Man Utd - Transfer news, results, fixtures, video and audio (2024)

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Manchester United are closing in on Bayern Munich pair Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui in a move likely to cost in excess of £60m.

BBC Sport has been told Bayern have accepted a bid from United of £38.6m plus £4.3m in add-ons for De Ligt, who was captain of Erik ten Hag’s Ajax side that reached the Champions League semi-final in 2019.

In addition, they are set to pay £12.9m for Morocco defender Mazraoui.

United have targeted central defence and right-back as key areas to strengthen in the squad and Ten Hag said last weekend the club’s new hierarchy were "eager" to do deals.

Mazraoui’s arrival had been linked to the exit of right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who moved to Old Trafford from Crystal Palace for £50m in 2019.

The Red Devils have now agreed a deal with West Ham for Wan-Bissaka and the 26-year-old will have a medical with the Hammers on Sunday.

United had two bids for Everton’s England international Jarred Branthwaite turned down earlier in the summer.

With the Merseyside club sticking to their £70m valuation, De Ligt, 24, is considered a cheaper option and has more experience.

Both De Ligt and Mazraoui played in front of United goalkeeper Andre Onana during their time at Ajax.

De Ligt joined Juventus in 2019 for £67.5m and after winning one Serie A title and one Coppa Italia in 117 appearances he joined Bayern in 2022 for £65.6m.

He has played 73 games for the German side and won the Bundesliga.

All eyes on Wembley Stadium this afternoon as 77 days since these two faced off in the FA Cup final, Manchester City and Manchester United are playing each other again.

The Community Shield is the traditional curtain-raiser to a new season and you can follow every moment with BBC Sport

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Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag says Marcus Rashford is looking "very engaged, ambitious and motivated" before the start of the new Premier League season.

Rashford was left out of England's Euro 2024 squad after a disappointing league campaign in which he scored seven goals in 33 appearances, as United finished a historically low eighth-place.

However, not featuring for his country has allowed the 26-year-old to have a full, uninterrupted pre-season and Ten Hag believes he is hungry to improve his performances - starting with the Community Shield against neighbours Manchester City at Wembley on Saturday.

"We all have seen on tour he was very lively, in a very good shape already," said United's Dutch boss. "We expect a lot as we expect from the whole team this season.

"He is working very hard, is very engaged, very ambitious and motivated to make a good season."

When asked why Rashford's form dipped last season, Ten Hag added: "There are so many reasons you can list. It goes much too far.

"There will be part individual but definitely also at a club team, there are many reasons why a player is performing or not."

Another potentially key part of United's attack for the upcoming season is new signing from Bologna, Joshua Zirkzee, but Ten Hag believes the 23-year-old striker will take time to adjust after a summer with the Netherlands at Euro 2024.

"Every player coming to a new league costs time. We all know [the] intensity is higher in comparison with the leagues you are coming from but already [Zirkzee] has experience," said Ten Hag.

"He was a player in Belgium, Germany and Italy so he has already collected a lot of good experiences and that will help him.

"We have to help him make the step. He and we need time to fit him in. That will take some weeks."

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag says summer signing Joshua Zirkzee is available to play in the Community Shield on Saturday.

Zirkzee did not feature in the club's pre-season matches and has had limited time to train with his new team-mates, but Manchester United's new number 11 will be available for selection against Manchester City.

"I think he can [be a part of Saturday's game]. He's really hungry to do this," Ten Hag told club media.

"He's very excited to come to the Premier League, Manchester United and the first occasion being Wembley will highly motivate him.

"But he's short in training, he trained individually and had a couple of days of training with the group."

Salford City boss Karl Robinson is confused by the kick-off time for Saturday's Community Shield.

Manchester United will face Manchester City at Wembley at the same time as the new EFL season begins.

Speaking on BBC Radio Manchester, external, Robinson said: "Who decided to put the Community Shield on Saturday 3pm when the EFL is kicking off?

"The EFL is the bread and butter of our game. It's the oldest football organisation.

"When we need all the money in the world they decide to kick off the Community Shield off. That baffles me."

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Manchester United winger Antony has explained why a traumatic upbringing in Brazil means critics who condemn his footballing abilities will not "write my story".

United made Antony the second-most expensive player in their history behind France World Cup winner Paul Pogba when they paid Ajax £82m for him in 2022.

The 24-year-old has rarely come close to justifying that fee and has scored just five goals and claimed three assists in 54 Premier League appearances.

Antony ended last season on the bench and was an unused substitute in the 2-1 FA Cup final victory over Manchester City at Wembley in May.

However, on the eve of this weekend's Manchester derby rematch in the Community Shield, he offered a revealing insight into his tough background in a Sao Paulo favela that not all his friends were lucky enough to escape from.

"It's difficult for me to talk about my background," Antony told reporters, answering in his native Portuguese to questions posed in English.

"It's not by chance I have the favela where I grew up tattooed across my back and always play with 'favela' written on my boots. The favela is always with me.

"I'll never let anyone else write my story or let people put me down as I genuinely know what it's like to be at the bottom.

"There were times when I didn't have boots to play football in, times when there wasn't enough to eat. I didn't have a bedroom - I slept on the sofa in the living room. My house would flood when it rained heavily.

"I saw a lot of friends go down another path and some of them lost their lives. I know what I went through; I know what my mother, father, brother and sister suffered together with me."

Read the full article here

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

Right now, brinkmanship is the name of the game. There have been times when some clubs sorted their transfer business early in the window and everyone wondered why so few others followed their lead. Put simply, it isn't in the selling clubs' financial interest, and it usually isn't in the moving player's financial interest either, to go early.

A selling club wants a bidding war to up the price and they don't mind a bit of panic buying when the window is creaking ever nearer the sill. If you still haven't signed that star player who you think, hope or maybe even actually believe, will make all the difference, clubs can get twitchy and make rash costly decisions.

I have watched it happen from within. Good intentions and a willingness to stick to a pre-arranged budget, suddenly evaporates when clubs are bounced into making these calls. There is also a bit of pride in there too. "We aren't losing out on our first choice to that lot!" is a common refrain, especially when it's to one of your close rivals.

As for the moving player, or more specifically his agent, last-minute brinkmanship is the dream scenario. Playing two or three suitors off against each other (and you don't even have to tell the truth of what you are being offered elsewhere) means you can exaggerate as much as you like to up the ante.

So that is why the deals go to the wire, and why they are so lucrative. It is also why I never have too much sympathy for a player, when a huge deal falls through at the last moment. Greed can push it too far in the end and it can all come crashing down, which is why they call it brinkmanship! If you dance on the edge of a volcano you might just fall in.

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has spoken to the media before Saturday's Community Shield encounter against Manchester City at Wembley.

Here are the main headlines from his news conference:

• On injuries, Ten Hag said: "Harry Maguire missed the game (v Liverpool on Saturday) as a precaution but is still a question mark for Saturday. Victor (Lindelof) played but he's also a question mark and also Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw are both question marks."

• On his expectations of Mason Mount after the former Chelsea man's excellent pre-season: "We know he's a high class player. Last season, he had a very bad season. It was a very tough season for him because of all the injuries. Now we are very pleased he had a good pre-season and I'm sure from this point on he will contribute to the team if he stays fit."

• On United's transfer plans following the arrivals of Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee: "When we have news, we will announce it. You've seen the market, it is quite quiet still. We have done business, we have done two deals, now it's about timings, the market, the market options, the right moment and the right things. We know what we are doing. We are in a good position with the squad. Just be patient and in the right moment we will tell you."

• On the importance of potentially beating Manchester City at Wembley again: "We always want to win. It's about a trophy, so we will put out a team that is very competitive to win it. But it's also pre-season, so we won't take big risks with players."

Joe McGrath from BBC Radio Manchester's The Devils' Advocate podcast says he is slightly worried about Saturday's Community Shield against Manchester City.

"It is going to be tricky," he said. "City were playing with quite a lot of their first team players in America. They had Jack Grealish, Kevin de Bruyne and Erling Haaland all out there and it felt like they were all gearing up for title number five, which is worrying!

"I hope that we put out a great starting XI and just give it them. We might as well go for it."

Gaz Drinkwater added: "I hate to predict that United are going to lose, but if we do then let's hope for some decent individual performances at least."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is due to speak to the media later, ahead of Saturday's Community Shield encounter with Manchester City at Wembley.

Behind the scenes, the club are working on trying to bolster Ten Hag's squad.

There is interest in Burnley midfielder Sander Berge amongst others but errors in past transfer deals are again proving problematic.

The reality is many United players are on contracts they simply would not get anywhere else.

It leaves the club in the unpalatable situation of either sticking with the players or effectively paying them to play somewhere else, either by paying them off or subsidising their contracts so they go on loan.

Manchester City take on Manchester United in the Community Shield on Saturday.

• Both City and United have been runners-up nine times in Community Shield matches - whoever fails to win the trophy this year will be the first club to do so on 10 occasions.

• City striker Erling Haaland has been involved in nine goals in six appearances against United, scoring six and assisting three. However, he is yet to register a single goal involvement in four appearances at Wembley.

• City's Phil Foden has been involved in seven goals in his past six appearances against United, scoring six and assisting one. Only against Brighton (eight) has he scored more club career goals than he has against the Red Devils (six).

• Kobbie Mainoo, 19, scored for United in their FA Cup final victory against City in May. The only player to score in the FA Cup final and subsequent Community Shield match as a teenager is Nicolas Anelka for Arsenal in 1998.

• Marcus Rashford has scored six goals against City in all competitions - only against Leicester City (eight) and Liverpool (seven) has he scored more in his United career.

Manchester United might tempt Burnley and Norway midfielder Sander Berge, 26, to Old Trafford by offering him a £100,000-a-week contract. (Sun), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Premier League champions Manchester City take on FA Cup winners Manchester United in the Community Shield on Saturday.

• This will be the third time that City and United have met in the Community Shield. United have won both previous matchups - 1-0 in 1956 and 3-2 in 2011.

• Of the past eight occasions that the Community Shield has been between the previous season's champions and FA Cup winners, the team to have won the FA Cup has won the shield seven times, with the exception being Manchester City's 2-0 win over Chelsea in 2018.

• This is the fourth consecutive year Manchester City are appearing in the Community Shield, though they failed to win the trophy in any of 2021, 2022 or 2023. Only Manchester United (1998-2001) have failed to win the Community Shield in four consecutive years.

• Including shared victories, United have won the Community Shield more often than any other side (21). The Red Devils have won the trophy in their past four appearances, with this their first since a 2-1 win over Leicester City in 2016 in Jose Mourinho's first match in charge.

The Guardian's Jamie Jackson spoke to BBC Radio Manchester's The Devils' Advocate podcast and offered his thoughts on Manchester United's injury troubles, which have continued from last term into pre-season.

"It feels a little bit like deja vu all over again," said Jackson. "The club have got a new head of sports medicine in, Gary O’Driscoll from Arsenal. He was brought in in September last year, so he's had a review of it. He's had all of last season to sort this out.

"We don't know for sure if this is a continuation of last season but it is a little bit alarming. The Hojlund injury, it was a muscle injury and he's had full preparation, he wasn't at the Euros for very long. If you're fielding him, you think he's fit after doing all the tests and then that happens, it seems a little bit odd.

"If this continues now, there is something seriously up. I'm hoping it's bad luck for United. If it continues, there has to be an issue at the club. This is supposed to be an elite operation, with all this money spent to make sure these assets stay fit.

"The next few weeks, if there's a few more of these, people like me will be asking 'what's going on?'"

Listen to the full episode here

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Of all the match-ups that would have been most instructive for Erik ten Hag in Manchester United's loss to Liverpool was teenager Harry Amass' performance at left-back when facing Mohamed Salah.

The Dutchman's admission to newspaper colleagues on Thursday that Tyrell Malacia, who missed all of last season with a knee injury, was another two months away from full fitness brings focus to the left-back situation.

Over the next week or so, we will discover the extent to which Gareth Southgate pushed Luke Shaw to be involved in the latter stages of the Euros.

England's struggles without an orthodox left-back in Germany were a microcosm of the problem Ten Hag spent virtually all of last season wrestling with.

Seventeen-year-old Amass may be the answer for United, especially if Shaw needs to ease himself back into the rigours of a packed club calendar.

Amass did well against Salah. You would not expect the former Watford youngster to win every battle against such a seasoned and world-class star but he did enough to show he can step in on occasion and not look out of place.

Really, though, United - and Ten Hag - need Shaw fit, and to stay fit.

Manchester United's search for a midfielder could see them make an offer for Burnley's Norway international Sander Berge, 26, after the Old Trafford club turned their search away from Paris St-Germain's 23-year-old Uruguayan Manuel Ugarte. (Athletic - subscription required), external

However, Championship side Burnley will demand up to £30m for Berge. (Sun), external

Manchester United have also expressed late interest in Monaco's 25-year-old France midfielder Youssouf Fofana, who is on the verge of a move to AC Milan. (Sky Sports Italia), external

Erik ten Hag has not discounted the idea of Manchester United signing Fiorentina's Morocco midfielder Sofyan Amrabat, 27, who spent last season on loan at Old Trafford. (Telegraph), external

Fulham have cooled their interest in Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay, after a £20m bid was rejected by Manchester United for the 27-year-old who is valued at £30m by the Red Devils. (Times - subscription required), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

In the latest episode of The Devils' Advocate, Gaz and Joe are joined by The Guardian's Jamie Jackson to look back at United's pre-season and look ahead to Saturday's Community Shield final.

Listen to the episode on BBC Sounds

We asked for your views on how Manchester United's attack should line up after Rasmus Hojlund picked up an injury in pre-season.

Here are some of your suggestions:

Steve: Garnacho on the left, Amad on the right and Ivan Toney as our centre forward - yes, buy the guy! I would part exchange Sancho with Nico Schlotterbeck at Dortmund and sell Rashford to PSG.

Rory: I don't think any of United's wide players would have the physical presence up top that we need. That is why I would love to see Scott McTominay playing as a centre forward. He is a proven goalscorer and, as we have seen over the past few seasons, he gets into very dangerous pockets of space in and around the opponent's 18-yard box.

Jonny: This, surely, is exactly why Joshua Zirkzee was signed. OK, he hasn't trained with the squad yet, but there is no suggestion that he will be anything other than 100% fit once he returns from a post-Euros break.

Steve: For the start of the season, I don't think we have many options due to the injury to Rasmus and Zirkzee having not trained much with the team. I would go for a front four of Rashford on the left, Amad on the right, Mount in the 10 and Bruno in the false nine position. As the others return to fitness, this can be changed to suit who is available.

Duncan: We need a proven striker. Ivan Toney has a proven record as a top striker. Even if Rasmus Hojlund was fit, he is not in the same class as Toney.

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

The hamstring injury Rasmus Hojlund sustained not long after he had scored an excellent first-half opener against Arsenal at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles at the start of the trip was badly timed.

New arrival Joshua Zirkzee, who was on Netherlands duty at Euro 2024, is one of the players yet to train with the main group so Ten Hag again finds himself experimenting with a wide player in a central area.

He virtually admitted he had scrapped last season's idea to push Marcus Rashford through the middle, stating he preferred the England man on the left cutting in.

Jadon Sancho, back in from the cold, has been used in the role. He has not entirely convinced, though.

After flattering to deceive with two excellent pre-season campaigns that dissolved into little of substance when the real thing started, maybe the situation will be reversed this season.

More likely though, Ten Hag will revert to using skipper Bruno Fernandes in the false nine role, particularly as two of the players who have caught the eye on this trip, Mason Mount and Scott McTominay, have done so in the number 10 position.

How would you like to see United's attack line up? Have your say here, external

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Manchester United completed their three-match tour of the United States with a chastening 3-0 defeat by old rivals Liverpool.

It meant Erik ten Hag's side returned home with a single victory, against Spanish side Real Betis.

Ten Hag did not appear overly concerned at United ending their American tour with defeat by Liverpool in South Carolina.

There was certainly not the air of chaos that surrounded their 2018 tour, which also included a heavy loss to Liverpool but was made more notable because of heavy public criticism of then-executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward by manager Jose Mourinho.

Within five months of United returning to England from that trip, Mourinho was gone.

This time around, Ten Hag has gone out of his way to stress the unity within the Old Trafford camp. In the aftermath of the defeat to Arne Slot's side, he outlined to reporters how keen the new executive structure is to build a squad capable of turning United into contenders again.

But Ten Hag understands, as would be the case with any manager of a big club in his position, that if United look like they are not going to improve on last season's eighth-placed Premier League finish, he will suffer the same fate as Mourinho.

His first task now will be to assess which of his squad that has returned late, following extended campaigns at Euro 2024 and the Copa America, will be fit enough to play a meaningful role in the Community Shield against a Manchester City side still smarting from that unexpected FA Cup final defeat in the same stadium at the end of last season.

Read more here of Simon's tour analysis here