Manchester United, along with the rest of most global football, are off indefinitely, so let’s do some transfer talk instead. If there’s one thing that can survive a global pandemic, it’s transfer rumors. There are now multiple reports that the Premier League could return to action in June, and play matches behind closed doors. If/when that happens you can use this bet365 sign up offer to wager on the action. Resuming play is of course contingent on containment and mitigation of the coronavirus.
Until then we only have transfer talk to do, and before we get started I encourage you to check out our all United transfer rumor starting XI and our optimal United XI with top transfer targets acquired and key players retained.
For today’s MUFC news and notes round-up, go to this link.
For part two of today’s MUFC news and notes go here.
We begin with the latest on Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez, a long term United target. It is thought that Atleti will not part ways with him for anything less than his release clause fee of €150 million (£130m). Given what United Executive Ed Woodward said about the summer transfer window, both for his club and the market at large, it seems unlikely that a deal of this size gets done.
If it is to happen, it could require a sale of Paul Pogba to try and balance the books. Also, as toe-curling a fantasy it may be to have a midfield of Pogba, Bruno Fernandes and Niguez, it just doesn’t seem plausible. Nevertheless, United are urged to go and make a move by one of their former midfielders, Paul Ince, writes Metro.
The first black man to captain United won several honors with the club during his career.
Elsewhere, what’s next for Juan Mata once his contract is up? Is the time here for him to move across the pond to Major League Soccer? The ESPN talking heads speculate about the concept in this video. We’ve seen three United players move to MLS since 2017: Bastian Schweinsteiger, Wayne Rooney and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Mata is as that age/point in his career where that move stereotypically gets made, but MLS is a league frought with peril right now.
They have the double whammy of the coronavirus pandemic, and unique labor and extreme financial issues arising from it, to deal with.
Too much is uncertain right now to really take a serious look at the idea.
Finally, United have apparently failed to land the next big thing, the young superstar in training/development, and that’s 14-year-old Julian Pauli of Dusseldorf. That’s according to German paper of record Bild, who claim the England born Pauli will move to Borussia Dortmund instead.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly contributes to WGN TV, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Now and SB Nation.
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