Manchester United are rumoured to have been linked with former Chelsea midfielder and England international, Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
With not long left of the January transfer window, however, a decision would need to be made soon if the deal stands a chance of being completed.
Loftus-Cheek, who came through the Chelsea youth system before being loaned to Crystal Palace and Fulham, now plays for Italian giants AC Milan.
Having spent a couple of years in Serie A now, he had a very solid debut campaign – scoring 10 times and registering a couple of assists in four appearances whilst helping dictate from deep – but it now looks like his time at the club could be ending, with Man United floated as a potential next destination.
🚨 | Manchester United have been offered the chance to sign Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
United are considering signing a midfielder on loan to bolster their hopes of Champions League qualification.
That’s according to sports journalist Alex Crook, anyway, who claims that the Red Devils have been given the chance to sign the 29-year-old before the end of the month.
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As per the update via talkSPORT, the chief football correspondent claims that United are debating bringing in another option in the middle of the park on loan, at the very least, as they chase down a return to Europe next season, and Loftus-Cheek is one of the names that has been linked with a move.
He explains that “talks are only exploratory at this stage, but Loftus-Cheek is keen to return to the Premier League”; the Lewisham-born central midfielder has struggled to gain regular minutes and have the same impact so far this term.
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It remains to be seen just how much interest there is on Man United‘s end, but if the reports are to be believed, the opportunity looks to be there.
Crook goes on to add that INEOS are also thought to be exploring a deal for ex-Leicester City and previous MUFC transfer target, Wilfred Ndidi.
Having left the Premier League back last year after the best of seven years with the Foxes, Ndidi is currently captain not only at Beşiktaş, as well as his national team, Nigeria, who just reached the AFCON semi-finals.
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It is believed that he wants a return to English football for both career prospects and ‘family reasons’.
Now 29 and nearly a whole decade on from first being linked with him during his time at Genk, many supporters have reacted by stating that he should have been recreated years ago, and that potentially turning to older shortlisted names on a temporary contract isn’t the right direction for the club.
Do you see either of these players being brought in and/or working out at Old Trafford, Reds?
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.