Manchester United

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

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Manchester United made their statement signings yesterday evening when they confirmed Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui have joined the club.

United subsequently confirmed De Ligt will wear the number four shirt and Mazraoui number three.

Phil Jones and Eric Bailly were among the most recent players to wear those numbers for United.

It can only be hoped the new pair avoid the same injury misfortune as the older ones.

Brentford are holding out for at least £60m for 28-year-old striker Ivan Toney, who is being monitored by Manchester United and Chelsea. (Independent), external

Meanwhile, United are interested in signing 33-year-old former Chelsea and Spain defender Marcos Alonso, who is a free agent after leaving Barcelona. (Athletic - subscription required), external

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

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Manchester United defender Luke Shaw will miss at least the first three Premier League games of the season because of a calf injury.

United say he suffered the injury at the start of pre-season training.

A club statement said: "He is working hard on his rehabilitation with a view to being available after the first international break."

Shaw did feature for England in the later rounds of Euro 2024 but has not played a club game since 18 February, when he was substituted at half-time in United's 2-1 win at Luton Town.

Before the international break, Erik ten Hag's side host Fulham on Friday, travel to Brighton on 24 August and face Liverpool at Old Trafford on 1 September.

Alex Turk
Fan writer

Where will you finish in the league and why?

Fourth - and that's optimistic. There are three weeks of the transfer window left, but as it stands, United have signed two players and one of them is injured for three months. With the same manager and - largely - the same players, can you expect anything different? A top-four finish and another trophy would be a successful season.

Who is the best signing or has he not signed yet and who should it be?

Leny Yoro's pre-season injury is so cruel because Manchester United secured the ultimate coup by beating Liverpool, PSG and Real Madrid to his signature. But the 18-year-old is the perfect Raphael Varane replacement and will undoubtedly upgrade Erik ten Hag's defence once he's available. United's most-needed recruit of the summer - a midfielder - could be still to come, though.

What do you want from your manager this season?

One of my main qualms with United in 2023-24 was how the lack of organisation among the club's previous hierarchy seemingly leaked onto the pitch. Ten Hag has to stick with the 4-2-3-1 he has used during pre-season and make that his 'game model'. No-one wants another year of Bruno Fernandes dropping into defence to receive the ball.

Who will be the breakout star in your squad?

Luke Shaw, regrettably, is always an injury risk, and there are few signs to suggest that Tyrell Malacia's 14-month absence will end soon. Meanwhile, Harry Amass, 17, has played a prominent role in pre-season. He appears primed to follow in Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo's footsteps as the latest academy star to establish himself in Ten Hag's first team.

What is your one major concern?

United's 23-24 campaign was ravaged by availability issues, with 66 different cases of injury or illness causing players to miss matches. Ineos has reviewed and made changes to the club's medical department, yet several players - most of them defenders - missed Saturday's Community Shield. Ten Hag can't afford for history to repeat itself this term.

Alex Turk can be found at Stretford Paddock, external

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Former Arsenal forward Theo Walcott says Manchester United have to finish in the top four of the Premier League to deem this season a success.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club, ex-England international Walcott said: "They have gone through a transition for a long time now, so success for them has to be [getting into the] Champions League.

"That should then attract the players of that standard and put them back on the map. They need to qualify for it.

"Players like Matthijs de Ligt are great but they are just a stop-gap to attracting more."

Listen to the full discussion on BBC Sounds

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Manchester World's Rich Fay spoke to BBC Radio Manchester's The Devils' Advocate podcast about centre-back Matthijs de Ligt and right-back Noussair Mazraoui, who are poised to join United from Bayern Munich.

"They were looking at two centre-backs anyway this summer - that's always been the plan. In the long term, United want to get rid of Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof.

"They can't do it all right now - they acknowledge that it will be a two-year or three-year cycle until the team is properly where they want it to be - but a new centre-back is integral.

"We saw last season just how limited United's options were in the back line. They feel they need to buy now and futureproof the position going forward.

"That is why De Ligt is being signed and Mazraoui is another body and they need a specialist at right-back because Aaron Wan Bissaka is going to West Ham.

"Diogo Dalot is very versatile, he played so many games last season and it's about having that appropriate back-up."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

By signing Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui this summer, is it "a bit of a cop-out" by Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag?

Discussing the Bayern Munich pair's imminent arrival at Old Trafford, New York Times journalist Rory Smith believes it is because they already know the Dutchman from his time at Ajax.

"I really like both of them, but especially Mazraoui as a player," Smith told the Monday Night Club on BBC Radio 5 Live. "He has not kicked on at Bayern but he is a brilliantly cultured full-back. It is a smart signing.

"De Ligt has never really done what you would expect from him at Juventus or Bayern, but he is still a very good player. Is he better than Jonny Evans? Yes.

"Both signings make sense but it does make me wonder whether they are just going to go after the rest of Ten Hag's Ajax 2019 squad? I like him [Ten Hag] and I want him to do well, but it seems a bit of a cop-out to go and sign two players that the manager already knows."

Listen to the full episode of Monday Night Club on BBC Sounds

Manchester United have held internal discussions over signing a number of forwards this summer, including Everton's 27-year-old Englishman Dominic Calvert-Lewin. (Sky Sports), external

Manchester United have re-opened talks with Everton over signing their 22-year-old England defender Jarrad Branthwaite for £60m. (Football Insider), external

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

After a long summer break, BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club is back in action this evening.

Tune in as the panel cover all the major talking points from the summer and look ahead to Premier League football returning at the weekend.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

We asked for your views on Manchester United's new third kit.

Here are some of your comments:

Marc: I absolutely love it! Love the late 70s' or early 80s' retro look to the kit. No one can do that as good as Adidas!!

Bryan: It just looks too simple. I am not a fan of the collar or design either. Disappointed with the lack of effort put into this one. Hopefully we’ll just ditch it overall after Palace away…

Terry: In one word...awful!

Mike: Light, bright and eye-catching as a third kit. Not sure it 'screams' Manchester United but a nice casualwear top to represent your club.

Kieran: I’m okay with the overall look of the third kit, but removing the club badge is a travesty. The ‘Red Devils’ was perfectly fine during the Matt Busby era - but nobody (apart from journalists) uses that expression any more. You would never hear a true fan using the term the Red Devils.

Simon: Awesome design… very Stone Roses.

BBC Sport's experts have been considering which young players may become big names this season.

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BBC Sport's Simon Stone gives his verdict on Chido Obi-Martin:

Arsenal [where Obi-Martin played for the last two years] believe they made a fair offer to the 16-year-old forward, who has represented both England and Denmark at youth level. But he has decided to join Manchester United.

The reasons for this will be debated but Obi-Martin has proved himself to be lethal in youth ranks – he scored 10 goals in a single game against Liverpool Under-16s when he was 15.

It will be fascinating to see how quickly he develops and whether he gets a chance in the EFL Trophy and Uefa Youth League. If he does well there, might we see him on the United first-team bench at some point?

See who else our experts picked here

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The curtain opens on the 2024-25 Premier League season in just a matter of days, so why not take a look at how all 20 clubs performed in pre-season?

The games have been spread across the globe, from Tokyo and New York to Crawley and Preston.

See the results here

A new episode of The Devils' Advocate podcast from BBC Radio Manchester is available now on BBC Sounds.

Gaz Drinkwater and Joe McGrath are joined by Manchester World's Rich Fay to reflect on the Community Shield penalty shootout loss to Manchester City, look ahead to the new season and discuss probable ins and outs at Old Trafford.

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Kidderminster manager Phil Brown believes Manchester City will still finish 25 points better off than rivals Manchester United in the Premier League this season, despite Erik ten Hag's summer moves in the transfer market to bolster his squad.

FA Cup winners United finished eighth in the league last season, 31 points behind champions City.

"Manchester United at the moment, are not the kind of club that players are coming in and just genuinely hitting the ground running, they have to bed themselves in and take time," Brown told Football Daily.

"It was a real difficult season for [Manchester] United, but they finished off on a little bit of a high [winning the FA Cup], you have to say that.

"I didn’t see the Community Shield on Saturday, but I still say there will be 25 points difference between Manchester United and Manchester City next season."

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The six-player shortlist for the PFA Young Player of the Year award have been announced.

Chelsea's Cole Palmer, 22, is the favourite after enjoying an excellent Premier League season, scoring 22 goals and providing 11 assists.

Bukayo Saka, also 22, of Arsenal makes the list after another fine season and standout performances for England during their run to the Euro 2024 final.

Representing Manchester United on the shortlist are Kobbie Mainoo, 19, and Alejandro Garnacho, 20 - the team's FA Cup final goalscorers.

They are joined by Michael Olise, 22, who moved from Crystal Palace to Bayern Munich this summer, and Brighton and Hove Albion's Joao Pedro, 22, who scored 20 goals in all competitions.

Shortlist for Men's PFA Young Player of the Year

Cole Palmer

Bukayo Saka

Kobbie Mainoo

Alejandro Garnacho

Michael Olise

Joao Pedro

The winners will be announced at the PFA Awards ceremony in Manchester on August 20.

Image source, Manchester United

Manchester United's new third kit was unveiled over the weekend.

The white kit features a red, white and black stripe across the chest and a Red Devil logo has replaced the club's badge.

What do you think to the new kit United fans?

Have your say here, external

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Community Shield between Manchester City and Manchester United.

Here are some of your comments:

Manchester City fans

Jukes: When the going gets tough, the tough get going. This season is going to be about mental resilience. Blue moon rising.

Mark: Well as much as we are a great team and have nearly always more possession than most teams, Manchester United still had more chances than us so Pep needs to do a lot more with our team. We need to attack more, not just keep going back and forth. We need to give their goalkeepers more of a hard time.

Alex: Savinho is so skilful to go alongside Doku and Bobb. All the talk will be about them, and rightfully so. However, I think Kovacic was unreal when he came on. Hope players like him and McAtee get more game time this season.

William: Very proud to see these young players developing and Savinho looks another clever buy. We need a striker to cover for Haaland, although hopefully he has a less injury-hit season this time around.

Manchester United fans

Davy: It wasn’t flawless and City weren’t excellent, but there was plenty from Untied to offer some encouragement for the incoming season. Should’ve won it within the 90.

Malcolm: On this latest performance it could be the same rubbish this season. Nobody has that will to win, unlike some of our players from previous years.

Charles: Could have been 4-1 to United if Rashford and Amad had converted their chances and this game also was also proof that last season's performance against City in the FA Cup final wasn't accidental at all. We should be aiming for top three in the league, defending the FA Cup and, above all, winning the Europa League.

Alex: Performance to be proud of. We had gained experience from the FA Cup win. We came with a game plan, dominated the possession and had three or four chances to put the ball in the back of the net. Garnacho then scores an incredible goal but poor defending costs us an equaliser. Let’s hope injuries don’t hamper our season again.

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Bayern Munich pair Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui are both on their way for medicals before completing their respective moves to Manchester United.

The pair will link up with Erik ten Hag's squad ahead of the new season, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka also having a medical today before completing his move to West Ham.

Ten Hag wanted to reinforce his defence, which suffered such acute injury problems last season.

He still didn't have Luke Shaw or Tyrrell Malacia available for the Community Shield and ended up with Facundo Pellistri, an attacking player for Uruguay, marking Bernardo Silva for Manchester City's late equaliser at Wembley.

Ten Hag said on Saturday that United would make an announcement when they had something to say. I don't think we are too far away.

Manchester United have reached an agreement with English right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka over an exit settlement ahead of the 26-year-old's move to West Ham. (Mail), external

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