It was a disappointing night for Manchester United.
Jose Mourinho's side lost 2-0 to Tottenham at Wembley in the Premier League , and not even Alexis Sanchez on his league debut could create a serious chance for United.
Marouane Fellaini came on in the second half but had to be withdrawn after seven minutes due to a knee injury.
Mourinho said: "I think it's the same, continuously the same injury, the first time, the second time and now the third time, it's always lateral ligament."
Otherwise it was a quiet transfer deadline day for United.
Daley Blind had interest from Italy but remains at Old Trafford, while the only moves on the final day of the window were to sign a teenage goalkeeper for the academy and send Charlie Scott and Matty Willock on loan.
Stick with us as we bring you all the transfer news LIVE from Old Trafford.
Key Events
WIllock moves to St Johnstone on deadline day
It was a quiet deadline day off the pitch for United and a bad day on it.
But it was a good one for Matty Willock, who wasn’t playing much at Utrecht and has therefore gone on loan to St Johnstone for the second half of the season.
Willock said:
“I was meant to be there [Utrecht] for the season and they wanted to keep me.
“I really enjoyed it in Holland and it was a good experience. But this is a great opportunity for me and I’m looking forward to playing in Scotland.
“There was a change of manager at Utrecht and I didn’t play as much as I’d have liked. I’m grateful that they agreed to release me from the loan to come here.
“I know St Johnstone have done well in recent seasons and I am here to play and hopefully I can help the club have another successful finish.”
Two transfer priorities
United need more than two signings this summer but these should be the priority.
...While Antoine Griezmann is being Antoine Griezmann
The marketing dream for Ed Woodward
Mesut Ozil teases the Arsenal faithful
Could end up a Carabao Cup winner this season..
A deadline day move you may have missed
Ashley Fletcher, once ahead of one Marcus Rashford in the pecking order, approaching last chance saloon.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic compared to...Robbie Keane
It would be like a dream come true, he said.
I’ve been able to play with some of the best strikers in the world.
I played with Robbie Keane, so to bring a total player like Zlatan would be huge for our attack.
United urged to address 'grotesque' differences in pay
Campaigners are urging Manchester United to increase the pay of some of its employees because of the “grotesque” difference with players’ salaries.
Community leaders, unions and churches are backing a call for the club to increase the pay of workers employed by contractors, such as waitresses and cleaners.
The club said it pays permanent employees the Voluntary Living Wage, which is higher than the statutory national figure.
Manchester Citizens will hand in a letter to the club today (Thursday), urging it to take a “community-first business approach” to ensure the cost of living is met for low-paid workers.
The group, part of the Citizens UK charity, said if new signing Alexis Sanchez is paid £400,000 a week, as some have reported, it will take him just 82 minutes in a game to earn the annual salary of a low-paid stadium worker.
Why Alexis Sanchez changed position vs Tottenham
He worked hard, boss Jose Mourinho said. But, again, the transformation the game had, the game was not for him and in the second-half I try to give him a position where he could be more close to Lukaku but then he felt the need to drop too much and he was dropping too much to try to organise.
But he gave everything, good effort and is a good feeling for me to know a player is available with that spirit.
Why United did not sign Mesut Ozil
“I think in attack it’s very difficult for us to improve. Where are we going to get a better combination of players than we have?”
Just days after Jose Mourinho uttered those words, and confirmed that Manchester United had extended Juan Mata’s contract, news of Mesut Ozil’s new deal leaked out.
£350,000-a-week before tax, three-and-a-half years, 2021. These were the cold numbers that made big headlines on deadline day following months of speculation as Arsenal look to somehow save their season following another dismal defeat to Swansea on Tuesday night.
MEN Sport revealed last month that Ozil had yet to sign a new deal because he wanted to see Arsenal’s ‘prospective’ and long-term plan. The club’s latest offer had been on the table since December following a previous nine-month breakdown in talks.
Ozil had originally been offered a bonus-laden contract, which was dependent on the Gunners getting into the semi-finals of major competitions, before eventually clinching a significant increase on his original £152,000-a-week salary.
United fans speculating why Pogba was subbed
It was a big talking point following his heated conversation with Mourinho who said he just wanted to ‘try different qualities with different players’ post-match.
It was a tough night for Alexis Sanchez
Alexis Sanchez was one of the few half-positives from United’s defeat to Spurs - but it was still a tough night for him:
- Booed throughout (unsurprisingly)
- Fouled more times than any other player on the pitch
- Did not create a single chance despite having 75 touches
- No attempts on goal
He worked hard, but with the transformation the game had, the game was not for him, boss Jose Mourinho admitted. In the second-half, I tried to give him a position where he could be closer to Lukaku but then he felt the need to drop too much to organise.
But he gave everything, good effort and this is a good feeling for me to know that the player is available with that spirit.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic's 'move to MLS has been coming'
In my opinion, I don’t think it’s a move that really surprises me, former Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker told Sky Sports.
I think it was coming - it was inevitably going to happen. He’s a great player, a tremendous talent.
He’s got a fantastic career behind him. He’s played at the highest level all over Europe and in international football and it will be a different experience for him.
United players' Instagram silence is deafening
Not a surprise after a defeat. Marcos Rojo’s pre-match pic remains the last update.
How the Class of 92 'grew into themselves'
I’d been playing for the reserves at that moment in time so I knew what they were capable of, former team-mate Brian McClair told Off the Ball.
Giggsy had already been in really for a year before it. I’d played with Nicky, Paul, David, and Gary in the reserves and you knew that they were all good players.
It’s only when they get a chance to come in and train with the rest of the first team, then obviously play in the games that they grow into themselves.
Jose Mourinho responds to claims he does not look happy
Because people doesn’t share with me the intimacy of the inside doors, he told BT Sport. I think I’m a funny guy sometimes, maybe with some silly jokes or something like that. Press conferences? I don’t like it. Football matches? I’m focused on the match. Pre-match, after match interviews are still part of the pressure of the game so people maybe they get that wrong.
The paparazzi that sleeps in the doorway of the Lowry Hotel. He sees me in the morning, when I’m sleeping. He sees me later when I’m going back and I’m tired. So he’s there 24 hours a day but he can’t get a nice picture!
What United players have told Rio Ferdinand about Sanchez impact
Nothing short of exciting. He will have been loving going in there, getting his hands on the No.7 shirt, he told BT Sport. He would have been made fully aware of that responsibility as a Man United player - the likes of George Best, [David] Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo and now himself holding that but he’s used to pressure.
Playing at Chile, being a talisman with this Chilean team, winning trophies as a Chilean player, he’s used to that pressure. I think he thrives on that and I think at Manchester United what he will have been doing this week is getting to know his team-mates , their habits.
They will be getting to know him and speaking to a few of the guys on the phone this week, they have been super impressed with what they have seen. His movement, his intensity, his hunger to play football and his ability - that’s what’s stood out for these guys.
I’ve had it myself when a player comes in and you think, ‘He’s a good player and he gets through the door..’ Van Persie came. Good player - always knew he was good - but when he signed you stand back and go, ‘Wow. What a player. Better than I imagined.’ That’s a lift for the changing room. That lifts everyone in the changing room so Man United, I’m sure, is a changing room that’s been lifted this week.
Luke Shaw 'set for new deal'
Daniel Cutts, of the Sun, writes the following:
Luke Shaw is in line for a sensational Manchester United turnaround – with talks ongoing over a bumper new deal.
The England full-back has had a turbulent time since arriving at Old Trafford back in 2014.
He has been publicly criticised by United boss Jose Mourinho in the past after impressing under Louis van Gaal.
But the 22-year-old last week had the 12-month extension option in his contract activated.
And he has also held talks with Mourinho over penning a new long-term deal with the club.
An Old Trafford source said: Luke has had a series of one-on-one chats with the boss.
He told him he will sanction an extended deal if he can continue to improve and make his mark.
It’s an amazing turnaround for him after everything that’s happened. Luke is in a much better frame of mind now.
He feels he has a future here despite everything that has been said and talked about.
Ashley Young reveals what United must do after Spurs defeat
Obviously we’re disappointed to concede a goal so early on and to be 2-0 down at half-time is tough when you play a tough team like Tottenham, he told MUTV.
This was going to be a tough game. If we got the next goal, it would have been a different story. It wasn’t meant to be – there is a lot of disappointment in that dressing room but we have got another tough game this weekend.
We’ve got to dust ourselves down, pick ourselves up and go again.
Rio Ferdinand explains key difference between Lukaku and Kane
I think Kane showed today why he’s the best striker in the league and one of the most potent in Europe because he’s bullied United’s centre halves, he told BT Sport.
He totally dominated them physically and brought other people into play. The contrast between him and Lukaku today was so evident it was unbelievable from up here where we watched it.
The ball going into him, sticking, holding centre halves off and bringing others into the game. That’s a real No 9. That’s what you want to see a No.9 do.
Arsenal fans showing their class with Sanchez taunts
Not.
Paul Pogba's unbeaten league run finally ended
Paul Pogba was on the losing side in a league game for the first time in 465 days following United’s disappointing defeat to Spurs last night.
The United midfielder had gone 36 games without tasting defeat in the Premier League before then - winning 23 matches in the process.
The last time Pogba suffered a loss in the league? The 4-0 defeat to Chelsea on October 23, 2016.
Bebe's on the move..again
Back on loan at former club Ray Vallecano - the 11th move of his nomadic career:
Phil Jones' own goal agony in one picture
Another photo for the collection..
Should Tottenham's first goal have been disallowed?
Harry Kane was standing in United’s half before kick-off which is deemed an unlawful advantage by the letter of the law. Our old friend VAR would surely have spotted it:
Paul Pogba substitution vs Tottenham explained
Just change for Fellaini, Mourinho explained. Try different qualities with different players.
The surprise position United will 'target in the summer'
I still feel that Manchester United in the summer will try to get another central defender in, as I think that’s probably where they could get a little bit stronger, Jamie Redknapp told Sky Sports.
But in terms of midfield and forwards, there’s not too many excuses now for Jose Mourinho. Next year, if not this year, they should certainly be attack the Premier League, they’ve got all the personnel.
Eric Bailly might have something to say about that although Chris Smalling and Phil Jones both had a night to forget at Wembley..
Jose Mourinho predicts what United will be like by end of contract
Better than now, he told BT Sport in an interview broadcast before the defeat to Spurs.
Fighting for what we are fighting for now but with different ammunition. I see us being real contenders for everything, that’s the level we want to achieve.
Marouane Fellaini injury update
Been a frustrating few months for the big Belgian:
Has Dean Henderson left United permanently?
Still no confirmation from either club on this:
United defeat shows they need two transfers
Bordeaux’s left-footed right winger Malcom was United’s early January target before Alexis Sanchezbecame attainable. How to accommodate him in a Premier League fixture was the obvious quandary and Jose Mourinho did so by shifting Anthony Martial to the right flank, which was an obvious error.
It was to Martial’s credit he fashioned a couple of openings during the first-half horror show and he still spent the majority of it on the fringes, as the enterprising Sanchez troubled Tottenham with his darts across the attacking line. Jesse Lingard did not vindicate the decision to keep him behind Romelu Lukaku.
Martial was the inevitable fall guy, given the Sanchez signing and Lingard’s fabulous form. Lingard is perhaps the least talented of the trio and it was telling that at the start of the second half he was moved to the right and Martial occupied his favoured left wing berth. The irony is Martial was poorer there.
Lingard was substituted and Mourinho berated Martial for not committing to a challenge. Sanchez is not the solution to United’s problem position and the right needs addressing ahead of next season.
