Manchester United are reportedly open to offers on practically their entire first-team squad as Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the INEOS Group look to rebuild the squad from the ground up, with just three current players said to be ‘off-limits’ in the upcoming transfer window.
The eye-opening report by The Telegraph‘s James Ducker has revealed that the latest assessment by Ratcliffe and his new executive board, including new technical director Jason Wilcox, is that they would be “prepared to listen to offers for the majority of their first-team squad this summer”
While Ducker stresses that the club are not actively looking to offload senior stars like Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes and Lisandro Martinez for example, it is now thought they “are keeping a very open mind about sales and will judge any offers on their own merits.”
However, is said that some players that are simply not for sale – well, at least three.
EXCL #MUFC prepared to listen to offers for majority of 1st team squad bar rising stars like Mainoo/Garnacho/Hojlund. Ready to adopt ultra flexible approach to window. Won’t actively look to sell likes of Rashford but will give real considerable to offers https://t.co/uDi4ybUgy5
United are willing to sell first-team players if the right money comes in but three of the next generation are strictly off-limits.
As per the bombshell report when it comes to the business Man United are planning this summer, only homegrown talent Kobbie Mainoo, rising star Alejandro Garnacho and recently acquired young striker Rasmus Højlund have been deemed off-limits by the new co-owners.
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With 30 goal contributions between the two attacking players across all competitions and still so early on in their careers, it’s not hard to see why, not to mention Mainoo looks to be one of the most promising midfielders in the country at the moment, securing an England call-up in his debut season to boot.
A big factor in the apparent approach is the club having now officially dropped out of the Champions League following their disappointing home draw against Burnley, which will see a significant dip in revenue, meaning that potential salary cuts of around 25% off the total wage bill could be floated.
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However, players like Rashford, Casemiro and Raphaël Varane who have big contracts could prove to be an obstacle, meaning their future at Old Trafford may be less assured than previously. With over half a billion spent over the last three summer transfer windows, it is thought a ‘buy-to-sell’ policy is likely.
As reported earlier this month, Wilcox’s arrival at the club included not only an assessment of the current squad and which areas need to be improved – with United said to be targeting another striker, right-sided centre-back and a midfielder come June – but of the manager himself too.
Also broken by Ducker, the new director is said to be looking at Erik ten Hag’s “strengths and weaknesses” as the season draws to a close over the next few weeks, with the Dutchman’s future at the club also still up in the air following a difficult season.
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ten Hag‘s training sessions, in particular, are said to be of interest, especially given the Red Devils’ lack of a clear tactical style or any discernible patterns of play since he joined back in April 2022.
Whether faith will be placed in him as it has with the likes of Mainoo, Garnacho and Højlund remains to be seen but it looks set to be a big summer transfer window for United, even if not entirely in terms of spending. Which would about you, Reds: which players would you definitely want to keep?
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.
Danny Jones -
30th April 2024 
