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.
LAST BID FOR SMALLING
Corriere dello Sport are reporting that Roma are ready to offer a final bid to bring Chris Smalling back to the Italian capital this summer.
Corriere report the Serie A club ‘will try to add something to the offer of €12m refused about two weeks ago’, meaning they will put forward a ‘loan for €2m with an obligation to redeem at €12m and a further €1m in bonuses in 2022’.
That takes the total to €16m when including the €3m loan for last season.
Manchester United have previously said they want €20m for Smalling with Ed Woodward remaining committed to that stance meaning Roma’s upcoming bid probably won’t be accepted.
Should Manchester United turn this down, Roma will then shift their attention to other objectives, such as Galatasaray’s Marcão or Torino’s Armando Izzo.
CROUCH PUZZLED BY MAN UTD
Former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch has echoed the statements of Manchester United fans who are struggling to understand the club’s position in the transfer window.
Speaking to the Daily Mail Crouch says the Red Devils’ hierarchy have not targeted the right kind of player. He said: “I held a lot of hope for them in the summer but, once again, the way they have negotiated the transfer market has left me puzzled.
“They seem to buy good players, such as Donny van de Beek, but they don’t seem to have a strategy.
“If you have got Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes, why do you need Van de Beek?
“Why did they not go for a forward, such as Raul Jimenez from Wolves?
“The defence needs strengthening, so why are they concentrating on Jadon Sancho rather than a partner for Harry Maguire?”
TAGLIAFICO OFFERED AJAX EXTENSION
According to The Sun, Manchester United have reportedly been monitoring Ajax’s Nicolas Tagliafico in case talks with preferred left-back choice Alex Telles should break down.
However, De Telegraaf now claims the Dutch side are increasingly confident of retaining the Argentine.
Director of football, Marc Overmars, has reportedly sent Tagliafico’s agent the offer of a new contract but it remains unclear if the left-back will sign the extension, but the chances of him doing so have “increased considerably”.
In 100 appearances, he has scored 12 goals and assisted 15 others for Ajax.
BENT BACKS LINGARD EXIT
Former Tottenham striker Darren Bent says Jesse Lingard 'should consider exit' amid links he could rejoin Jose Mourinho at Spurs.
Lingard impressed against Luton in United’s 3-0 win last night, but Bent told Sky Sports he should consider an exit if Tottenham come calling. He said:
“For me, I would love to see someone like Jesse go somewhere, play week-in, week-out
“If it’s not going to be with United – I know it’ll be tough for him to leave – go to another club. If it is Spurs, go and get regular game-time, and go and show everyone that you are still a good player and that you have still got a big future with England.
“If Jesse’s playing really, really well and is at the top of his game, there’s no reason why he can’t get back into the England squad.”
AN ALTERNATIVE FOR SANCHO?
Chelsea have reportedly put N’golo Kante, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Antonio Rudiger and Callum Hudson-Odoi all up for sale, according to various media reports.
The Daily Express claims manager Frank Lampard is keen to sign Declan Rice from West Ham and is willing to sell the quartet to fund the rumoured £80 million transfer.
Hudson-Odoi is a player United have considered in the past, and with moves for Jadon Sancho and Ousmane Dembele looking less likely everyday could Hudson-Odoi be a cheaper, long term alternative?
‘WE WANT SMALLING’ SAYS FONSECA
“At the moment, we’ve not had any bids up to the level that we want. That [Smalling’s valuation] is not down to me, is it? I’m not the one negotiating between the clubs, but we haven’t had sufficient bids there and that’s it.”
That’s the view of Manchester United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, on a potential move for centre-back Chris Smalling.
Smalling spent last season on loan at Roma and the Italian side are keen to sign the 30-year-old permenantly.
A first offer of £11 million was rejected out of hand by United and this is probably the offer that Solskjaer is talking about above.
The Guardian meanwhile are reporting that United want at least £18 million for Smalling and that Roma are preparing a second bid for the defender.
“We’re working to get Smalling here,” said Roma’s manager, Paulo Fonseca, “I’m in contact with him and I spoke to him yesterday. He wants to be here and we want him here. He could join us in the next few days.”
LINGARD ‘LOOKING FOR MOVE'
Former Manchester United midfielder, Darren Fletcher, believes Jesse Lingard is actively looking ‘for a move’ away from Old Trafford after appointing a new agent in Mino Raiola.
Lingard has fallen down the pecking order under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and is entering the final year of his current contract at Old Trafford.
United have been tipped to cash in on the out-of-favour midfielder amid reported interest from Everton, Tottenham and West Ham.
Fletcher told Sky Sports:
“It’s unknown. The alarm bells started ringing for me when he appointed Mino Raiola as his agent. Now you don’t appoint Mino Raiola as your agent if you’re looking at staying at a club.
“That suggests to me that he’s looking for a move. He’s not a starter in Manchester United’s strongest team, he’s a squad player now. Yes, he’s come through the club and he’s been there a long time.
“Maybe, he feels like he is ready for a new challenge and maybe he feels he is at an age now where he needs to be a starter, he can’t be a squad player.
“It will be interesting to see what happens between now and the end of the window.”
TAGLIAFICO NOW ON THE RADAR
The Sun are reporting that Manchester United have reportedly identified £23million-rated left-back Nicolas Tagliafico as an alternative to Alex Telles.
MEN Sport understands discussions have taken place between United and FC Porto over Telles, but a deal is not quite as close as some outlets have reported.
Tagliafico, 28, could be United’s second signing from Ajax in the same summer, as a former teammate of Donny van de Beek.
DEMBELE STAYING IN MADRID
Ousmane Dembele was heavily linked with a move to Manchester United yesterday as the Barcelona winger was seen as an alternative to United’s priority target Jadon Sancho.
A deal for Sancho seems to have cooled and The Mirror report club sources have indicated United won’t be making a move for the Barcelona man, who is set to stay at the Nou Camp this season.
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