Manchester United transfer news LIVE: Jadon Sancho and Alex Telles latest, Jesse Lingard to Tottenham plus Premier League updates
Manchester United are hoping to step up their summer transfer business with the deadline just two weeks away
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Manchester United are chasing reinforcements with the summer transfer deadline just two weeks away.
The 3-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace has hastened the urgency for new recruits with Jadon Sancho remaining the No 1 target. Borussia Dortmund have been holding out for £108m all summer but Ed Woodward is said to be confident they will drop the asking price before the deadline with personal terms already agreed with the England international.
Left-back is another priority position to upgrade with Porto’s Alex Telles another to be linked. A five-year deal has been agreed with a fee with the Portuguese club now being haggled over. There could yet be a number of exits too with Chris Smalling still set for Roma and Jesse Lingard a surprise target for Tottenham Hotspur and former boss Jose Mourinho.
SANCHO SPECULATION HAVING NEGATIVE IMPACT ON RASHFORD
The constant speculation surrounding Manchester United’s bid to sign Jadon Sancho is having a negative impact on Marcus Rashford, says Tony Cascarino.
United have been linked to the England international for months, but attempts to finalise a deal with Borussia Dortmund have stalled over their differences in the player’s valuation.
Cascarino maintains that the constant speculation surrounding the Sancho deal is affecting Rashford’s form.
"To a man, Manchester United were woeful against Crystal Palace but the most worrying thing about the performance was Marcus Rashford," said Cascarino to The Times.
"Joel Ward, the Palace right back, did not give Rashford a kick and we saw none of his typical dynamism in attack. Rashford is a player who sets the tempo for United.
"If he is making threatening runs, or taking on defenders, then Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team look deadly. If he has an off-day, they can appear flat.
"In truth, he has not looked the same player since lockdown. Mason Greenwood and Anthony Martial were lauded for their goals as United finished the season in style and there has been much speculation about Jadon Sancho arriving.
"I cannot help but feel that Rashford’s nose has been put out of joint."
FANS HAVE LOST CONFIDENCE IN UNITED SAYS NEVILLE
Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville says ‘fans have lost confidence in the club’ over the last several years, as the Jadon Sancho saga drags on.
United have been trying to finalise a deal for the 20-year-old with Borussia Dortmund for months, but are refusing to meet the German side’s £108m valuation of the winger.
Speaking on his podcast, Neville says the club has lost the confidence of the fans when trying to negotiate transfer deals:
Because of what has happened in the last eight years, people have lost their confidence and they have now tried to go the other way in terms of, 'we can't now overpay'.
You see Liverpool getting a player for £40m, £25m, you see other clubs do it, Werner is quite cheap compared to some of the prices of players you see in the market and United always seem to have to pay top dollar and the people at the club will not like that, almost as though they are easy pickings. And there is a suggestion of that.
The problem is, they have to find a way to get deals done and they can't get deals done efficiently. And it is negligence not to get the squad in place, they have had six months since March when lockdown was on being able to deliberate, do zoom calls, connect with agents, move things into place.
There is no excuse really for not getting your transfers done before the start of the season. They need four or five players, so to only get one done… I know Liverpool have only got theirs done in the last couple of days, but there is a feeling they are in control. United have got the money - if they can spend £90m-100m on Sancho, they have got the money to do the deals.
They have not got the quality or experience of football people within that club, it looks like a convoluted and complex structure, I'm not quite sure where the decisions lie
UNITED CLOSING IN ON SANCHO ALTERNATIVE
Manchester United are reportedly closing in on signing an alternative to Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho - Watford’s Ismaila Sarr.
United have been locked in talks with Dortmund over the signing of Sancho for the last several months, but are refusing to meet their valuation of the player.
This has led Ed Woodward to look elsewhere for an alternative, and Teamtalk cites The Daily Express in reporting that United are closing in on a deal for Sarr.
The move would be a season-long loan with an obligation to buy next summer, with a fee believed to be in the region of £40m.
UNITED TO MISS OUT ON SANCHO
Manchester United’s months-long pursuit of Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho could end in a stalemate, according to Talksport.
The English side have been in talks with the Bundesliga outfit for months regarding a move for the right-winger, with personal terms reportedly already agreed.
However Dortmund’s asking price of £108m is one that United, who are reportedly losing £5m per game that’s played without fans, aren’t willing to match.
Talksport cites Bundesliga expert Kevin Hatchard, who tweeted:
“Been told today there is no prospect of #bvb lowering their valuation of Jadon Sancho, which is believed to be around 120 million euros, and there is even a possibility that they may ask for more,” said Hatchard.
“As I’ve said for weeks, if #mufc strategy is to pressure Dortmund, it’s failing.”
SOLSKJAER DESERVES TIME SAYS UNITED LEGEND COLE
Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer deserves time to get things right at Old Trafford, says former striker Andy Cole.
United suffered an opening day defeat to Crystal Palace at home.
Cole, who played alongside Solskjaer from 1996 to 2001 at United, believes he’s earned the right to learn on the job.
Speaking to Talksport, Cole said:
How do you get better? For me you have to learn. The only way you can do that is to be given opportunities to do whatever job it is.
He has been given the opportunity to learn on the job at Manchester United. That was his record when he took over, so he has obviously proved that he is good enough for the job, otherwise they wouldn’t have given it to him.
I’m one of Ole’s biggest fans. I played with him, I know what he’s like as a person and I know what he wants for Manchester United going forward.
The form at the end of last season, considering before everything broke down with the Covid-19 thing, I don’t think anyone would have said Manchester United would finish in the top four.
After the comeback from that, Manchester United were fantastic. That tells me he has turned it around in that break that Manchester United had.
Is he good enough? He’s started to prove that. Football is about time, you have to be given time. First game of the season, I’m as disappointed as any Manchester United fan that we lost 3-1 against Crystal Palace, but there are 37 more league games to go.
UNITED ‘NEED MORE PLAYERS’ SAYS SHAW
Manchester United left-back Luke Shaw says the current squad ‘needs strengthened’ following their 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace.
United conceded three goals on the opening day of the season for the first time in 25 years, and Shaw maintains the squad needs investment.
As per the Manchester Evening News, Shaw spoke in the aftermath of the defeat, and said:
As I said, we have a very good group, but personally I think we need more players to strengthen the squad.
It can give us a boost. When you look around at how other teams are strengthening their teams, then we must also do it to keep up with the others.
TELLES ‘FOCUSED ON MY WORK’ AMID UNITED SPECULATION
Manchester United target Alex Telles says he’s ‘focused on his work’ amidst speculation linking him with a move to England.
United are in the market for a left-back, and the club have reportedly registered interest in Telles after missing out on Sergio Reguilon to Tottenham.
Speaking to Portuguese channel Sport TV following Porto’s 3-1 win against Braga on Saturday, Telles said:
I’m a guy who focuses a lot on work. People believe what they want, say what they want in the newspapers, but the most important thing is to be focused on my work.
You know that and so do my teammates, whatever happens, I’m focused on the club, I’m here, I’m playing.
SANCHO WOULD BE GREAT FOR UNITED SAYS YOUTH COACH
Former Watford academy coach Louis Lancaster says Jadon Sancho would be great for Manchester United, should they complete a deal for the winger.
United have been locked in talks with Borussia Dortmund over the signing of the 20-year-old for months. However, United are not prepared to meet the German side’s €120m valuation.
Lancaster, who coached Sancho when he was a teenager, believes his former pupil would be great for United, telling the Manchester Evening News:
If Jadon was to go to Manchester United I think it would be a great move for him.
He would be going to play for a manager that has trust, if you look at some managers they don't trust that talent.
Jadon will probably go to Manchester United but it will also be great for the Premier League, and it would be great for him because the club are structurally set up for success. You don't want to go somewhere they are not set up for that.
The club have got a tremendous amount of history, they have got a great coaching staff and they have got players who will trust him.
I think with his personality he will just fit in with (Paul) Pogba, (Bruno) Fernandes, he will just fit in like a duck to water. If he goes there they are not just getting a great footballer but they are getting a mature 20-year-old. If you look at others his age he is incredibly mature. For him to leave a country at such a young age, and going to Germany has made him a better person. If he goes to Manchester United they are getting a mature and independent 20-year-old.
‘CONCRETE PROGRESS’ FOR TELLES
Portuguese outlet A Bola states that ‘concrete progress’ has been made over Manchester United’s attempt to sign left-back Alex Telles.
United are thought to be in the market for a left-back, and lost out on Sergio Reguilon to Tottenham last week.
It seems they’ve turned their attention to signing Telles, and A Bola believes that progress has been made over the weekend.
The paper states that Telles’ agent, Pini Zahavi, is ‘mediating’ between the clubs in order to push through a deal.
Telles has reportedly been offered a four-year deal worth €5m a season, and Zahavi is attempting to persuade United to pay Porto’s asking price of €20m.
RUSSIAN INTEREST FOR LINGARD
Zenit St. Petersburg are reportedly interested in bringing Manchester United winger Jesse Lingard to Russia, states The Daily Star.
Lingard has slipped down the pecking order at Old Trafford, and could be forced to look elsewhere for first team opportunities should Jadon Sancho arrive before the transfer window closes.
The Manchester Evening News also states that Tottenham have expressed interest in signing Lingard.
The 27-year-old made 22 appearances in the Premier League for United last season, scoring once.
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