Manchester United have announced a set of pre-season friendlies as part of their 2019 summer schedule.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side will face Kristiansund on 30 July at the Ullevaal Stadium in Norway, while the women's side will face Valerenga a day later at the Intility Arena.
Both games are in Olso, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Meanwhile, Manchester United are keeping tabs on Adiren Rabiot as he nears his exit from Paris Saint-Germain.
United are believed to remain interested in signing the France international as they believe he would enhance their midfield and could be a long-term replacement for Nemanja Matic.
There are also reports that Antonio Conte wants to sign Lukaku at Inter Milan as soon as he is unveiled as the new manager.
Stay with us through the day for all the latest news and opinion from Old Trafford.
Key Events
Luke Shaw getting a head start ahead of pre-season
Luke Shaw has been training at Manchester United’s training ground this week to keep fit ahead of going on pre-season tour.
Ahead of the last campaign he spent a week in Dubai before pre-season tour to increase his fitness levels in a move which impressed Jose Mourinho and it clearly paid off as he landed the club’s player of the season awards.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has warned his stars that any who return overweight risk being left out of the club’s tour of Australia, Singapore and China the Daily Mail reports and they claim Shaw has already been putting in the hours ahead of next season.
De Ligt 'receives proposal from United'
He’s one of the hottest properties in world football at the moment as various clubs battle it out to land Ajax star De Ligt.
It’s been widely accepted for a while that he’ll be heading to Barcelona but recent reports claim there’s been a delay over reaching agreement on the transfer. Mundo Deportivo report the teenager has still not accepted Barcelona’s terms and has had offers from United, Bayern and Juventus.
Lingard and Rashford attempted to recreate Solskjaer's goal
And the celebration hurt.
United 'make moves' for four young players
United have made moves for four young stars according to The Sun.
The report claims Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants his signings in before the team head off on pre-season tour in July and have already made moves for Daniel James, Sean Longstaff, Nathan Collins and Ben Godfrey.
Solskjaer’s plan is to have his squad in place when he returns to training at the start of July.
Happy Birthday Eric Cantona
He’s posted a throwback on his Instagram page to mark the occasion.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx1erS_i6pE/?hl=en
Manchester United's biggest obstacles in the transfer market
It would have been foolish to imagine Manchester United’s transfer window going entirely as planned.
The market hasn’t been open a full week yet, but already United are encountering problems.
While Borussia Dortmund conclude some swift and smart transfer business and United’s English rivals get busy either celebrating a domestic treble or preparing for showpiece European finals, there’s a sense of frustration and impatience around Old Trafford. But what are the biggest obstacles facing United when it comes to signing players? They extend beyond the fact Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side failed to qualify for next season’s Champions League...
United 'given hope over De Ligt transfer'
Reports today are claiming United may have been given fresh hope over signing Ajax captain De Ligt.
The reasoning is because a report in Spanish outlet Sport claims doubt has been cast on the defender’s move to Barcelona. The La Liga giants reportedly met with De Ligt and his agent Mino Raiola back in April, and reportedly agreed a financial package that satisfied all parties, however, they claim he has now backtracked on the initial agreement and is hoping for better terms.
While that may be a possibility given the current state of affairs at United and the other clubs who are interested in De Ligt it would seem highly unlikely he would choose to go to Old Trafford.
Manchester is Red podcast
Here’s the latest episode.
United 'put off Idrissa Gueye by Everton's valuation'
Manchester United have been put off by Everton’s valuation of Idrissa Gueye the Liverpool Echo reports.
United are believed to be interested in the midfielder but are reluctant to pay upwards of £35m for the 29-year-old the report states and United are consequently unlikely to take their interest any further.
Mourinho's given his first broadcast interview since leaving United
He was asked by Sky Sports about next week’s Champions League final.
If Jurgen wins it’s an incredible achievement for him,” Mourinho said.
“If Jurgen doesn’t win, you know....to lose three Champions League finals...phew...that has to be really, really hard. But he is a very positive guy, I’m sure he’s just thinking about winning. Being a manager, and understanding what it means for a manager to play a Champions League final, there is always a negative side of it and the negative side is that one team will lose and one manager will lose.”
United eye up Paris Saint-Germain right back Thomas Meunier
United are considering a move for PSG right back Thomas Meunier, according to reports in the Daily Mail.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka had been of interest to United chiefs however Crystal Palace have put a huge fee on the defender and the report claims United are worried about being priced out. Meunier, 27, has just one year left on his PSG contract and is likely to cost around £25m while reports claim Palace could ask for £70m for Wan-Bissaka.
Latest on Romelu Lukaku
Reports yesterday claimed Antonio Conte wants to sign Lukaku at Inter Milan as soon as he is unveiled as the new manager. The former Chelsea manager tried to sign the Belgium international the same summer he decided to join United and is still keen to work with him.
Lukaku had no intention of leaving United under Jose Mourinho amid speculation surrounding a possible move to Italy and agreed to address the media for the October Champions League pre-match press conference against Juventus with the intention of quashing rumours.
However, Lukaku is now open to a move to Serie A over issues with Solskjaer’s selections and the Belgian’s confidants believe the present situation ‘could bring him away’ from United.
Lukaku putting the hard work in already
No rest.
Young Ajax star 'set to join United'
Ajax have announced that 16-year-old attacker Dillon Hoogewerf will be leaving the club this summer and reports in the Netherlands say his most likely destination is United. Voetbal International believe he will be on his way to Old Trafford after an interview with the Dutch club’s head of youth development where he revealed he was leaving.
“We wish Dillon a lot of success,” Ouaali told Ajax’s club website.
. “We know we have done everything we can to keep it. Ultimately, the choice is up to him and he opts for a foreign adventure. We have created the conditions.”
The teenager is regarded to be one of the brightest sparks in Ajax’s youth set up.
Manchester United might have found their new transfer catalyst
The impression you get of Adrien Rabiot’s mother and agent Veronique is she is a cross between Judy Murray and Mino Raiola. Once it became apparent her son had decided to leave Paris Saint-Germain, the club’s chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi was said to be relieved the club would not have to deal with Veronique again.
A formidable agent with an enfant terrible is not the ideal profile of player for a Manchester United dressing room one of the senior player’s representatives described as a ‘mess’. There is only room for one egocentric French midfielder in the squad and the last time United negotiated a ‘free’ transfer they destabilised the club’s wage structure and put noses out of joint. Namely, Paul Pogba’s.
Rabiot reputedly regards Tottenham as beneath him. Goodness knows what he must make of a team relegated to the Europa League and whose starriest players want out. Last year, Barcelona came calling for Rabiot and he has been linked with Real Madrid, where Zinedine Zidane is attempting to imbue the squad with some Gallic arrogance.
Inter Milan star 'offered in exchange' for Manchester United's Romelu Lukaku
Italian giants Internazionale will ‘offer’ Ivan Perisic as well as cash in order to prise Romelu Lukaku away from Manchester United, according to reports.
The MEN understands that incoming Inter manager Antoinio Conte wants to add Lukaku to his new strike force with uncertainty surrounding Mauro Icardi’s future and that the striker is interested in moving to Italy.
Lukaku had initially denied rumours of a move to Italy in October and didn’t want to leave Old Trafford under Jose Mourinho but he is now open to a move to Serie A over issues with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s selections and the Belgian’s confidants believe the present situation ‘could bring him away’ from United.
Croatian Perisic is a name that has often been linked to United and Mourinho wanted the winger to accompany the signing of Lukaku the aerially dominant Lukaku two years ago, but he wasn’t deemed ‘marketable enough’ for the fee Inter were demanding.
Manchester United might not need to sign Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Manchester United’s latest transfer setback came in predictable and dispiriting fashion.
New reports have claimed Crystal Palace want £70million for right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka and it felt like a dagger to the hearts of United supporters, who are desperate for transfer progress and rightly view the player as a perfect fit.
A talented, young, homegrown player in a position United need to bolster — ‘sign him up!’ they say on social media. ‘Announce Wan-Bissaka’ they reply to the official United account whenever they tweet something which isn’t a new signing announcement. Which at the moment, is every time they tweet.
United have reportedly bid £25million for Wan-Bissaka with the expectation, until recently, that they may have to pay up to £50million for the sought-after 21-year-old.
The figure of £70m, however, would be a transfer record for a British defender and close to the all time record for a defensive player (the £75m Liverpool paid for Virgil van Dijk in January 2018). And most would admit it would be far too steep, despite Wan-Bissaka fitting United’s transfer criteria like a hand in glove and despite fans’ insistence that the right-back must be bought.
Five young British stars Manchester United should sign to get the best out of Paul Pogba next season
Manchester United’s season ended with a whimper as they failed to secure a top-four finish and suffered defeat at the hands of Cardiff on the final day of the season. As a result, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer now faces a big summer at the club.
There’s no doubt there will be an influx of new playing staff as United look to close the gap on the Premier League leaders, but questions marks still remain over some of the big names at the club.
Perhaps the biggest conundrum remains in the form of Paul Pogba. The Frenchman scored 16 goals and assisted a further ten this season across all competitions - his best ever return in England. Yet, just four of those goals and assists came in big games against the so called ‘elite’ opposition, inviting some criticism of the midfielder.
While rumours circulate as to whether he will remain at Old Trafford next season, Solskjaer is adament, as he was in his first press conference, that Pogba will stay. He also floated the idea of building his United team around the 26-year-old.
Morning
Stay tuned for all the breaking United news throughout the day.
