BORUSSIA DORTMUND have admitted that they are willing to sell Jadon Sancho for the right price this summer.
However, the German club also stated that they had no intention of selling fellow Man Utd target Erling Haaland.
Meanwhile it has emerged that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer tried to drop David De Gea in November, but the Spaniard was so infuriated that the Red Devils boss changed his mind.
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Stay up to date with our blog, below, for all the latest from Old Trafford…
COULD LEAVE LIN
West Ham have reportedly been offered the chance to sign Atletico Madrid outcast Vitolo as a possible alternative to Man Utd loanee Jesse Lingard.
The Hammers were linked with a move to sign the 31-year-old forward in the winter transfer window, but opted instead to bring in Lingard on loan from Manchester United.
But with Lingard shining at the London Stadium, it remains to be seen whether his temporary stay will be turned into a permanent deal.
SunSport understands that due to Lingard’s surprising resurgence in form, United have doubled his asking price to £40million.
And should the Hammers be priced out of a move for the England international, they could reignite their interest in Vitolo, according to Fichajes. The news outlet states that Atletico have offered David Moyes’ side the chance to sign the Spanish star in the summer.
It has been claimed that the player could be available for just £8.5m having fallen dramatically down the pecking order under Diego Simeone. And they add that a deal could potentially be reached before the end of the campaign should West Ham look to bring him to England.
ROOM WITH A VIEW
Manchester United shared alternative views of their comeback goals against Brighton.
Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood struck to deny relegation threatened Brighton a famous win after ex-Red Devil Danny Welbeck had given the Seagulls hope.
LIONEL JESSE
Manchester United loanee Jesse Lingard scored ANOTHER goal for West Ham as the Hammers raced into a 2-0 lead at Wolves.
The England star picked up the ball near the half way line, ran the length of the half and fired it past Rui Patricio from just inside the penalty box.
Goal of the season?
CAV SOME OF THAT!
Mason Greenwood’s goal against Brighton reminded Ole Gunnar Solskjaer of Edinson Cavani’s against Southampton earlier in the season.
The youngster scored a header in the Red Devils’ 2-1 win and his manager said: “The world nowadays is so into stats, goals, assists and this and that, but the boy has played fantastic in the last two or three months.
“He’s really matured and come on. Today as well, taking the ball well, taking people on, he hits the post and one is just over the bar.
“If he keeps learning and improving he’ll score loads of goals. We know that. He’s a lethal finisher, but if he scores these type of goals that’ll add another dimension to his game.
“I’m very pleased for him to get the winner in the way he did, learning from Edinson, for example.
“He [Cavani] is one of those strikers and it reminded me of one of his goals he scored against Southampton.”
AC Milan
AC Milan could offer De Gea a new home – especially if they lose keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in the summer.
The Italian has been linked with a free transfer as he enters the last few months of his contract with agent Mino Raiola demanding a bumper £9m-a-season new deal.
Chelsea are said to be interested in the shot-stopper and received a boost with Milan’s negotiations reportedly hitting difficulties last week.
De Gea would also team up with old pal Zlatan Ibrahimovic after the former United striker signed a one-year extension at the San Siro.
Atletico Madrid
De Gea starred for Atletico Madrid from 2003 until joining United in 2011 and could make a sensational return to the club.
But if he is to play under Diego Simeone at the Wanda Metropolitano then highly rated No1 Jan Oblak is likely to have to make a huge move elsewhere.
De Gea would welcome a move to his old side for family reasons with wife and new mum Edurne working as a TV reporter in Madrid.
Barcelona
Barcelona are another side mentioned with De Gea’s name and could come to the fore if he sets his sights on a move back to Spain.
However, the Catalan giants are feeling the pinch amid the pandemic and may not have the funds required to pick up the keeper’s large wage bill.
Blaugrana No1 Marc-Andre ter Stegen also penned a lengthy new deal until 2025 in October.
PSG
SunSport revealed last month that Mauricio Pochettino is keen on bringing De Gea to Paris Saint-Germain.
PSG are one of the few clubs around who could pick up De Gea’s £375,000-a-week wages AND offer a fee to interest United.
Former Spurs boss Pochettino is looking for a new No 1 to replace former Real Madrid stopper Keylor Navas.
Poch has been linked with his old Spurs and France international keeper Hugo Lloris for some time but De Gea has been on PSG’s radar just as long.
He has just been unavailable – until now.
Real Madrid
De Gea has regularly been linked with a move to Real Madrid over the years.
If it wasn’t for a faulty fax machine a deal would have got over the line in 2015.
Zinedine Zidane has made no secret of the fact he is not fully trusting of former Chelsea man Thibaut Courtois in the Madrid goal.
And De Gea is likely to be keen on a return to his native Spain and the city where he was born.
SAVE THE DAVE
David De Gea is set to quit Manchester United after being benched in favour of Dean Henderson.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer kept faith with the former Sheffield United loanee for the 2-1 comeback victory over Brighton at Old Trafford on Sunday night.
De Gea was back and available for selection after being given time off for the birth of his first child and spending the international break on duty with Spain.
But the man who has been named United player of the year more times than anyone else looks to be in a dog-fight for the No1 jersey and could bring the curtain down on a decade at the Red Devils.
SunSport takes a look at some of the clubs linked with a swoop for the 30-year-old keeper…
ENERGETIC ERIC
Eric Bailly has sent a message to Man Utd fans after he caught coronavirus on international duty with Ivory Coast.
The defender is isolating but addressed United supporters in an upbeat message posted on the club’s Twitter.
He said: “Hi guys. Thanks for all of your messages.
“Just to say, I am good, I am fine, everything is good. It is just time to rest and come back stronger.”
POSITIVE RESULTS
Premier League Covid testers returned just one positive result over the past seven days – for the second week running.
The sole positive result came in the initial round of sampling between Monday and Thursday, from a total of 1,515 tests across the 20 clubs.
And fears of a potential spike when players returned from the international break appear to have abated after the second round of 1,149 tests between Friday and Sunday all came back clear.
Prem chiefs have not been able to report a totally clear testing run since the final week of last season but with less than 20 positive tests in the past two months it is clear the enhanced protocols have worked successfully.
The news comes after the FA announced fans will be allowed to attend both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup finals. The EFL have confirmed the 8,000 capacity for the League Cup final, played between Tottenham and Manchester City on April 25.
The allocation will be made up of fans from both teams as well as local residents and NHS staff, who will be offered tickets as a way of saying thank you for their work during the pandemic.
TRAFFORD TROUBLE
David De Gea’s future is in doubt due to growing tensions with Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, according to reports.
The Norwegian decided to start Dean Henderson ahead of the Spaniard against Brighton.
De Gea would have expected a start after returning from paternity leave, and according to Manchester Evening News the pair’s relationship is becoming a problem.
The report suggests Solskjaer twice attempted to drop De Gea in favour of Henderson, firstly against West Brom in November and then against Chelsea in February.
On both occasions De Gea expressed his unhappiness with the decision and Solskjaer changed his mind.
A large number of Man Utd’s squad are said to think the England international should have replaced De Gea in December.
PEP ON HAALAND
After Man Utd target Erling Haaland arrived in Manchester with his Borussia Dortmund team-mates, Pep Guardiola said: “A player who can score this amount of goals at this age has not been easy to find in the past, honestly.
“He’s 20, the numbers speak for themselves. When that happens it’s because he can score right, left, counter-attacks, penalty box, headers.
“He’s a fantastic striker, everyone knows it. A blind guy can realise he’s a great striker, you don’t have to be a manager to realise it.
“The only thing I can say is that he is an exceptional striker. With his age, he is an exceptional striker.”
The Dortmund bus rolled into town as the Bundesliga boys checked in at The Lowry Hotel EYE FOR GOAL
Pep Guardiola says even a blind man would be able to see the quality of Manchester United target Erling Haaland.
The Manchester City boss distanced himself from reports linking the club with the Norwegian last week.
But he will get a close-up look at the 20-year-old hotshot – who arrived in Manchester wearing a Sky Blue backpack – when the two teams go head-to-head at the Etihad on Tuesday night.
Haaland has already scored ten goals in the competition this season and is rated in the £150million bracket by his German club.
Guardiola insists City will not be paying that kind of money for anyone this summer – but knows all about his ability.
And he knows his team will have to be at their best to keep him out during the two legs of the Champions League quarter-final…
CAL ON ME
Juventus are in pole position to sign AC Milan star Hakan Calhanoglu, according to reports.
The 27-year-old is out of contract at the end of this season and negotiations with his current club are believed to have stalled.
According to Sky Sport in Italy, Calhanoglu may remain at Milan beyond this summer as the two parties are still discussing a new deal.
Journalist Manuele Baiocchini is suggesting the player is wanting €1million, or £850,000, more a year than the Rossoneri are currently offering.
Should talks end without a signature, Juventus are believed to be in pole position to sign Calhanoglu.
The Turkey international has previously been a target for Manchester United, with reports suggesting he was close to signing a pre-contract agreement in November.
GET IN MA-SON!
Bruno Fernandes hailed Mason Greenwood for his winner against Brighton but warned the forward he cannot just care about goals.
The Portugal international also explained Greenwood may find things more difficult as his reputation increases. Despite that, Fernandes is confident Greenwood will improve his goalscoring form but emphasised that he must get his temperament right.
Fernandes told MUTV: “Everyone has to know that Mason is a young player and now everyone is starting to know how Mason is, it will become more and more difficult for him.
“It is normal. It is part of the development for him and he will learn from here so it doesn’t matter how many goals he scores; the most important thing for us is that he still helps the team and he is doing his best.
“It is important for us as a team, it doesn’t matter who scores. If Mason scores for us or not, it is important if he can do other jobs, recover balls, pressing, defend when we need it, make assists, create danger.
“So it is not important for him to score. He has to understand, he is such a young lad. Of course, every striker wants to score but, anyway, he will score more and more goals as the seasons pass.”
LUK AND LEARN
Romelu Lukaku surpassed Ronaldo’s Inter Milan goal record – with 13 games to spare.
The former Manchester United striker, 27, swapped Old Trafford for the San Siro in 2019 for £73million. And since then he has been in red-hot form.
In 86 appearances for Inter, Lukaku has a staggering 60 goals.
He managed 34 in 51 last term and his winning goal at Bologna on Saturday took his tally this season to 26 in 35. And that means the Belgian hitman is more prolific than the Brazilian icon.
The ‘original’ Ronaldo – nicknamed the Phenomenon – moved to Inter in 1997 after one staggering season with Barcelona where he scored 47 goals.
R9 managed 59 goals for the Serie A giants – but did so in 99 matches across five injury-hit years. Lukaku also has more assists than Ronaldo for Inter, with 13 to 12.
DOR CLOSED
Borussia Dortmund are determined to keep Manchester United target Erling Haaland this summer.
Club CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke told Goal: “We will discuss this with Erling, his father and his agent Mino Raiola.
“We also want him to be happy to stay with us, to score goals for BVB next year with conviction. There is no alternative plan.”
Dortmund insist they want to keep Haaland, 20 A TELL-TALE
Manchester United are ready to offer Alex Telles to Sporting Lisbon on loan in a player-plus-cash deal for Nuno Mendes, reports say.
Telles was signed from Sporting’s rivals Porto this summer for £15.3million to provide competition for Luke Shaw.
But Shaw’s form has been so impressive, Telles has only played seven times in the league, with his other 14 appearances coming in cup competition.
It leaves his Old Trafford future up in the air, and according to Portuguese newspaper Record, United are willing to see the left-back leave.
They are understood to be plotting a deal for Telles, 28, to be used as ‘a bargaining chip’ to sign fellow full-back Mendes.
The offer could include a £33.9million fee for Sporting and a season-long loan of Telles.
United would still need to cover at least part of the Portugal international’s wages.
Man Utd are ready to offer Alex Telles on loan in a player-plus-cash deal for Nuno Mendes, reports say TEENAGE KICKS
Mason Greenwood scored his 12th Premier League goal as a teen for Man United yesterday.
And he’s not in bad company!
The 19-year-old still has until his birthday in October to add to his already impressive tally.
LUC WHO IT IS
Manchester United and Chelsea are set to do battle for Lucas Vazquez, according to reports.
The Spaniard is set to be out of contract in the summer, when his Real Madrid deal expires.
ACB claim that the right-sided player turned down Madrid’s latest offer, putting Premier League sides on red alert.
The 29-year-old has been playing as a wing-back of late, but made his name at Santiago Bernabeu as a winger.
Lucas Vazquez started Real Madrid’s win over Eibar at the weekendCredit: AFP MASE RATES
Mason Greenwood has been working on his heading… and it showed yesterday against Brighton!
Here’s what he had to say to MUTV after bagging the crucial winner.
WATZ THAT ALL ABOUT?
Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has defiantly claimed that it will take an ‘exceptional offer’ for Man United target Jadon Sancho to leave the club this summer.
He told DAZN: “I’m not getting involved in probabilities, it’s no good. Jadon Sancho has been with us much longer than Erling Haaland.
“We’ll have to speak to Jadon too. If there is an exceptional offer, we will discuss it with the player and the agent, as always. Nonetheless, I am very sure that the transfer market will only run to a very limited extent this summer.
“Especially at the very big clubs, you can see what kind of wounds coronavirus has inflicted – and they are not small ones that heal within two weeks.”
Jadon Sancho is a long-term Man United targetCredit: AFP COMEBACK KINGS
Last night’s come-from-behind victory over Brighton made it 25 POINTS taken from losing positions this season for Manchester United.
You can never count Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men out.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
