It promises to be a very exciting summer transfer window at Manchester United, with plenty of potential comings and goings. So, let’s take a spin through the latest transfer rumors and gossip making the rounds on the internet today.
Welcome to volume two of today’s Man United transfer talk.
-Longtime Manchester City man Yaya Toure announced earlier this month that he’s living the Etihad. Although his next destination remains a mystery, he has refused to rule out joining United. In an interview with the Manchester Evening News, the midfielder discussed the possibility of replacing the just retired Michael Carrick in the middle of the park.
“Yeah he (Carrick) just left. Let’s see, let’s see. I don’t rule big teams out,” the 35-year-old said.
“The big teams are very important for me. What they want to achieve, the way they want to go, for me is very important. I want to go somewhere I can win and achieve. It’s going to be hard one day to play against City, but I have to do that. It is part of my job.”
“I’ve been playing football for such a long time, I’m no good in the office or something else. I am good in football.
“To see myself at a different club is going to be difficult. I have been such a big part of City for such a long time now. I just want to say that definitely I will continue to play at a high level – Champions League or Europa League.
“I want to play two more years. They have to be in the higher level and then I can do something else.”
Toure, who won seven major trophies over the course of eight years at the blue side of Manchester, discussed the opportunity to “teach” Paul Pogba at the red side of Manchester.
“It’s difficult because of the way the media has treated him,” Toure continued.
“We don’t have the same characteristics because for me I was involved in all the ball, I ran everywhere. I liked that. I was prepared for that. I was working for that for a long time. When I was in the academy in Africa I had to run everywhere, get box-to-box in 50 seconds. It’s something I’ve been loving to do.”
“Pogba is the same size, power — but different in the way he wants to go. He is a player I want to play with, to be honest, just to teach him some things. He’s a fantastic player. He’s a little bit young at the moment. Criticism is a part of life. If they criticize you it’s because they want you to be good or be better.
“I’ve been criticized and I love to be criticized. I don’t mind if people talk about me — it’s good. It means I have to achieve, I have to be better. Even if you continue to be at the peak of your game, sometimes they are going to find something to tell you. It’s part of life. We have to deal with that.”
That is some very interesting commentary from Toure there. What a formidable duo Pogba and Toure would make.
-For the next item, we stay in the midfield, and again go to the Manchester Evening News, who report that United are closing in on signing Shaktar Donetsk midfielder Fred.
M.E.N. report that the Brazilian could put pen to paper on a deal next week, when his national side visits the region to play a World Cup tune-up against Croatia at Anfield. It’s possible Fred could undergo a medical, and seal his £53 million move, the Daily Express reports, while he’s in town.
United Manager Jose Mourinho did say earlier this month that he wanted to have at least one Brazilian on his team next year.
-This time of year is called the “silly season” for a reason. It’s the weeks and months when fans all across the globe overanalyze social media minutia and then the media, desperate to fill space during slow days, reads way too much into it.
Today brought another installment of this phenomenon, via Anderson Talisca.
Take it away Daily Mirror: “The Benfica forward, on-loan at Besiktas, has recently followed Marcus Rashford on Instagram, something the Manchester United fans and the Turkish media have picked up on and promptly linked him with a move to the city.”
Crazy, isn’t it? And we’re just getting warmed up as the transfer window is just getting started.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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