MANCHESTER UNITED have endured yet another difficult week.
Last weekend, Ruben Amorim‘s beleaguered side bowed out of the FA Cup to Fulham at Old Trafford.
GettyRuben Amorim’s side bowed out of the FA Cup last weekend[/caption]
PAThe Red Devils lost to Fulham on penalties[/caption]
As usual on a Thursday, SunSport’s team of experts take you through the latest goings on behind the scenes at the Theatre of Dreams.
CHECK MATE
MANCHESTER United are monitoring Jean-Phillippe Mateta and could make a shock summer swoop for the Crystal Palace striker.
In-form French frontman Mateta has emerged as a major target for the goal-shy Red Devils.
Ruben Amorim admitted following their FA Cup penalty defeat to Fulham that his side is suffering from a goalscoring problem.
It means securing a striker in the summer has now become a priority for Old Trafford chiefs.
Top of the list is Sweden’s Viktor Gyokeres, Amorim’s former striker at Sporting Lisbon.
But despite Gyokeres being keen on the idea of a reunion with Amorim, he’s pushing for a move to a Champions League club, which would make a switch to United a total non-starter.
This has led to United casting their net wider, and they’ve watched Mateta’s last three Premier League matches.
United’s scouts were also watching on as Mateta was pole-axed by the kung fu assault by Millwall keeper Liam Roberts in Saturday’s FA Cup fifth round tie, which saw the Eagles ace ferried to hospital before receiving 25 stitches in a head wound.
Mateta has been in a rich vein of form since the turn of the year, scoring eight in as many Prem games including a double in Palace’s 2-0 win at Old Trafford.
The striker, 27, has scored 34 goals in 106 Prem appearances – with 40 of those off the bench – since converting his initial loan move from Mainz into a permanent £11m deal in January 2022.
His mobility and willingness to toil as the arrowhead means Amorim’s scouts believe he would be a prime fit for the manager’s favoured 3-4-3 formation.
The chance to switch from Selhurst to Old Trafford would appeal to a player who believes he is ready to play on one of the game’s grander stages if the opportunity arrives.
HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS
United bosses have re-assured parents and players that the academy remains “at the heart” of the club’s strategy – despite 450 job cuts and cost-cutting measures at the club.
Academy Director Nick Cox acknowledged it has been an “unsettling” season given poor results on the pitch for the first team and the “difficult decisions being taken to improve the financial position of the club”.
But he added that the “development of young players is at the heart of our strategy for returning the club to the top of English and European football” and that the club remains committed to providing the academy with the money and the staff it needs to be successful.
He sent out the message to parents and players in the wake of the announcement earlier this week that up to 200 more staff faced redundancy as part of cost-cutting measures introduced by minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Several academy staff were made redundant last summer, with some being told the news as shocked children and parents were being welcomed back to Carrington for the start of the season.
A source said: “There’s been an awful lot of negative news coming out of Old Trafford so Nick wanted to try and reassure everyone that United is still the best place for their boys.
“They have spent several years getting the academy back up to speed after losing out to Man City for a while, so don’t want all that hard work go to waste.”
Academy graduate Toby Collyer made his first team debut this season while Chido Obi-Martin – who arrived from Arsenal in October – was one of the few bright spots in the FA Cup defeat by Fulham.
Highly-rated Elyh Harrison, Harry Amass, Tyler Fredricson, Jack Fletcher, Sekou Kone and Jack Moorhouse were all on the bench for last month’s defeat at Spurs.
United’s Under-18s beat Arsenal 3-2 in the quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup last week.
GettyChido Obi was in action for Man Utd last week[/caption]
GettyThe Red Devils named an inexperienced bench against Tottenham[/caption]
WINTER OF DISCONTENT
Manchester United’s winter of misery has put Ruben Amorim in the spotlight.
But the city’s miserable winter has taken its toll as well.
Training ground talk is that Amorim’s wife Maria has struggled to come to terms with the wind, rain and dark nights over the first few months of his Old Trafford reign.
After a preference for the delights of home played a part in Pep Guardiola’s marriage split, there might be some concern if Amorim’s family are not settled in the north west.
D. RRuben Amorim has been married to wife Maria for more than 10 years[/caption]
TRAVEL EXPENSES
Any United players unhappy at the prospect of being whisked half way around the world at the end of the season are set to be told there is a financial imperative for the trip.
United are due to fly out to the Far East straight after their final Prem game of the campaign against Aston Villa on May 25.
Ruben Amorim’s men will meet the Asean All Stars in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur on May 28, with a further stop in Hong Kong.
But dressing room moaners will be told the estimated £8m the club will earn from the trip is vital as they juggle their finances ahead of an expected season without any European football and after a campaign likely to bring a substantial cut in Prem prize money.
GettyThe Red Devils went on a lucrative tour last summer[/caption]
DORG IN THE FIGHT
Italian club Lecce saw United coming in January – which is why they had to pay £25m for left-back Patrick Dorgu.
Danish youngster Dorgu joined the Serie A side from Nordsjaelland in his homeland on a youth contract in 2022, becoming a fixture in their first team last term.
The deal represented pure profit for Lecce, currently just three points above the Serie A drop zone.
And the middle man who put the deal together, long-serving agent Frank Trimboli, pointed to the nous of Lecce sporting director Pantaleo Corvino in ensuring United paid top dollar for a key target.
Trimboli explained: “Corvino who has a long tradition of buying players cheap, developing them and then selling on for substantial profits.
“In his mind he’d done the research and seen what was out there, understood that January is one of those windows where if you have an asset and have to sell, there’s a premium attached – because it is the worst time to sell.”
Another factor was the 2023 sale of Dorgu’s fellow Dane, highly-rated defensive midfielder Morten Hjulmund, to Sporting Lisbon for £18m.
Hjulmand had arrived in Italy from Austria’s Admira Wacker for just £170,000 barely 18 months previously.
Trimboli added: “They knew what previous players have been sold for and started with that number.
“Then it came down to market forces, supply and demand.
“United knew what they wanted to pay. Lecce knew what they wanted to receive.
“There was a bit of brinkmanship that came into play but eventually they got there.”
AlamyPatrick Dorgu has had an encouraging start to life at Old Trafford[/caption]
DIAL IT DOWN
Fan favourite Amad Diallo was back at Old Trafford on Sunday – but there seems little chance of supporters seeing him on the pitch before last season.
Ivorian Amad, who scored the late Manchester derby winner over City and then netted a hat-trick to pull off the comeback victory over Southampton, was spotted at Sunday’s FA Cup defeat by Fulham.
Amad, 22, underwent ankle surgery last month and was wearing a protective boot and using a crutch as he made his way into the stadium.
While United have publicly stopped short of ruling him out for the season, he did not look like a player expected to be back on the grass any time soon.
GettyAmad Diallo is not expected back this season[/caption] Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
