Premier League
Mourinho is Frustrated at the Transfer Market
Manchester United Manager’s efforts so far at the current summer transfer market have almost been at the realm of window-shopping as he has not been able to by some of his desired players.
He told ESPN FC that he is not happy with Manchester United’s transfer window and is ready to accept signing just one more player before the August 31 deadline.
His ‘purchase’ so far has been limited to the £90 million he splashed on DR Congo’s Belgian player, Romelu Lukaku who he signed from Everton and the £30.75 million spent to get Benfica defender, Victor Lindelof.
Efforts to sign Inter Milan winger, Ivan Perisic, and a top-class defensive midfielder have so far proven unsuccessful. But ESPN FC reported that Mourinho is within £5 million of meeting Inter’s valuation of Croatia international, Ivan Perišić, who has flown to China on the Italian club’s preseason tour.
Interest in Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic and Tottenham’s Eric Dier has failed to result in a breakthrough, however, and Mourinho admits he may be forced to settle for just one more new signing this summer.
“We always want more,” Mourinho told ESPN FC in an exclusive interview. “We always feel there is room to improve, and I cannot say that I am happy with our transfer window.
“What I can also say is that it is a difficult transfer window and I don’t blame anyone — it is just a reality of things. The market is going in such a direction that many players are difficult to get, not to say impossible.
“Every club is powerful and they don’t want to sell or their demands are really high, so the market is difficult.”
Mourinho said his objective is still to sign two more players, but even if they arrive before the end of August, the Manchester United manager claims they will have lost crucial preparation time in preseason.
“Everton started really strong in the market without the Lukaku money,” Mourinho said. “AC Milan, without selling players, are buying non-stop, so it depends on the moment, the objective, maybe on new owners.
“What I will say is that, a long time ago, we thought about four players to strengthen our squad, but it is really hard to do it. If we do the third and forget the fourth, I would be quite happy with that because I know it is difficult.
“At the moment we have Lukaku and Lindelof, two players I know well. I worked with one before and the other is from the Portuguese championship, which I follow every weekend.
“I am happy with them and I know that they will succeed at the club.
“The market ends on August 31, so there is plenty of time, but obviously, the objective for me as manager is always to have the players as soon as possible and try to coach them in the team and develop the team with them and Lukaku and Lindelof arrived to train in time for day one.”
Thomas Partey, who formerly played for English Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday.
Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said.
Partey’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 5.
Partey, 32, was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59 million) in October 2020 and became a key member of Arsenal’s first team.
He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing.
-Reuters
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Five players including England forward Marcus Rashford and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho have informed Manchester United that they wish to explore a future away from the Premier League side, a club source said on Friday.
Brazilian midfielder Antony, Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia and England international Jadon Sancho are also looking to leave the club, the source added.
Rashford, who has made more than 400 senior appearances for United, has fallen out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, played for Aston Villa on loan while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.
Amorim had called Rashford’s work rate into question, saying he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.
Rashford said he was feeling fitter and better since joining Villa, where he scored two goals in 10 league appearances.
United also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Garnacho, who was a late substitute in the final, voiced his displeasure on social media after the loss.
“Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know,” he wrote in a post . “The final will influence (my decision), but the whole season, the situation of the club.”
Sancho was on loan at Chelsea, where he made 31 league appearances last season. Antony, who joined United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial transfer fee of more than $100 million, scored five goals in 17 LaLiga appearances on loan at Real Betis.
Malacia joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on loan in February.
-Reuters
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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes turned down the opportunity to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in order to keep playing “at the highest level”, he said on Tuesday.
The Portuguese midfielder admitted that he had considered the move, which media reports said was worth four times his current salary, after being contacted by Al-Hilal’s president.
“There was that possibility, the president of Al-Hilal called me a month ago to ask me about it,” Fernandes, who is preparing to face Germany with Portugal, told reporters on Tuesday.
“It was a big offer, very ambitious. There was a waiting period for me to think about the future.”
Fernandes ultimately decided to stay at United and said he was motivated by his desire to continue playing at the top level and encouraged by his family and the club’s coach Ruben Amorim.
“I would be willing to do it if Manchester United thought so,” Fernandes added. “I spoke to the coach Ruben Amorim who really tried to talk me out of it. The club said they would not be willing to sell me, only if I wanted to leave.
“I spoke to my wife and family, and she asked me what my personal goals were in my career.
“It would have been easy to move there but I want to keep myself at the highest level, playing in the big competitions and I feel capable of it. I am happy with my decision.”
The 30-year-old Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 19 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for United last season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award for the fourth time.
However, it was a season to forget for the team, as they finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league finish in half a century, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
-Reuters
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