MANCHESTER UNITED want to wrap up a deal for Frenkie de Jong this week, with a £68m fee reportedly close to being agreed.
And Cristiano Ronaldo could be heading back to Portugal after his first club Sporting Lisbon sounded him out over a return home, SunSport can exclusively reveal.
The Sun on Sunday understands bosses at Sporting, where Ronaldo played 25 league games before signing for United in 2003, believe they can lure him back to Lisbon.
Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes also met with new Chelsea boss Todd Boehly in Portugal last week ahead of a sensational potential summer transfer.
The Manchester United star’s future is far from decided with the player being linked with a move away from Old Trafford.
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More on Neymar
Manchester United, Chelsea and Newcastle are the only transfer options for Neymar this summer.
That’s as the Brazilian reportedly considers his future after being left fuming with Paris Saint-Germain chief Nasser Al-Khelaifi.
RMC Sport claims Neymar is thinking of leaving the French capital this summer, five years after his world record £200million move from Barcelona.
It’s reckoned he has just three viable destinations due to his £600,000-a-week wages.
Premier League trio United, Chelsea and Newcastle are the only teams with the money for a transfer.
Juventus have also been linked but the Brazilian is beyond their pay grade.
Neymar would be open to an English switch after turning 30 in February.
Ten Hag budget plans
Erik ten Hag starts work on Monday facing an Old Trafford cash squeeze that threatens to hamper his re-building plans, exclusively writes SunSport’s Ken Lawrence.
The Dutchman still hopes to team up again with Frenkie de Jong as early as this week.
Manchester United believe they are now closing in on a £67million deal with Barcelona for the midfielder who spent 18 months working under Ten Hag’s former club Ajax.
But while CEO Richard Arnold told fans in a recent pub meeting that money was “not a consideration” in this summer’s transfer market, he will still not provide Ten Hag with an open cheque book.
Ronaldo is not for sale
Manchester United have insisted that Cristiano Ronaldo is not for sale.
Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes has been searching for a new club for the attacker.
But Bayern Munich have ruled themselves out of the hunt for him,
Ronaldo likes new boss Erik ten Hag, but wants to see the club do more in the transfer market.
This is according to Fabrizio Romano who made the claims on his YouTube channel.
Neymar could make Prem switch
PSG star Neymar is being tipped to make a move to the Premier League next season.
That’s because only Man United, Chelsea, and Newcastel can afford to buy the Brazilian, according to RMC.
However, a move to the Prem could prove tricky as Neymar previously vowed to never join a club in the English top tier.
Ten Hag’s training ground rules
Erik ten Hag is ordering Manchester United ground staff to cut the grass to EXACTLY 15mm and making the players eat together.
The Carrington training ground staff will be giving the pitch a trim to encourage slick passing.
New boss Ten Hag, 52, doesn’t believe in hard fitness drills to kick off the campaign but will be doing ball work with the squad to work on technique.
The Mirror report that Ten Hag is “all about training the brain”.
The first two days of pre-season will involve tests on the players’ fitness before moving to double sessions with the football.
And that means Old Trafford superstars “will run with the ball rather than just being asked to sprint up sand dunes”.
Man United target Ajax quartet
Man United are reportedly targeting FOUR of Erik ten Hag’s former Ajax stars after adding Nicolas Tagliafico to the shortlist.
The Red Devils are looking to turn their transfer woes around by chasing the 29-year-old Argentine.
Ten Hag won the Eredivisie title with the Amsterdam outfit last season.
Antony, Lisandro Martinez and Jurrien Timber have all been targeted as part of his summer rebuild.
And now the Daily Mail report that Man Utd “have interest” in left-back Tagliafico.
Maguire’s wife shows off dress
Harry Maguire new wife Fern Hawkins has shown off her stunning wedding dress on social media where she fawned over the Manchester United defender.
The loved-up couple tied the knot at the Chateau de Varennes in the South of France on Saturday.
Maguire, 29, instantly took to social media where he shared a picture of the pair’s first kiss as man and wife.
He captioned the post: “25.06.22. A day I’ll never forget.”
And now his partner Fern has posted a picture from their special day where she gave her 92,000 Instagram followers a first look at her dress.
Walking hand in hand, she captioned the image: “25.06.2022. I married the love of my life.”
Lingard to West Ham ‘complete’
Jesse Lingard is on the brink of returning to West Ham on a permanent basis.
Lingard spent the first half of last season on loan with the Hammers before returning to United.
But he’s now set to rejoin West Ham after becoming surplus to requirements at Old Trafford.
And the winger’s move to East London will be completed next week, according to the Daily Mail.
Inter ‘make push for Bremer’
Inter Milan will reportedly meet with Torino next week in order to try and buy in demand defender Gleison Bremer.
Bremer’s been courted by several Prem sides including Chelsea, Man United, Tottenham, and Arsenal.
However, Inter are moving ahead to try and seal his signature, according to Tuttosport.
The publication claims Inter CEO Beppe Marotta is set to jet to Torino to negotiate with their Serie A counterparts over Bremer.
Roy Keane gets booed
Roy Keane was subject to a chorus of boos when cheering on his hometown side Cork on the weekend.
Keane returned to Cork to watch their match against Dublin.
But the former Red Devils midfielder was booed when he appeared on the big screen in front of 50,000 fans.
However, Keane took the jibes well as he was pictured smiling amid the racous jeers.
Dembele ‘unhappy with Chelsea offer’
Ousmane Demebele is reportedly unhappy with Chelsea’s contract offer.
And he’s considering remaining at Barcelona as a result of the Blues’ underwhelming proposition.
That’s according to Sport, who claim Chelsea’s simultaneous pursuit of Raheem Sterling has hampered the amount they could offer Dembele.
This could be good news for Man United who were previously linked with the winger.
Leeds ‘want Raphinha bidding war’
Leeds are looking to spark a bidding war for Raphinha, according to reports.
Arsenal had an initial bid for the midfielder turned down last week,
And football reporter Ryan Taylor reckons the Whites rejected Arsenal’s offer to whip up interest in the Brazilian.
He told Give Me Sport: “When I spoke to a contact on Monday to try and find out about the interest, I was told that Arsenal are interested but that the kind of feeling is Leeds are looking to encourage a bidding war.
“And Deco is also in the mix in driving up that sort of speculation. Arsenal are keen, but as of Monday, there was no significant developments. Obviously, that changed with the bid on Tuesday.”
Man United are also interested in Raphinha.
Ronaldo ‘offered to Roma’
Cristiano Ronaldo has been offered to Roma by agent Jorge Mendes, reports claim.
Ronaldo ostensibly wants to leave United, and Mendes has approached Roma to see if they will take the attacker, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
However, United will not let Ronaldo leave this summer, it was reported on Sunday.
Ten Hag advantage for United
Erik ten Hag gives Man United a major advantage in their pursuit of Ajax players such as Anthony and Arsenal target Lisandro Martinez.
Ten Hag worked with the duo while managing Ajax, and football reporter Peter O’Rourke reckons this puts United in pole position above their rivals in negotiations.
O’Rourke told Give Me Sport: “I think it’s a big advantage for Manchester United in their pursuit of these Ajax players because they know ten Hag and know how he works.
“They all, obviously, seemingly enjoyed working under him at Ajax as well.
“I think it gives United an extra advantage in their pursuit of these players from Ajax, the opportunity to work with Erik ten Hag again.”
Ferdinand makes Man City admission
Rio Ferdinand has risked the wrath of Man United fans by declaring Man City striker Sergio Aguero as the Premier League’s best ever South American player.
United have had a plethora of South American stars over the years such as Nani, Fred, Carlos Tevez, and Edinson Cavani.
But none of them are on the same level as Aguero, according to Ferdinand.
Ferdinand made the admission on his FIVE podcast where he said: “No1 surely got to be @aguerosergiokun.”
Man United pre-season ‘anxiety’
Man United players will be anxious ahead of their pre-season training with new boss Erik ten Hag.
That’s according to ex-Crystal Palace star Alex Wynter who told The Mirror: “A lot of scrutiny falls on players at a club like Manchester United, and it’ll be the same this year with the new manager coming in.
“I think there’ll be quite a few people on edge…I can see them not looking over their shoulders as such.
“But they’ll definitely be wary that this is a huge pre-season for both them as individuals and the club.”
Pogba’s Juventus transfer ‘finalised’
Paul Pogba is set to complete his Juventus transfer in July, according to Fabrizio Romano.
All paperwork is finalised between the parties with Juve agreeing to pay Pogba £6.8m annually plus add-ons, Romano said.
Romano tweeted: “Juventus have all paperworks ready to announce the comeback of Paul Pogba at the beginning of July.
“It’s done deal for salary around €8m net per season plus add-ons.”
Ronaldo fishes on yacht
Georgina Rodriguez left little to the imagination as she showed off her tan lines in a bikini.
But partner Cristiano Ronaldo was more interested in fishing as he enjoyed his summer holidays on a £5.5million yacht.
The dazzling duo are currently soaking up the sunshine in Majorca.
Ronaldo’s five children are also with the couple in Spain.
And the Manchester United star, 37, is making sure he rests up in a luxury villa at the foot of the Tramuntana mountains before the new season begins.
De Jong to United complete
Man United will complete the signing of Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong in the next few days, reports claim.
The Red Devils have agreed a fee around £68m for the midfielder, according to talkSPORT.
The report states the transfer will be wrapped up by June 30.
He will become United’s first signing of the summer thus far.
Prem giants ‘met Martinez’s representatives’
Both Man United and Arsenal are reportedly ramping up their pursuit of Ajax ace Lisandro Martinez.
The Prem giants are locked in a battle for his signature.
And representatives from both clubs met with Martinez’s camp in the week over a possible transfer, the Sunday Mirror claim.
Although the Gunners are said to be winning the race for his signature despite having their first bid rejected, the report adds.
Hargreaves reveals Champions League dream
Owen Hargreaves has revealed he joined Man United in 2007 to win the Champions League.
He said to United’s media: “One of the things he said to me, I’ll never forget it, was, ‘Owen we signed you to help us win the Champions League.
“You can be a part of that.’ That was one of the big reasons I wanted to come.
“[I wanted] to be a part of this team, play at this stadium, with these fans. That group of players we had was just out of this world. You just wanted to be a piece of the puzzle.”
Hargreaves praises Sir Alex
Owen Hargreaves has revealed Sir Alex Ferguson was the driving force behind his move to Man United in 2007.
Hargreaves told United’s media: “I remember [when I arrived] he just said: ‘these fans are very knowledgeable and it was a bit along the lines of ‘you give them your best, they’ll appreciate that.’
“Before I came we spoke so much and he was one of the driving forces, one of the reasons why I wanted to come.
“Who doesn’t want to play under Sir Alex?”
United rule out Ronaldo transfer
Furious Man United chiefs have told Cristiano Ronaldo he’s not going anywhere amid interest from Chelsea.
Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes allegedly met with the Blues over a potential move for the disgruntled attacker.
But the Mirror claim United have vetoed any possible exit for Ronaldo.
The publication claim a source told them: “Cristiano is not for sale. We want – and fully expect – him to be with us next season.”
Good morning Man United fans
Sporting Lisbon have contacted Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo over the possibility of a shock transfer.
The Sun on Sunday understands bosses at Sporting, where Ronaldo played 25 league games before signing for United in 2003, believe they can lure him back to Lisbon.
A source said: “Sporting know that Ronaldo loves winning trophies. That looks a long way away at United at the moment and time is running out for Ronaldo.
“So what better way to finish his career than move back home and play in Portugal.”
It has also been revealed that Ronaldo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, met with new Chelsea owner Todd Boehly in Portugal last week.
According to The Athletic, Ronaldo’s future at United as well as a potential move to Chelsea was discussed when Boehly met Mendes in Portugal last week.
However as things stand, United intend to keep the legendary forward. He said in a recent interview: “I was and still am very happy to be here.”
Derby County’s Malcolm Ebiowei snubbed a move to United after Crystal Palace sporting director Dougie Freedman drove him to his medical and signing with The Eagles.
In other news, some United fans are planning an anti-glazer protest ahead of new manager Erik ten Hag’s first game in charge at Old Trafford.
Meanwhile, Harry Maguire has gotten married to childhood sweetheart Fern Hawkins in a stunning ceremony at a French chapel.
Palace director drove Ebiowei into United snub
Malcolm Ebiowei ignored Manchester United’s Erik ten Hag and Steve McClaren to join Crystal Palace – with Crystal Palace sporting director Dougie Freedman DRIVING him to his signing.
Highly-rated Ebiowei, 18, has moved to Selhurst Park from Derby on a free — a deal we first revealed in April.
McClaren was a technical director at the Rams and tried to get the winger to follow him in a series of phone calls. Ebiowei even snubbed a text from new boss Ten Hag.
But London teen Ebiowei was swayed to join the Eagles after transfer-guru Freedman made it his personal crusade.
The club’s sporting director met him twice, then went back to see him in a South London gym last week before showing him around Palace’s facilities.
Then the canny Scot turned up at the player’s door to take him for his medical and signing.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
