Manchester United fans divided as club accept ‘shockingly low’ offer for promising youngster Zidane Iqbal
The frustration seems to be not just about letting a young talent go but the club's history of poor sales, whereas many others are calling it an overreaction.
The Manchester United fan base has been left split following the news that an offer has been accepted for promising youngster, Zidane Iqbal, with the academy player set to join FC Utrecht imminently after more than 10 years at the club.
20-year-old Zidane Iqbal has been revered as one of the brightest young talents in Man United‘s academy for a number of years now, finding his way onto the bench seven times in the Premier League and a further nine times in the Europa League last season.
However, despite making his debut back in 2021 to become the first-ever British South Asian player to play for the club, flitting between the youth ranks and sitting as an unused sub has very much been the story of his United career over the past year or so and he is now set to leave on a permanent deal.
According to The Athletic‘s David Ornstein, the Manchester-born Iraqi international scouted by the Red Devils while playing for his local side, Sale United, is soon to depart Old Trafford for the Eredivisie side for just £855,000 (around €1 million) on a four-year contract with a “significant sell-on clause”.
🚨 EXCL: Man Utd have accepted an offer from FC Utrecht to sign Zidane Iqbal on a permanent transfer. Deal for 20yo Iraq midfielder worth up to €1m + significant sell-on clause for #MUFC. Medical done, set to join on 4yr contract @TheAthleticFC#FCUtrechthttps://t.co/CuDJOkLW8a
Now, while it has been reported that his exit was planned as early as the beginning of last season (the only debate being whether it would be a loan or permanent), Iqbal apparently asked to leave as early as January but was told he could not due to the ongoing injury crisis.
ADVERTISEMENT
However, the local lad still failed to make a single appearance under Erik ten Hag and was then left frustrated when the manager didn’t allow him to with the Iraq national team to the U20 World Cup which finished earlier this month, despite not being given any opportunities in the first-team.
And it is that fact that has left many United fans disappointed as despite crying to see more of him in the likes of the Europa League and domestic cup games, he is now about to leave his boyhood club without ever having got the chance to kick a ball at the senior level.
ADVERTISEMENT
Becoming the latest academy prospect that fans once thought could have a big future to say goodbye, it has left many wondering whether it’s the right move and what could have been if he had been given a proper chance.
Fee that we are selling him for is ridiculous and more gutted that he never got a single minute in any competition for United this season despite showing promise in the pre season. Even Ralf Rangnick gave him an appearance in a CL game at OT.
As you can see, beyond just the outgoing itself and the loss of a much-admired academy midfielder, one of the most concerning parts for many supporters is the money itself, with several noting that his reported fee is basically the equivalent of two weeks’ worth of Jadon Sancho‘s wages.
Moreover, although he may not have had the game time to prove himself on the pitch at the top level and potentially drive up his price, the likes of Man City have managed to move on promising youth players for significant money in the same situation.
The argument seems to be that the red half of Manchester just isn’t very good when it comes to transfer business and player sales, in particular. In fact, since 2018, the club have only received upwards of £20m for a player twice — Romelu Lukaku and Dan James — with many players leaving for free.
🤦♂️ Zidane Iqbal will be joining FC Utrecht for €1million – a shockingly low deal.
— Paul, Manc Bald and Bred (@MufcWonItAll) June 20, 2023
The fee has been described by many as ‘shockingly low’.
When you break it down like that, it doesn’t make for great reading, does it?
He was obviously unproven in the Prem and had simply remained under that ‘one to watch’ status, but United’s heritage of bringing young players through and seeing the likes of Alejandro Garnacho thrive as he has this season understandably left some thinking the move is premature.
On the other hand, many fans are arguing that there was no standout reason to keep Iqbal at the club and that some of the response to his departure has been a bit of an overreaction, especially when considering the possibility of him continuing to sit on the bench and wasting prime years in his career.
ADVERTISEMENT
Then again, that’s always the risk you take when you let a youth prospect go.
Hope the move works out well for him. He’s too good to be spending a season waiting for first team football and by all accounts is a decent lad.
Reminds me a bit of the Angel Gomes situation, and I was gutted when we let him go. He’s about to turn 23 and is now a regular starter for a top half of the table team in France, being offered football he wouldn’t have had at United. But the decision to let him leave was right.
Many shocked about Iqbal being sold but they really need to wake up and stop thinking the likes of him, Mengi, Savage etc are going to be world beaters after they finish ‘developing’ Our support lives in cloud cuckoo land
Nevertheless, Man United fans are still overwhelmingly wishing him the best for his move to the Netherlands where he’ll hopefully get plenty of first-team football. After all, that’s the dream, isn’t it?
As for Iqbal himself, there’s no question as to what representing the club meant to him and he’ll always be a significant part of the United’s history.
We always want to see Mancs do well — go and smash it, lad!
🗣️ "I've grown up playing for the academy and I love the club”
Manchester City reveal trailer for upcoming Together: 4-In-A-Row documentary
Danny Jones
Man City have revealed the first trailer for their new Together: 4-In-A-Row documentary, charting the course of their record-breaking four consecutive Premier League titles.
The follow-up to the Together: Treble Winners series, City‘s highly-anticipated documentary dropped earlier this year following their historic 2023/23 season, the movie will follow the same concept and relive the Manchester club’s latest unprecedented feat from 20/21 onwards.
While the previous TV outing was picked up by Netflix, the latest instalment is set to arrive at the end of this month exclusively on CITY+.
You can see the trailer for Together: 4-In-A-Row down below:
The new Man City documentary will feature exclusive interviews with manager extraordinaire, Pep Guardiola, Ballon d’Or winner and Champions League-winning goalscorer Rodri, club captain Kyle Walker and many more.
There will also be footage including soon-to-depart Director of Football, Txiki Begiristain, as well as the City Football Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Ferran Soriano.
Swapping the series format for a feature-length film this time, this is arguably CITY+‘s biggest release to date, with the content subscription service typically offering full match replays, youth academy coverage, as well as smaller documentaries and podcasts.
The streaming service (accessible via the website, Man City app and smart TVs) was only started back in 2024 but now four years later, rather fittingly, it’s set to document the most important years in the club’s history.
We’ve seen multiple Man City docs in recent years – their 2018 All Or Nothing Amazon Prime Video mini-series being the first – but the launch of the Together franchise back in April has helped put City Studios, on the map.
The in-house entertainment arm, first set up in 2022, has even more ambitious plans for the coming years, with a huge deal to create multiple big-budget productions in collaboration with Sony.
Fans are getting even more behind-the-scenes content soon.
Gavin Johnson, Media Director at CFG, said of the trailer reveal: “We’re delighted to announce the release of our latest offering in the ‘Together’ collection.
“Produced once again by our award-winning in-house production and creative hub, City Studios, the documentary film offers our fans a true insight into the team and how they achieved the historic four-in-a-row success.”
Set to be released at 6pm UK time on 20 November, Together: 4-In-A-Row will only be able to watch via the CITY+ platform.
So, if you’re a Blue who wants to relive the last four years of non-stop silverware, you can enjoy a 30-day free trial, after which CITY+ is just £4.99 a month. An annual subscription can be purchased for £34.99 a year or for £30 with an Official Cityzens membership/season ticket.
Man United legend Eric Cantona stuns Manchester artists with surprise visit to GRIT Studios
Danny Jones
Artists working at a Manchester studio were left speechless by a recent surprise visit from none other than Man United legend Eric Cantona.
The former United forward’s love for the city has never waned no matter how many years have gone by and as a lover of all things art, be it music, painting, acting or what he did with a football, he never fails to engage with local culture whenever he’s here.
He may not be based here anymore but the Frenchman – who knows a thing or two about art given his past acting jobs, newfound music career and previous showcases – still pays plenty of visits to 0161, including a recent unannounced one.
Cantona was back in the city centre this week to pay GRIT Studios resident Michael Browne, the artist who he collaborated with to create his National Football Museum exhibition last year, but the one thing Browne didn’t do was let the other people working in their city centre location he was coming.
Credit: GRIT Studios Manchester (supplied)
To be fair, anyone would double-take if they saw Eric Cantona walk into a room, so this was quite a memorable occasion for the unsuspecting artists.
After working on 2023’s From Moss Side to Marseille with Browne, the 58-year-old has been reimmersing himself in the world of Manchester art and there aren’t many places that epitomise that more than GRIT, who are based in Stockport with a second studio at Great Northern Warehouse.
Landing in Manchester from Paris, Cantona arrived in the late morning and ended up staying for over an hour, taking time to meet a number of artists and tour the space with co-founder John Macaulay.
Clearly impressed with their work and genuinely enthused by the sense of community within the local grassroots art scene, it was a special visit for everyone involved.
John, a die-hard Man United fan who has seen the Red Devils play in 25 countries before going on to set up GRIT Studios and much-loved Art Battle MCR with his wife Sophie, said: “It’s full circle for me having watched Eric play all over the world, it’s true honour that he’s flown in to see our talented artists.”
Artists spent time chatting with Eric and talking through their creative processes; those present included mosaic artist, Francis Thorrington, plein air (outdoor) artist, Sketch MCR – a.k.a. Ben Rock – painters Jodie Silverman, Helen Davies and Sophie Macaulay, as well as woodworker Gus Riddell.
Also a fellow United fan, Francis said he simply “couldn’t stop smiling the whole time” after Cantona described his work as wonderful.
Eric looked at home when he picked up and started strumming Chris Pollin’s hand-made guitars, which are handcrafted from driftwood and take hundreds of hours of work.
The enigmatic sports personality turned pop philosopher and cultural figure clearly enjoyed the visit. His final message was that it was refreshing to see a place where “art was for everyone” not just the elite.
As for Browne, he is sworn to secrecy on his next project but let’s just say you can expect some big announcements in the coming weeks. As for GRIT, you can visit one of their open days this Saturday, 16 November and make sure to check out their Stockport studio if you’re in the area.
Danny Jones -
21st June 2023 
