Before Manchester United plays Coventry City in the FA Cup semi-final, Erik ten Hag has just a few more days to train at Carrington. The Championship team and the Red Devils will play at Wembley Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Both teams are hoping to win some hardware this season.
The last time Manchester United played, they were held to a poor 2-2 draw by Bournemouth. A draw was saved at the Vitality Stadium when Bruno Fernandes scored from the penalty spot just after the hour mark.
What about the Sky Blues? They lost 3-0 to Birmingham City, so they’ll be keen to get back to winning ways. Also, the summer transfer window is coming up soon, and the Red Devils are still being linked with a number of big names.
At this point, though, it’s still unclear whether Sir Jim Ratcliffe will allow a buying spree. That being said, the Manchester Evening News looked at some of the most important Manchester United news from Thursday, April 18.
Toney asks for a contract
It looks like Manchester United will not be able to sign Ivan Toney after all. The striker, who is 28 years old, has been linked with moves to the “big six” for a while now because he keeps doing great things for Brentford.
The Sun says that Toney could ask possible partners for as much as £250,000 a week this summer. According to the story, that would make the England player the best-paid at Old Trafford, making £10k a week more than Bruno Fernandes.
For now, it’s not clear if the Red Devils will try to make a move for the Bees’ star player. There may not be any choice for Brentford but to sell Toney before it’s too late and he goes for free. His deal at the G-Tech Community Stadium ends in June 2025.
From the Manchester Evening News: “That’s a crazy amount of money, especially for a striker who has only scored four goals in 13 Premier League games this season.” There are much better deals out there right now, but Toney would be a great addition to Manchester United if the price was right.
Rio Ferdinand said that Jadon Sancho “would not have seen” his spot in the Champions League semi-finals coming. He said, “Sancho proved his critics wrong.” Borussia Dortmund beat Atletico Madrid at the Signal Iduna park on Tuesday night, coming back from being down 2-1 in the first leg. The winger is on loan from Manchester United.
Ferdinand said on TNT Sports after the game that Sancho is starting to show those at Old Trafford who didn’t like him that they were wrong. A star defender for Manchester United said, “We asked Sancho to do a good job.” It’s clear that he has a lot to prove.
It was a bad thing that he left Manchester United. Now he’s in the Champions League semi-final against PSG. Who could have made that script? That was something he wouldn’t have seen coming.
The Manchester Evening News says, “I really think Sancho still has a future at Manchester United, whether Ten Hag stays in charge next season or not.” The England player isn’t your normal winger who hangs out on the sidelines. He likes to play at half-speed. Ratcliffe, today is the day to sign an overlapped left back!”
The word from Matic is clear
Nemanja Matic wants Joao Neves to stay at Benfica this summer instead of going to Manchester United. Speaking to O Jogo in Portuguese, the player who used to play for Chelsea and Manchester United said, “I think it’s too early for him to leave.”
“I would stay at Benfica for a few more years to play in the Champions League and get better if I were him.” He doesn’t need to hurry because I’m sure his time will come.
“Joao is now at a big club.” He will do very well at Benfica, I’m sure. I believe it’s too early to leave, but it’s always his choice In the end.”
The Manchester Evening News says, “I have to agree with Matic. However, that shouldn’t stop Manchester United from signing the 19-year-old midfielder!” You should wait at least another year or two for Neves to make a big move. It’s as easy as that: he needs to put his growth first. Ratcliffe might be able to sign him this summer, but he’s going back to the big Portuguese team on loan.”
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