Man Utd takeover LIVE: Latest as United plan De Gea U-turn EXCLUSIVE, Jim Ratcliffe faces competition for ‘No.1 target’

Man Utd vs Man City combined XI

Ahead of this weekend’s derby day clash between Manchester United and Man City, SunSport have selected a combined XI.

Only two Red Devils make the squad when picking from fit and available players.

Neville lists United’s problems

Gary Neville has said the three main reasons he believe Manchester United have struggled since the exit of Sir Alex Ferguson.

The former Red Devil took to X (formerly Twitter) to explain why he believed the Manchester giants have failed to achieve the same success since Sir Alex’s departure.

When asked who the best manager post-Ferguson was, he said: “All very good managers but hampered by the ownership, (there’s a) lack of good leadership below the owners and poor recruitment.”

Man Utd returning stars XI

With our exclusive surrounding Manchester United’s plot to return for David De Gea, we made an XI of ex-players that could return to Old Trafford.

The Red Devils have history in bringing back their former players with Jonny Evans already making a shock return this season.

While Cristiano Ronaldo spectacularly came back in 2021 and Paul Scholes even came out of RETIREMENT to don the shirt once again.

Here’s SunSports’ returning former stars XI:

Saudi route most plausible for Sancho

Saudi Arabia is the most plausible destination for Jadon Sancho, according to reports.

The Athletic has said that European teams will struggle to match the wages being paid to the Manchester United star.

It is said that Sancho earns over £200,000 a week and only the Saudi Arabian teams will be able to match that price.

Reports suggest his old club Borussia Dortmund could not afford even half of that salary.

Redknapp slams Maguire treatment

Harry Redknapp has leapt to the defence of Harry Maguire and slammed the treatment he has received.

Maguire has taken a barrage of abuse from from fans, social media and pundits alike since he lost his place in the Manchester United team.

But with the star now back in the mix and performing well, Redknapp has hit out at his haters.

Speaking to BetVictor, he said: “Harry has had so much stick over the last couple of years and a lot of it has been completely rubbish.

“He’s been out of favour, but he’s knuckled down and waited for his opportunity. He was superb at Bramall Lane and hopefully the lad can build on that performance moving forward.”

Agbonlahor’s Maguire apology plea

Aston Villa legend Gabriel Agbonlahor has demanded that Manchester United fans give Harry Maguire an apology after his winner against Copenhagen.

First of all, I’d like to say that I fell that a lot of United fans owe Maguire an apology.

I feel that what he’s been through, he’d had fans booing him, he’s been away on pre-season tours and you’ve got ‘sheep’ booing him, ‘sheep’ fans that don’t have a clue about football booing him.

He’s got through it and said, ‘No, I’m not going to leave, I want to play for United.’ Easy for him to say, ‘OK, I’ll got to West Ham, let’s get the deal through.’

‘No, I’m staying here, I’m going to fight for my position,’ and look what he’s doing now. He got ‘Man of the Match’ against Sheffield United, he got an assist against Brentford, last night he scores. That’s a captain’s performance last night.

Gabriel AgbonlahortalkSPORT

Damning Onana stats

Damning stats show why Manchester United should bring back David de Gea to the club.

That’s with De Gea’s replacement Andre Onana failing to pay off so far.

Onana has endured a rocky start to life at Old Trafford throughout his debut season.

The Cameroon international committed several high-profile blunders as he conceded horror goals to the likes of Bayern Munich, Galatasaray and Brentford.

Ferdinand addresses Sir Jim

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand advised Sir Jim Ratcliffe to restore transparency at Old Trafford.

I just think I’ve been quite consistent in my views on the lack of communication, that’s one area.

If Mr Ratcliffe is going to go into the football club with a 25 per cent shareholding that’s an area he should really get a hold of and bring some clarity and transparency to the football club.

That’s a lot of where the hysteria stems from – the not knowing is always a problem that can create different stories and it allows other people to create narratives around the football club that might not necessarily be true.

If Man United can get back to controlling that narrative and communicating to the fanbase I think that will be a very good start.

Rio FerdinandManchester Evening News

Rash to the top

Manchester United hero Louis Saha hinted Marcus Rashford’s excessive overthinking during matches is “holding him back” from reaching his full potential.

Saha told Paddy Power:

In Marcus Rashford, I see a player with tremendous quality – there’s no doubt about that. The only thing that’s holding him back is overthinking.

He has a tendency to think too much and that’s the problem he has at the moment.

It sounds very simplistic but it’s not. He’s got great energy levels, he’s very physical and the volume of his runs are his main strengths.

It’s very simplistic but that’s the reality for Rashford right now. He needs to simplify his game and put all his energy into the things that work.

I’m confident he’ll get back to it because when he does, he’s unstoppable.

Louis Saha

Joao Neves transfer war

Chelsea are keeping tabs on Benfica star Joao Neves, who has been linked with Manchester United.

That is according to TEAMtalk, who claim the Blues have “entered the race” for Neves.

However, United are very interested in the highly-rated midfielder who turned 19 only last month.

In fact, the Red Devils see the Portugal international as Casemiro’s long-term replacement.

Hojlund brothers banter

Manchester United star Rasmus Hojlund and his brother Oscar didn’t quite get on the pitch at the same time on Tuesday night when the Red Devils faced Copenhagen in the Champions League.

But the siblings did share a heart-warming moment as Rasmus gate-crashed his little brother’s interview.

They caught up post-match when the United ace barged into his little brother’s TV interview and joined him in answering questions.

The £72million striker was walking behind Oscar when he teased him by knocking the microphone he was speaking into away from his mouth.

Rasmus then came around the barrier and put his arm around his brother, embracing him after what was a special night for the pair.

Scholes’ Ratcliffe advice

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes urged Sir Jim Ratcliffe to stick with Erik ten Hag when he arrives at Old Trafford.

I think he’s been a very good coach so far, I like him.

He’s been ruthless in a job that is incredibly difficult, he’s essentially been thrown out to the lions in the sense of answering every single question thrown at him by the media and I think he’s handled it really well.

Has he put a team together that is good enough to challenge for the Premier League? No, but it looked like a good start towards the end of last season.

We’ve come into the summer and the recruitment hasn’t been there, it’s not at the level of competing with the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool.

There’s still a lot of work to do, but he’s the right man, whether Jim is coming in to bring someone else in or not.

Paul ScholesTNT Sports

More on De Gea

Gabriel Agbonlahor described Manchester United as a “shambles” after reports of them looking to re-sign David de Gea.

De Gea has been a free agent ever since leaving United in June.

Shambles.

“Didn’t they think about that before they let [Andre] Onana go and they didn’t bring in a better No2?”

Gabriel AgbonlahortalkSPORT

No glove lost

Manchester United legend David de Gea has been urged to snub a return to Old Trafford by pundit Gabby Agbonlahor.

I wouldn’t [rejoin] what they have done to him.

The way they had the contract and then took it away after the amount of years he played for Man Utd, and what he had done there.

I wouldn’t – but he is in Manchester at the moment and he’s pictured with some of the players.

David de GeatalkSPORT

Fury and Onana’s bromance

Tyson Fury and Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana have sparked a blossoming bromance on Instagram.

Onana made up for his past mistakes when he saved a last-gasp penalty against Copenhagen on Tuesday.

It helped United seal a 1-0 victory over the Danish champions for their first victory of the Champions League group stage.

Onana posted on Instagram: “For all Mancunians, for us, for Sir Bobby Charlton. We are United.”

Fury issued a one-word response: “GETTTTUPPPPP.”

And the Cameroon international then came back with a salute emoji.

Manchester derby drama

Manchester United and Manchester City are all set to lock horns once again on Sunday at Old Trafford but there will be an unusual kick-off time.

A statement on Manchester United’s official website read: “The derby with Manchester City will be staged towards the end of the month, with the Old Trafford encounter being moved to 29 October, kicking off at 15:30 GMT.

“The fixture, which we won 2-1 last season with Marcus Rashford netting a memorable winner, is to be shown live on Sky Sports in the UK.

“The unusual start time was agreed following consultation between the clubs, the broadcaster and local authorities.”

Times and dates are notably changed to accommodate clubs playing in Europe – the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League.

Sleeping pill hell

Ex-Manchester United ace Darron Gibson has opened up about his addiction to sleeping pills and revealed he would have died had he kept going.

I don’t even think I was functioning at that point. Looking back at pictures, I was grey, if I had kept going I would have died. I was taking 12 to 14 sleeping tablets a night.

I was rushed to hospital and I didn’t mention any sleeping tablets to anyone. Danielle [Gibson’s wife] knew I took them but she had no idea to what extent. I was good at hiding it.

Sometimes I’d take them all at once when we’d be going to sleep and I’d say I was bringing up a drink of water for her.

I’m not embarrassed or ashamed to say now that I was in a bad way but in the hospital I wasn’t telling anyone.

They thought it was epilepsy but I knew it wasn’t. It was sleeping tablets, it had been going on for years by now. The doctor rang and said my brain and heart were fine.

Darron GibsonThe 42

Devil to pay

Rangers are clinging on to a golden ticket to the biggest-ever club tournament.

Fifa’s new expanded, 32-team Club World Cup, expected to have a huge prize fund worth up to £50m-plus per team, will kick off in the United States in 2025.

The Champions League winners from 2021 to this season will gain entry, alongside eight clubs from the four-year ‘coefficient’ list, based on results in Europe.

Fifa currently want only one club per country to qualify from the performance-based list.

It means Manchester United, Barcelona, Inter Milan or Borussia Dortmund would have to win the Champions League this term to gain entry.

On current standings, Chelsea, Manchester City, Real Madrid and this season’s Champions League winners would be joined by Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Roma, Villarreal, Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Ajax and of course the Gers.

Onana interview gatecrashed

Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana saw his live TV interview gatecrashed by a club legend.

United great Rio Ferdinand appeared in front of the camera congratulating Onana.

Ferdinand, who was covering the game as a pundit for TNT Sports, said: “Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!”

He then shook hands with the goalkeeper and added: “Take care, good luck.”

The Cameroon international could not help but smile at the wholesome interaction as he replied: “Thank you.”

Mason Mount’s favourite chant

Manchester United ace Mason Mount revealed his favourite chant since moving to Old Trafford.

Mount said: “Mine would probably be ‘Attack, attack, attack, attack attack’.

“When they start singing that you just want to attack.”

Ratcliffe faces competition

Manchester United are facing major competition from Saudi Pro League clubs for highly-rated sporting director Paul Mitchell.

Mitchell has been linked with a transfer to United as part of a management shake-up if Sir Jim Ratcliffe buys the club and takes control of football operations.

But Saudi clubs are also looking at the ex-Tottenham and Southampton chief as they plan the next phase of their recruitment drive.

The 42-year-old left Monaco earlier in the year and recently moved back to the North West, fuelling talk that the Red Devils would be his next port of call.

Mitchell’s record of identifying big stars with world-class potential like Son Heung-Min, Sadio Mane and Dele Alli, is also attracting attention in the Middle East.

So far, the SPL recruitment has been run centrally, with ex-Chelsea chief Michael Emenalo acting as director of football for the whole league while its clubs spent millions.

David de Gea return?

Manchester United plan an embarrassing U-turn by pleading with dumped goalkeeper David de Gea to return on a short-term deal, reports SunSport’s Neil Custis.

United are worried they will be short of keepers when Cameroon No 1 Andre Onana — De Gea’s replacement — goes to the Africa Cup of Nations in the New Year.

Afcon runs from January 13 to February 11, meaning the £43.8million summer signing could miss up to eight of the Red Devils’ matches.

So the club are ready to turn back to De Gea — having booted him out in the summer.