Manchester United FC news and transfers LIVE - Latest on Marcus Rashford to Barcelona rumours and build-up to the Watford clash

United 'issued Saliba transfer demands'

United have bee issued two transfers demands if they are to sign Saint-Etienne defender William Saliba, according to reports.

Le 10 Sport suggest that not only will United will need to bid of €30 million for the centre-back but the French side would demand that the 18-year-old remains at the Stade Geoffrey-Guichard on loan next season.

United launch Milan fixture

Barcelona have 'no intention' to sell Coutinho

Bracelona will not be selling Philippe Coutinho to United this summer, according to reports.

Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague was asked by a fan on his YouTube channel: “Is it true Coutinho is on the market and what are the chances of him returning to Liverpool?”

He responded:

“Liverpool are not interested in bringing him back.

“Barcelona don’t want to sell!

“There’s no intention to sell Coutinho. He has to improve, certainly, we haven’t seen his best version.

“But Barcelona don’t have the intention of selling him. That’s what they’re saying.

“I’m convinced that behind the stories is a real push to make him attractive to the Premier League in case Barcelona want to sell him.

“There’s been meetings with representatives in Barcelona and the conclusion is they’re not moving and Coutinho is very important to the side.

“Do they say that because that’s what they must say at the moment?”

United's record in China

United have played 14 times in friendly games in China, and have only lost once.

8 Jun 1975

2-1 vs Hong Kong Rangers (McIlroy, Macari)

21 May 1984

4-2 vs Bulova (Hong Kong) (Macari 2, Robson, Moran)

17 May 1986

2-2 vs South China (Hong Kong) (Davenport, Hughes)

20 July 1997

1-0 vs South China (Hong Kong) (Cruyff)

21 July 1999

2-0 vs Shanghai Shenhua (Solskjaer, Sheringham)

24 July 1999

2-0 South China (Hong Kong) (Cole, Sheringham)

23 July 2005

2-0 vs Hong Kong (Rossi, Dong)

26 July 2005

3-0 vs Beijing Hyundai (Scholes 2, Park)

23 July 2007

6-0 vs Shenzen (Giggs, Rooney, Nani, O’Shea, Ronaldo, Eagles)

27 July 2007

3-0 vs Guangzhou Pharmaceutical (Rooney, Nani, Martin)

26 July 2009

8-2 vs Hangzhou Greentown (Giggs 3, Owen 2, Berbatov, Tosic, Nani)

25th July 2012

1-0 vs Shanghai Shenhua (Kagawa)

29th July 2013

5-2 vs Kitchee (Hong Kong) (Welbeck, Smalling, Fabio, Januzai, Lingard)

22nd July 2016

1-4 Dortmund (Mkhitaryan)

Woodward reacts to pre-season tour

The executive vice-chairman told the official club website.

“These games, and the tour overall, will not only assist in our pre-season preparations, but also provide entertaining football and an opportunity to interact with our loyal fans in Australasia and Asia.

”This will be our third visit to Singapore and our fifteenth pre-season visit to China and we’re excited to be returning to both countries to play against top-class opposition there.”

United pre-season tour fixture schedule revealed

United have confirmed details of their 2019 pre-season tour with fixtures in Australia, Singapore, China and Wales.

United have revealed their pre-season schedule will start with a match against Perth Glory on 13 July with fixtures against Leeds, Inter Milan,Tottenham and AC Milan all to follow.

Inter 'confident' of Darmian signing

Inter Milan are confident of a agreeing a deal to sign Matteo Darmian this summer, according to reports.

According to Tuttosport, Inter are confident they can secure deals for Edin Dzeko, Matteo Darmian and Ivan Rakitic at the end of the season.

Early injury boost

Nineteen members of United’s 25-man first-team squad did not participate for their nations during the spring internationals, as only David de Gea, Antonio Valencia, Eric Bailly, Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay featured for their senior sides, while Diogo Dalot represented Portugal Under-20s.

Van Gaal tells United to make key change to club structure

Former United manager Louis van Gaal has told his former club they must change their scouting set-up and employ a director of football.

“At the moment there is a structure with a scouting division and above that is someone at Woodward’s right hand. The structure is not so bad but the right hand has to be a technical director with a football view, not somebody with a banker’s role,” Van Gaal says.

“Unfortunately, we are talking about a commercial club, not a football club. I spoke to Ferguson about this and in his last years, he also had problems with it.”

The radical Champions League proposals which could affect United

United and Man City are two of the clubs who would be heavily affected by drastic changes being proposed to the Champions League.

The European Club Association (ECA) met with Uefa this week to discuss a number of new details which would change the way Europe’s club competitions are ran.

ECA members have already approved the initial talks to overhaul the Champions League from the 2024-25 season with confirmation of a change of format already agreed.

Read the full story here.

Manuel Akanji 'dreams' of United move

Borussia Dortmund defender Manuel Akanji dreams of a move United.

A recent feature piece from SportBild has a feature on the future of Borussia Dortmund and talks about the inevitable links with United and Sancho.

However, it also mentions Akanji as a possible United transfer and presumably references his quotes from last year which read:

“Many know that Manchester United has been my favourite club since childhood. It would be nice to play there, but that’s not an issue right now.”

Solskjaer arrives at United training

Huge news this one, man turns up for his job. Slight interest that it’s the first time we’ve seen him this international break, but as expected as preparation for Saturday begins.

Early team news vs Watford

Here is a look at the early team news ahead of the weekend clash vs Watford.

United defender Ashley Young is back in contention to return to the starting line up having missed the defeat to Wolves through suspension, while Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard are also hoping to return to full fitness.

However, there are still doubts over the fitness of Eric Bailly, Antonio Valencia, Luke Shaw, Nemanja Matic, Marcus Rashford and Romelu Lukaku.

Alexis Sanchez will miss the match after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revealed the Chilean won’t be expected to return until late April after sustaining a knee injury against Southampton.

Barcelona 'to use Coutinho as bait for Rashford'

Barcelona will offer United the chanced to sign Philippe Coutinho this summer in order to sign Marcus Rashford, according to reports.

Mundo Deportivo suggest that Barcelona are so desperate to sign Rashford this summer that they would be open to offer either Coutinho or Malcom as a bargaining chip.

Tuanzebe set for Villa return?

Axel Tuanzebe is set for his return from injury this weekend, and another loan to Aston Villa could be on the cards.

The Express and Star report Tuanzebe will be allowed to return to Villa Park for a third successive loan-spell next season if he recovers from injury well.

Neville tells United to sign Dier

This one has been doing the round son social media lately, and Phil Neville has named the players he would like to see United sign this summer.

One such player is Eric Dier, and his explanation is that there is a lack of British players in the current squad.

“Eric Dier as the holding midfield player and Philippe Coutinho, who there has been a bit of speculation about,” he told Sky Sports.

“You have to have British players in a title-winning team. [Ander] Herrera, Fred and [Scott] McTominay are part of the squad. [Nemanja] Matic, this season, has had a dip.”

United to face Tottenham in pre-season fixture

United will face Tottenham Hotspur as part of their pre-season tour schedule in the summer.

United will face their Premier League rivals in Shanghai on July 25 with the fixture set to be the final match in the Asian leg of this year’s International Champions Cup campaign.

The match will represent United’s fourth visit to Shanghai with their last match during Jose Mourinho’s first summer in charge of the club.

United’s last match in China saw them lose 4-1 to Borussia Dortmund at the Shanghai stadium as part of the same tournament three seasons ago.

However, the club’s last visit to China is perhaps best remembered for the Manchester Derby fixture against Man City in Beijing which was cancelled at the last minute due to torrential rain.

Van Gaal's bizarre Solskjaer claim

Former United manager Louis van Gaal claims Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is still not giving youth a fair chance at United.

“I read something from Mourinho saying I only did that out of necessity. Not true. I created the necessity.

“Manchester United had over 30 players. I brought them back to 23. Then I had an open selection for the youth academy. I did that at every club. That is why a lot of young players have made their debuts with me.

“A lot of trainers, like Mourinho, never give youngsters a chance. Yes, five minutes. Solskjaer, 10 minutes. That is not a chance. A chance is a game.

“Too much experience is not good. Then you have an automatic pilot. You always need imagination and you cannot forget how inspiring young players can be.

“If you are not willing to trust young players, you are not suitable to be a manager of a club with a youth education.”

United 'tracking' William Saliba

United are tracking a move to sign French youth defender William Saliba, according to reports in France

Le 10 Sport suggest United are monitoring a move for the youngster and could look to secure a deal at the end of the season.

United 'scout' Samuel Umtiti

United have scouted Samuel Umtiti over the international break, according to recent reports.

According to the Daily Mail, United have increased their interest in the France international and had club representatives in place to watch him on Monday night.

A night off for De Gea

It was a rare night of rest for David de Gea as he was an unused substitute during Spain’s 2-0 win over Malta last night.

Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga started in goal as part of a changed team.

Ed Woodward 'spotted' at Amsterdam airport

United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has been ‘spotted’ arriving in Amsterdam, according to one fan.

A Reddit user claims they saw Woodward at Schiphol Airport ready to depart on a flight back to Manchester.

It is obviously all just speculation and there doesn’t appear to be any imagery to back-up such a claim, but as expected, supporters seem to love it.

United pre-season tour fixture announced

United have confirmed their latest pre-season fixture with a clash against Inter Milan.

An article on the official website of the Italian side reads they will take on United in Singapore as part of the International Champions Cup.

Saturday 20 July 2019
Manchester United vs. Inter, National Stadium, Singapore
Kick-off 19.30 (local time)

Barcelona 'prepare' £100m Rashford bid

Barcelona are set to step up their interest in Marcus Rashford, according to the latest reports in Spain.

Mundo Deportivo suggest the Catalan giants will make a move for the England international at the end of the season and could be prepared to spend as much as £100m on his signature.

United already have a defender who can be Victor Lindelof's long-term partner

It’s been a difficult few months for Axel Tuanzebe.

The Manchester United loanee’s impressive spell at Aston Villa was hampered in December when a training ground injury delayed his progress and left him sidelined for months.

In fact Tuanzebe’s last match in English football was the day before Jose Mourinho’s, a 2-2 draw the same weekend United fell to an emphatic defeat against Liverpool at Anfield. Yet despite suffering such an extensive lay-off his loan spell in the West Midlands has still been a massive positive on his fledgling career.

Tuanzebe is already in his second spell at the Championship club and could well be loaned out to the second division again next year, but that doesn’t rule out any hope of a successful future at Old Trafford.

Read the full piece here.

Four transfers that could get the best out of Pogba

In his first press conference as Manchester United interim manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer professed his admiration for Paul Pogba and confirmed he would look to make the French midfielder the focal point of his new side.

He memorably stated: “Paul is a fantastic kid so hopefully we can build the team around him”.

That sort of confidence in the midfielder has paid dividends, but if Solskjaer was to truly build a team around the World Cup winner, what players could assist?

We’ve looked at are the superstars United could look to bring to Old Trafford and make Pogba even more important to their vision for the future.

Read more.

Van Gaal speaks about United exit

Louis Van Gaal says he did not play boring or negative football at Manchester United, but has given two reasons why people might think that.

He also spoke about the circumstances of his exit - just days after winning the FA Cup.

• Louis van Gaal blames ‘boring’ Man Utd football on two things
  
• Van Gaal reveals what Woodward said on Mourinho after Cup final
  

Manchester United stance on managerial appointment revealed

Manchester United are remaining tight-lipped over a time frame for the appointment of a permanent manager, but it is understood an announcement could yet be made before the summer.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was appointed as caretaker manager until the end of the season when Jose Mourinho was dismissed in December, and the Norwegian has masterminded a rejuvenation of United’s fortunes.

Since overseeing the Champions League comeback against Paris Saint-Germain there has been a growing expectation that Solskjaer will be given the job on a full-time basis, perhaps as early as during this international break.

While United are remaining coy on exactly when an appointment will be announced, the M.E.N. understands it could yet happen before the end of the season.

Full story.

Good morning!

Hello, and welcome to today’s United blog!

The international break is over, and we’ll bring you all the build up to Saturday’s Premier League fixture vs Watford.