The third international break is winding down, meaning it won’t be long until Manchester United return to action. On Sunday they’ll visit Sheffield United for a Premier League fixture. (Here is a link to the early team news for that one). Also, for today’s MUFC news items round-up go to this link.
But in the meantime and in-between time, let’s take a spin through the latest round of transfer rumors, ahead of the January window, which will get here before you know it. EVP Ed Woodward gave a conference call to United investors today and on the call the subject of the transfer window came up, and he made some comments about it that a lot of people are misreading and over-analyzing.
Regardless of what the CEO had to say, a multitude of players have been linked to United and will continue being speculated about until the window closes. The Daily Mail has identified a list of the top eight MUFC transfer targets.
And hey, why stop at just eight when you can go up to 42? The Manchester Evening News lists out all 42 players that have been linked to Old Trafford for January.
Mario Mandzukic has been frozen out at Juventus, having made not even one first team appearance this season. It is thought that forward will be the position group at the top of United’s shopping list, and that the Juve outcast might be the most likely new acquisition for United.
However, there will be competition for him, via Borussia Dortmund according to the Daily Mail. Elsewhere, Juventus midfielder Emre Can has been linked to United quite a bit, and he admits he’s not happy in Turin.
Supposedly the price tag for him would be about €35 million (£30 million). Bleacher Report has the quote in which can admits he’s unsettled:
“I’m just an ambitious guy who always wants to compete at the highest level. But I’m also learning from this tough time when things are not going the way I was hoping. I’m not playing games from the start, so I’m not happy, but I will stay strong and keep working on myself. I’m often in the gym before or after training, doing extra shifts. I want to be ready. A lot can always happen in football.”
Finally, you probably heard Roy Keane utterly and thoroughly slam long time United target Declan Rice. (here’s the link if you didn’t). Anyway, Danny Murphy has come to Rice’s defense.
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 appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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