On the eve of Manchester United beginning their preseason tour of the United States we have a ton of news items, nuggets and tidbits to cover. News, notes and transfer talk relating to Rasmus Hojlund, Andre Onana, Bruno Fernandes and Harry Maguire, so let’s just dive right into it.
It took FOREVER, but United FINALLY made the official announcement of the Onana singing.
Old Rivals FYIs
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โTo join Manchester United is an incredible honour and I have worked hard all my life to get to this moment, overcoming many obstacles along the way,” reads a statement attributed to Onana, via the club’s website.
Walking out at Old Trafford to defend our goal and contribute to the team will be another amazing experience. This is the start of a new journey for me, with new teammates, and new ambitions to fight for.
โManchester United has a long history of incredible goalkeepers, and I will now give everything to create my own legacy in the coming years.
That’s his name ?@AndreyOnana is United! ?#MUFC
โ Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 20, 2023
I am excited by the opportunity to work again with Erik ten Hag, and I canโt wait to play my part in the success I know he is determined to deliver at this great football club.โ
And as we saw a couple days ago, Onana displayed behavior on social media that conveys approval of the notion that his new club will sign Hojlund.
Where does that stand?
According toย David Ornsteinย of The Athletic, the Danish international has informed Atalanta that he wants to move to Old Trafford. Having already agreed personal terms, United are now expediting their pursuit, in order to ward off competition from Paris-Saint Germain for the striker’s services.
So what’s the magic number to get this deal over the line?ย
Transfer guru Fabrizio has Romano confirmed that the Serie A side value Hojlund at around ยฃ61 million. Overall, United only have about 100-120 million in total to spend on player recruitment this summer.
Signing Onana and Mason Mount came in under 100, so they’ll need to raise funds elsewhere.
Fred, Scott McTominay, Donny van de Beek, Anthony Martial and Harry Maguire could all be on the trading block.
They can’t go into the season without another no 9. They just can’t. Anthony Martial is way too injury prone, and just not good enough. Marcus Rashford belongs on the left flank- that’s his best and most natural position.
If not Hojlund, then another centrally based attacker. United need to figure this out ASAP.ย
Speaking of Maguire, he’s been stripped of the captaincy. More on that here.
The new captain is Bruno Fernandes. More on that here.ย
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager ofย The Sports Bank.ย Heโs also theย author of โTransatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,โ andย โNo, I Canโt Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.โ
Heโs written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and theย Chicago Tribune.ย He regularly appears onย NTD Newsย andย WGN News Now.ย Follow the websiteย onย Twitterย andย Instagram.
