Manchester United

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Erik ten Hag offered up some reasons why Manchester United had struggled so far this season, then said he wasn't making excuses.

It rather begs the question of why he mentioned them? Or, in the context of talking about negative results, are excuses different to reasons?

They were all legitimate; transitional period, integrating young players, dealing with injuries. Yet are they not the same for every club?

Ten Hag said his aim during the summer was to get enough cover in each position to deal with a season he feels will turn into a 'survival of the fittest'.

There are legitimate issues - how fit is Manuel Ugarte for instance? Since his £50.2m signing from PSG he hasn't played a game or trained with his new club prior to the international break and only returned on Thursday afternoon.

But the time is soon drawing near when Ten Hag has to deliver - consistently. And no explanations or excuses will cover that.

Marissa Thomas
BBC Sport journalist

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League trip to Southampton (kick-off 12:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Injured duo Rasmus Hojlund and Luke Shaw are "progressing very well" but will not be ready for this match.

• New signing Manuel Ugarte is available and could make his debut: "He played for Uruguay, he returned this afternoon. He was the only player who returned today, all the others returned yesterday so he is available for this game."

• On Cristiano Ronaldo's criticisms of him and the club as a whole: "He is far away in Saudi, far away from Manchester. Everyone can have and is entitled to have an opinion, it is OK."

• The manager was bullish when asked if his side had to win against Southampton: "We have to win all the games and that will always be the approach, it doesn't change for any game."

• On how he copes with the external noise surrounding the club: "It doesn’t impact me, I know in the process where we are. We are still in a transition process, we have to integrate a lot of young players. We still have to deal with injuries and have to bring players back into the team."

• He added: "Before anyone thinks about excuses, no, we have to win every game. I know that. The team knows this and it doesn't matter who is available we will focus on every game and in every game have the mindset that we have to win."

Follow all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

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Of the Manchester United fans I have come across in recent weeks, many are happy with the club's summer transfer business.

Some of the incoming players have arrived partly due to their links to Erik ten Hag but they also come with good pedigree from within European football.

The manager will hope his new players can lay the foundations for success - and Manuel Ugarte suits their defensive setup nicely. He can cover lots of ground and hunt for the ball which is key. I don't think he will help to strengthen other players in midfield like Kobbie Mainoo or Mason Mount, but for the area a number six plays in, he is very good.

Ten Hag will also want United to build through the different stages of the field and probably not be as direct as they have been in times gone by. Although Ugarte does not make them better at that, he does add more fight into the the team and that should help them this season.

The summer arrivals are not new to the game itself either. They are all very good individually and are all international players, so that should mean they are also good learners.

The relationship between the players on the pitch might take some time to gel but they will not be on the field wondering what they are supposed to be doing.

Finer details come with time but there should be a foundation there to build on because of the level they have all been playing at individually.

Nedum was speaking to BBC Sport's Katie Stafford

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

It has been a long international break for Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag.

The dissection of United's one-sided hammering by Liverpool was long. After that, there were erroneous reports that he had lost in a charity game he had agreed to manage in for a return to former club FC Utrecht.

Then, Cristiano Ronaldo gave him a kicking for showing a lack of ambition.

Ten Hag gets the chance to reflect on the last two weeks - and look ahead to Saturday's trip to Southampton - when he speaks to the media later this afternoon.

An update on the fitness of left-backs Luke Shaw and Tyrrell Malacia, plus striker Rasmus Hojlund is expected. We will also find out how likely new signing Manuel Ugarte is to be involved at St Mary's given he is only likely to get back from South America today.

Manchester United have joined Tottenham in keeping a close eye on Monaco and Brazil defender Vanderson, 23, who is also attracting strong interest from Chelsea. (Caughtoffside), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester United have reported a net loss of £113.2m in the year to 30 June, their latest accounts show.

It follows losses of £28.7m in 2022-23 and £115.5m in 2021-22, and their latest figures take total losses over the past five years to over £370m.

Despite the results, United are not expected to breach the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules because not all spending goes against their calculations and clubs can claim allowances known as "add backs".

Under Premier League rules, clubs cannot lose more than £105m over a three-year period and Everton and Nottingham Forest received points deductions for being in breach.

"The club remains committed to, and in compliance with, both the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules and Uefa's Financial Fair Play regulations," said United chief executive Omar Berrada.

For more detail, see Simon Stone's full piece on United's finances here

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Manchester United have come from behind to beat Southampton in 10 different Premier League games. Only Liverpool have more comeback wins against one opponent in the competition - 11 against Newcastle United.

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Erik ten Hag's reign at Manchester United is not following the same path as Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool or Mikel Arteta at Arsenal.

While he had a more immediate impact by taking United back into the top four in his debut campaign, an awful second season - followed by a poor start to this one - means the Red Devils have now taken just 57 points from their past 38 games.

That is one fewer than they took before the Dutchman arrived (58 points in 2021-22).

In contrast, while Klopp and Arteta both took longer to improve their sides - especially Arteta - they steadily transformed them into title challengers by their 110th game in charge, which would fall at the end of this season for Ten Hag at Old Trafford.

How much that impressive first campaign, the two trophies won, and the raft of injuries the squad suffered excuses the points decline in 2023-24 is for each United fan to decide.

Winger Antony is reluctant to leave Manchester United, despite interest from Fenerbahce. (ESPN), external

United are monitoring Sevilla's 21-year-old Spanish right-back Juanlu Sanchez. (AS - in Spanish), external

Meanwhile, Tottenham rejected interest during the transfer window from Manchester United, Real Madrid and Paris St-Germain for 26-year-old Argentina defender Cristian Romero. (TyC Sports, via Mail), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Alex Turk
Fan writer

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It would be difficult to think of a more sour way to enter an international break than watching Manchester United lose 3-0 to Liverpool at Old Trafford.

The scoreline was the centrepiece of a plethora of concerns terrorising United supporters over this annoyingly early two-week hiatus.

One of those was Joshua Zirkzee, starting his first game since completing a £36.5m transfer from Bologna. In catastrophic circumstances, Zirkzee was visibly still getting up to speed with both his match fitness and Erik ten Hag's tactical instructions.

The towering Dutch striker could - and perhaps should - have marked the occasion with two goals, though, rather than squandering a pair of close-range opportunities.

However, in the Netherlands' Nations League win over Bosnia-Herzegovina last week, Zirkzee showcased exactly what he offers.

His link-up ability and aerial prowess was on display in the 5-1 triumph, heading his country into the lead and providing an assist for Tijjani Reijnders later in the first half.

Zirkzee created four chances - more than any other player on the pitch - and took eight touches inside the opposition penalty box, compared to six against Liverpool.

Yet, the 23-year-old's starting place will be threatened once Rasmus Hojlund returns to contention. Zirkzee losing all 10 of his duels in the defeat by Arne Slot's rampant visitors intensified the cries for Hojlund's injury comeback.

But the Zirkzee who was named Serie A's Young Player of the Year last season unquestionably upgrades United's attacking arsenal. That player was on show against Bosnia.

And it cannot be forgotten that without Zirkzee's heroic debut off the bench in the opening weekend 1-0 victory over Fulham, Ten Hag would be winless at the start of a critical campaign.

Clearly, he is a very capable player who, like any new arrival, requires patience.

Find more from Alex Turk at Stretford Paddock, external

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On the latest episode of BBC Radio Manchester's The Devils' Advocate podcast, Gaz Drinkwater was asked if there are any players in the current Manchester United squad who will go down as club legends.

Gaz said: "There's only one name in the squad who is a maybe, and that is Bruno [Fernandes]. But I don't think you can be a Man Utd legend if you don't win the league or the Champions League.

"If Fernandes stays at United until he's 35, and we win the Champions League when he's barely playing, he is a legend because of what he did in his career to keep us in somewhat touching distance.

On whether Marcus Rashford could be classed as a legend: "Of course not. Not only have we not won the league or Champions League with Rashford, he hasn't been integral in these last years. He's been up and down.

"If I was going to put money on one player [to become a legend] it would be Kobbie Mainoo."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Manchester United are monitoring 26-year-old Crystal Palace winger Eberechi Eze and might make a move next summer. (Manchester Evening News), external

The Red Devils are keen to offload Brazil winger Antony on loan, with Fenerbahce in pole position to sign the 24-year-old. (Sun), external

Adrien Rabiot's salary demands are too high for Manchester United to sign the 29-year-old Frenchman, who is a free agent after leaving Juventus. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer news? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

The latest episode of The Devils' Advocate podcast has landed.

Gaz Drinkwater and Joe McGrath discuss Scott McTominay's impressive form since his Manchester United departure, and dig in to what classes someone as a legend at Old Trafford.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds