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Manchester United target Arturo Vidal hints at Bayern Munich stay

Bayern Munich midfielder Arturo Vidal has reportedly delivered a blow to Manchester United’s transfer ambitions for the summer. The Chile international has been identified as one of Jose Mourinho’s prime targets to bolster the centre of the park, though the 30-year-old appears content to remain with the Bavarian giants.


In an interview with Sport1, Vidal has suggested that he could stay put with the German champions beyond the summer irrespective of the club’s agreement to sign Leon Goretzka from Schalke 04, he said: “I play in this team for a reason, and I’m certainly one of the world’s best in my position for a reason. I do not think about a change, I feel really good here. Of course I would like to extend. This is an option and my children are very happy here.”
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Jose Mourinho Speaks about Money in Football

Jose Mourinho claims that money makes all the difference when it comes to football. The Manchester United manager was speaking just days after Liverpool announced the signing of Virgil van Dijk from Southampton for around £ 75 million. Thus, the Dutchman has become the most expensive defender in the world. Earlier in the campaign, Mourinho had to defend concerns about the vast sums of money being splashed up by United in the hope of returning to the former glory days. After signing Paul Pogba for £ 90 million initially upon arrival, Mourinho went on to bring in Romelu Lukaku for an initial fee of £ 75 million last summer.

Over the course of the decade, Mourinho has spent more money than any other manager in world football. Yet, this has not been a successful period for the Portuguese, as he has struggled to a certain extent at the likes of Chelsea and United. There was a lot of expectation that United would be challenging for the league title this season, but it has gone all wrong in the last couple of weeks. The Red Devils are a whopping 15 points behind Manchester City, who have also spent money in the summer. It should be interesting to note that Guardiola signed 16 players since taking over at the club.
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Jose Mourinho justifies team selection against Liverpool

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has revealed that both Eric Bailly and Marcus Rashford had suffered minor injuries on international duty. The Red Devils drew 0-0 versus Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday afternoon with a couple of forced changes with Bailly and Marouane Fellaini not making the matchday squad. Rashford, however, had a cameo appearance in the second half in place of Anthony Martial, although he could not have much of an impact on the match.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Mourinho said, “I don’t think we have many options. Fellaini was injured with the national team, Bailly was injured with the national team and Rashford was injured with the national team. We don’t have many options. I never complain about that. I was just mentioning it to you because the next question is maybe why is Rashford not playing? Why is Bailly not even on the bench? But, okay, since the moment we know the players we have available, we thought about the match and we thought about our options and we made these decisions.”
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Robbie Savage backs Manchester United for the Premier League title

BT Sport Pundit Robbie Savage feels Manchester United will go all the way to lift the Premier League title this season due to the strength in depth in the Red Devils squad.


Jose Mourinho brought in the likes of Victor Lindelof, Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic during this summer’s transfer window for a combined sum of over £140m.

While Lindelof has yet to take the playing field in the Premier League, Matic and Lukaku have already made a huge impression among the fans with convincing performances in the first three games of the campaign. The Red Devils clinched comfortable 4-0 wins over West Ham United and Swansea City until last weekend, and this has been followed with a domination 2-0 triumph over Leicester City on Saturday afternoon.

Pundits from across the United Kingdom have tipped Manchester City as strong favourites for the Premier League title, but Savage reckons Mourinho has options for any situation and can guide his side to league success in his second season in-charge, he said: “The options, especially looking at (Marouane) Fellaini. If they’re struggling in games they can put Fellaini up top for the long ball, diagonals. Zlatan Ibrahimovic now who has signed. The difference in options now, off the bench, on the field. That’s why I think they’re favourites to win the league.” (more…)

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Paul Pogba insists Zlatan Ibrahimovic still has his influence at Manchester United

France international Paul Pogba insists that Zlatan Ibrahimovic still has a huge influence at Manchester United despite being released from the club earlier last month.


The 35-year-old is currently recuperating from a cruciate ligament damage which curtailed his season in April. The Sweden international had an additional year on his existing deal, but United opted against the clause with the Swede unlikely to return until the festive period.

United boss Jose Mourinho has previously hinted that Ibrahimovic could earn himself a short-term contract on his recovery, and Pogba is delighted to work alongside the Swede, who has been undergoing his rehabilitation at the club’s Carrington base.

He said: “Obviously Zlatan is a leader, always a big leader, and he’s still a big leader because he’s still in the team. Even though he’s not playing he’s a leader outside of the pitch. Pogba is keen to develop more of the leadership qualities displayed by the likes of Ibrahimovic and United stalwart Michael Carrick.” (more…)

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Manchester United close in on Renato Sanches signing

Manchester United are reportedly on the brink of sealing a season-long loan for Bayern Munich midfielder Renato Sanches.


The Portugal international is widely expected to leave the Allianz Arena this summer with Bayern chief Karl-Heinz Rummenigge admitting the player could leave on loan.

He said, via The Sun: “He is a player who needs to play regularly. So if we feel he is not going to get enough game time, then we will loan him out, or maybe even sell him. Last season, particularly after the winter break, he didn’t get enough appearances. That wasn’t because of the coach, it was because of (Sanches) himself. I can confirm that AC Milan have got in touch with us, but I have the impression that they are not able to meet our financial demands.”

Sanches had attracted interest from Manchester United prior to his move from Benfica, but he nevertheless opted to join Bayern Munich, where had the chance to feature in the Champions League. However, the teenager failed to oust the likes of Xabi Alonso and Arturo Vidal from the starting lineup, and he was restricted to just nine starts – including two in Europe. (more…)

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Jose Mourinho has £100m left to spend

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho could extend his spending spree this summer after being given the backing to spend another £100m on new signings.


The Special One has already spent £106m on Romelu Lukaku and Victor Lindelof in the transfer window, but this is only the start of what could be a busy summer for the Mancunian giants.

The Red Devils have been negotiating deals for a whole lot of players in recent weeks but they have been left disappointed with clubs sticking to their asking price. According to The Sun, the Special One has been given the go-ahead to pursue a deal for Perisic after having failed with an initial £26m approach for his services.

The Croatia international is considered as one of the most valuable players in the Inter Milan ranks, but Mourinho is confident that a fresh attempt of £35m would be sufficient to convince the Nerazzurri into a sale. Meanwhile, Mourinho could also move for another defender during this summer’s transfer window while the search for a central midfielder is still on with Tottenham Hotspur’s Eric Dier and Roma’s Radja Nainggolan leading the shortlist. (more…)

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Locadia dreams of Manchester United move

PSV Eindhoven striker Jurgen Locadia has highlighted his ambition to play for Manchester United at some stage of his career.


The 23-year-old missed a vast part of last season through injury, but he nevertheless managed to bag three goals and three assists in 14 outings. Speaking to Dutch broadcaster NOS, the marksman revealed his dream of making the big time with United, but admits that he may have to take an intermediate route with a mid-table English club.

Georginio Wijnaldum has been one of the top Dutchmen, who has made a mark in the Premier League, and Locadia is willing to go through a similar route in order to realise his dream. The Holland international joined Newcastle United back in the summer of 2015, and his standout performances at Tyneside earned him a switch to Liverpool 12 months later. (more…)

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Manchester United receive boost in striker pursuit

Manchester United have moved one step closer to signing Alvaro Morata after his agent confirmed that the Spaniard does not want another season on the bench.


The Spain international was largely a deputy to Karim Benzema last term after Real Madrid decided to activate the buy-back option to bring him back from Juventus.

Morata celebrated a Champions League and La Liga double with Los Blancos last season despite starting most of his games from the bench. He nevertheless managed 20 goals through the campaign, and he is now eyeing a fresh challenge elsewhere although it would be a crazy decision to part ways with the European champions, he said: “I want to be playing and to be important to the squad, particularly next year when there is the World Cup. But I want to fight for my place here, I would be crazy to leave Real Madrid. I would like to stay.” (more…)

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UNITED HAVE NO EXCUSE TO FAIL AT EUROPA

Injuries, bad luck, wrong calls, fixture glut, Manchester United’s manager, Jose Mourinho has had no shortage of excuses to give for his side’s short-on-standard achievements so far this season.


Don’t get me wrong, a reasonable number of those claims are valid; like how Marcos Rojo got knocked the moment he formed a promising partnership with Eric Bailly. And then we have the scenario where it seems the universe has sworn to frustrate the living daylight out of United. How else do you explain the fact that Paul Pogba has hit the wood work more times he’s found the back of the net?

Let’s not even get into the task of analyzing just how many times the Red Devils have had to settle for a draw despite outplaying their opponents. They’ve had 14 so far this season, making a mockery of their 25-game unbeaten run set in yet another draw against Swansea.

These and many other self induced misfortunes are the reasons why the Red Devils are gunning for a 4th place finish – something Wenger might be proud of but certainly not the Glazers family – despite spending a €150 million summer war chest in addition to landing the Harvey Specter of club football – Mourinho – to oversee everything. (more…)

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