Premier League
Ten Hag Holds ‘positive’ Talks With Ratcliffe After Man Utd Investment –
Erik ten Hag said he held “very positive” talks with Jim Ratcliffe when the under-fire Manchester United boss met the club’s new minority stakeholder this week.
Ratcliffe’s INEOS group will assume control of United’s football operations once the purchase of a 25 percent share in the Old Trafford club is ratified.
The British billionaire has been in Manchester for a series of meetings with club staff, including Ten Hag, who has been heavily criticised during a troubled second season in charge.
United crashed out of the Champions League in the group stage, were eliminated from the League Cup by Newcastle and are languishing nine points adrift of the Premier League’s top four, in eighth place.
Ten Hag is under intense pressure after 14 defeats so far this season — but the Dutch coach said his first contact with Ratcliffe went well.
“It was very positive, I have to say. We had a long meeting, for many hours we sat together and on many issues we are on the same page so it was very positive,” Ten Hag said on Thursday.
“I think from both sides it was a very constructive meeting and we look forward to working with them.”
United travel to Wigan in the FA Cup third round on Monday and a shock defeat to the third-tier side would add to the pressure on Ten Hag.
One of many issues to plague Ten Hag this term has been the future of Jadon Sancho.
The England forward has not featured since August after falling out with the Dutchman when he was dropped for a match at Arsenal.
Sancho is said to be close to rejoining Borussia Dortmund on a loan until the end of the season, but Ten Hag would not be drawn on the reports.
“I can’t say anything about that,” he said. “We have to wait and see how things are going and when we have news of course we will tell you.”
Ten Hag confirmed United have triggered contract extensions for Victor Lindelof, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Hannibal Mejbri.
The club are understood to be in discussions with Raphael Varane and Anthony Martial over their futures instead of taking up options in their current contracts.
“We are talking with Rapha Varane, with Anthony Martial, and we triggered the options on Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Victor Lindelof and Hannibal,” Ten Hag said.
Asked why the two players’ contract options had not been triggered, he said: “I think that is an internal discussion between the club and the players.”
-AFP
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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