to capitalize and potentially nab the Frenchman Kounde. One of the incentives at hand is the conviction he will finally get to play centre back permanently.

The Red Devils are in desperate need of centre back reinforcements, seeing as most of their centre backs are ageing and injury prone.

The idea for United is to replace Varane, whose future at the club is in uncertainty after his contract expires in June with his compatriot Kounde.

The 25-year-old Kounde is also admired by Chelsea, who allegedly had scouts watching him last month. The London club had come really close to nabbing the former Sevilla man in 2022 just before Barcelona snatched him up from the deal.

Kounde’s market price is currently at around 60 million euros and with Barça desperate to make some sales, they just may listen to offers if the Frenchman is amenable to a move away from the Nou Camp.

 

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Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s rebuild has been well and truly underway in the boardroom, already securing the services of top-rated executives in Omar Berrada and Dan Ashworth from Manchester City and Newcastle respectively.

The executive rebuild was not going to end there, with reports from late last year claiming former Liverpool sporting director Michael Edwards was in INEOS’ list of targets for the executive positions.

The potential heist will however not pan out as David Ornstein confirms.

As The Athletic reports, former Liverpool sporting director Michael Edwards has been given a leadership role at Fenway Sports Group, which own the Merseyside club.

The executive was at Liverpool between 2011 and 2022. The 44-year-old was initially hired as the head of performance and analysis but was promoted to Sporting director in 2016.

Edwards was a key part of Liverpool’s key success, with one of his major hits being identifying Jürgen Klopp for the managerial role in 2015. A decision which shaped an era in Merseyside.

He was also notably responsible for the signing of marquee Liverpool players like Sadio Mané, Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and captain Virgil Van Dijk before leaving Anfield in 2022.

Though FSG wanted him to stick around, Edwards left at the end of his contract and took a break before launching an advisory service, Ludonautics, last year. He will step down from his role with the company before rejoining Liverpool.

Edward’s appointment was confirmed earlier today by FSG Mike Gordon. He returns to FSG as CEO of football for the American investment group.

“Michael is one of the most formidable executive talents in world football and John (Henry), Tom (Werner), and I are absolutely thrilled to have secured his services for our business,” FSG president Mike Gordon said upon the announcement.

His first important task will be finding a successor for the manager he brought to Anfield as Jürgen Klopp is set to leave at the end of the season.