Manchester United and City updates in transfer window and pre-season
A look at both clubs.
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00:00 So Michael, just a bit of an update in the transfer front at Manchester United, what's
00:04 been going on there in recent weeks?
00:07 Yes, so obviously a lot going on with United in transfers, certainly one of the, there
00:13 are always so much talk about clubs in terms of transfers and stuff, but this summer there
00:17 really is quite a bit going on in terms of players coming in, well certainly players
00:20 to Blandon to bring in and players to Parton. I mean just a minute or two before we came
00:25 on it was just announced that Anthony Alanga has departed the club, I think that's a decision
00:28 that makes sense for everyone, a player who's probably really sunk the kind of 7-3, 8-2
00:33 choice in the wide areas, so many options for Eric Ten Hag to have. And yes, I think
00:38 that's a really good move for everyone. So he's departed, I mean I think we're very soon
00:42 expecting Dean Henderson to join him and Noling on Forrest as well. Certainly know that Andre
00:46 Onana has been confirmed at United, expect that one to go through pretty quickly. Fred,
00:50 I'm fully expecting him to depart as well soon, obviously not involved in United's tour
00:53 at the moment, not to be shown the reasons why that is the case, I think the club said
00:59 he was dealing with a personal issue, so he's not involved in America, but we fully expect
01:03 him to leave soon. And then another one I think is Van de Beek, I think that Danny Van
01:07 de Beek, I mean there was a report yesterday that he's attracted a lot of interest from
01:11 clubs, I mean the player himself said he's probably going to move on, Ten Hag's keen
01:14 to kind of get rid of him I think. You know he played six central midfielders against
01:19 Arsenal in a recent pre-season friendly and Danny Van de Beek wasn't one of them. Fred
01:22 wasn't involved, so I mean when you consider Fred's above him in the pecking order, it's
01:26 easy to look at Van de Beek as kind of the eighth choice in the pecking order at the
01:28 moment for central midfield. It just hasn't worked, I think he just needs to move on at
01:32 this stage after a disappointing three years. So look, there's plenty going on in terms
01:36 of outgoings, I should just mention on this point in terms of outgoing that obviously
01:40 Harry Maguire continues to be an interesting subject in terms of the club and what's happening
01:47 there. Look, I mean Ten Hag said the other day that he potentially needs five centre-back
01:51 options this season, United only have four, that includes Maguire, you factor Johnny Evans
01:56 into that, that's potentially a fifth, they've just offered Rhys Bennett, I'm sorry, yeah,
02:00 Evans would be a fifth, they've just offered youngster Rhys Bennett a new contract, that's
02:03 another option. But I think for Maguire it does seem a little bit of a game of chicken
02:08 at the moment, a little bit, you know, who's going to kind of push for this, is it going
02:11 to be Maguire, is it going to be Manchester United, is it going to be, I think it's something
02:15 that's going to rumble on at least for another couple of weeks, I wouldn't be surprised if
02:18 Maguire is still involved when the season kicks off, but I do fully expect that by the
02:21 time the window closes that he will have left the club permanently, I know that Chelsea
02:25 and West Ham are certainly interested in him. So yeah, that's a bit of a round-up of outgoings
02:31 and then potentially incomings, I mean I'm fully expecting a bid for Rasmus Hoyland of
02:36 Atalanta this week, real interest from United in him, obviously 20-year-old striker, I think
02:41 planning for the future, I do think it's a really, would be a really, well, I say I think
02:46 it'd be a good move, I think it's certainly a move that United haven't done in recent
02:49 years in terms of buying up a common striker, I mean you look at the kind of players they've
02:53 gone for in recent years, Cavani, Ronaldo, who else, Gallo, players like that, all short-term
03:02 options, no long-term planning, I think Hoyland would obviously, yeah, mark a change in that
03:07 regard, I just think there are a couple of questions for Marcus about, you know, I just
03:10 don't think he's all that proven at this stage, that's not to say he won't go on to be a success,
03:15 but I think there are obviously, he hasn't, it's quite a short period of time that he's
03:19 been a top-quality striker, so there's still a lot of doubts in that regard, so I think
03:23 Hoyland is one they're definitely going to move forward, Kane is still one they're interested
03:28 in but it's just looking so difficult in that regard, and then there was obviously Torkman
03:31 Bape earlier this week, I don't think that one's going to happen personally, but never
03:36 say never, I certainly think paying a big transfer fee would, he's looking almost impossible
03:42 for United at this stage. And then one final one, it's just to say that they are still
03:45 interested in Sophie and Amribat, and that's another player that I think they probably
03:49 will make a move for in the coming weeks, but I think they'll get Hoyland wrapped up
03:52 first and then make a move for Amribat. So yeah, plenty of information there, sorry to
03:57 bombard you, but yeah, quite a lot going on with United at the moment.
04:00 Obviously United are away, their pre-season tour, they are halfway through the games they're
04:04 playing out there now, what's the sort of, what have we learned from these few games
04:09 out there that they've played already?
04:12 Yeah, I mean I said to you that they're halfway through, I mean that was me being a bit loose
04:19 with that phrase, I mean they've got eight pre-season friendlies this summer, they've
04:22 played three, but the way I view it almost is that two of those friendlies are almost
04:26 going to be either an under-21 or a kind of a backup squad. I almost view it as six first
04:33 team friendlies, if that makes sense, to play three, so they're technically kind of halfway
04:37 through. But yeah, I mean look, the first thing to say is that they've only had the
04:41 full squad for the last game of that, so again, it's still difficult to make too many, you
04:47 know, draw too many conclusions and make too many observations in pre-season friendlies,
04:50 but I think that the encouraging thing for Ten Hag will be so far this summer that just
04:54 how quickly they've got back to, you know, playing at the levels that they did last season,
05:00 it all looks very natural, they all look like they know what they're doing on the pits,
05:04 they all have sunk back immediately into those roles. I mean the first two games have been
05:09 interesting because they played a strong start in XI and didn't score a goal in either of
05:13 those halves, and you know, Ticino took ten out three players at half-time in both those
05:18 games, but that involved Varane, Martinez, Sancho, Wan-Bissaka, a couple of other senior
05:25 players and they played really well in both those halves, but didn't score a goal, dominated
05:29 possession, just couldn't find a way through. So I think that highlights one of the problems
05:32 is that they need a centre forward, it comes back to what we've just discussed about Rasmus
05:36 Hoyland and the need to bring in a new number nine. So I think that's one of the interesting
05:41 things, but I think by and large that you'll be quite pleased, Ten Hag, with how the patterns
05:46 of play that they've had and just how quickly they've, as I say, settled back into it. I
05:51 thought they played well against Arsenal by and large on Saturday night, but again, there's
05:56 only so much you can draw from these things. I mean three wins from three is something,
06:01 you know, I mean, look again, don't want to blow this out of proportion, but you'd rather
06:05 have three wins than three defeats, obviously. And I think that the one thing that stood
06:09 out for me, and it does stand out very often in Man United pre-season tours, is just the
06:14 impact of the young players. It's just always a reminder that just the quality that United
06:18 have in their youth ranks. I know it's the same with City, I suspect it's the same with
06:22 Arsenal, Chelsea, all these kind of top clubs, but they really do have some fantastic young
06:27 players who just come in straight away, look so good. I think the fact that they're a little
06:31 bit younger helps in terms of fitness levels, they can probably regain that a little bit
06:34 quicker. And they just look really good in pre-season. I mean, the big one who stood
06:38 out I think is Kobe Maneau, a player who Manchester United offered a new contract to at the start
06:42 of the season. I think he is going to be involved in the first team picture going forward this
06:47 campaign. I mean, it looks as if they've essentially dislodged Donny Van Der Beek from that first
06:52 team group. Scott McTominay, Fred could be leading as well. So I think that's a really
06:55 interesting one going forward. But yeah, by and large, I think there's an incentive of
07:00 encouragement how quickly they've got back to those levels compared to how they played
07:04 out last season. And I think the encouraging thing for Ten Hag is, you know, we're talking
07:07 now, all right, last week of July, he's got his whole squad together, bar a couple of
07:13 transfers here and there. He can really start to formulate a plan here. He can really start
07:16 pulling things together. Whereas last summer, it was so chaotic in his first summer as manager.
07:21 The transfers, well, it's not been perfect this season. I think that this summer has
07:25 been a lot more, he's seen a lot more on the ball. He seems to have a lot more of a plan
07:28 of exactly what's going on. So yeah, I think by and large, there's actually some really
07:32 early signs of encouragement. But again, to repeat, it's only pre-season. Let's not go
07:37 too crazy on him.
07:40 Michael, just on the trending man at the moment, Kylian Mbappe, obviously, you know, there's
07:45 a huge transfer saga. His end goal is probably going to be Real Madrid in the next coming
07:49 year or so. But in terms of United, is there sort of any interest there? Can you see that
07:55 ever working if he was to join? How big would that be for both the player and the club?
08:01 Yeah, look, it's obviously a very quickly evolving situation. I won't claim to have
08:11 a huge amount of knowledge of what is happening from the Mbappe camp, but you can piece together
08:15 enough of it from reports elsewhere. And look, it certainly seems like there's plenty of
08:20 interest in him, understandably so. He is one of the world's, if not the best player
08:25 in the world, one of the best players in the world. I think from a United perspective,
08:29 look, I mean, I think the first thing to say is they are desperate for a new number nine.
08:33 I think if they got offered Mbappe and they could make it happen, they would, of course,
08:37 be interested in that. You know, why wouldn't they? Why wouldn't any club? Although I do
08:41 think there's a little bit of baggage that comes with Mbappe. I mean, all the talk seems
08:45 to be that he wants to be a Real Madrid player this time in 12 months. So, I mean, is there
08:50 any possibility that he goes on loan to Manchester United for 12 months? I don't know. I certainly
08:55 saw a few reports discussing that PSG would be open to a loan. I think that seems like
09:01 the most likely way United could do something. You know, this talk of 250 odd million or
09:06 whatever it was, the offer from Saudi Arabia, United aren't going to be able to come anywhere
09:11 near that. I mean, they are at the moment kind of on and on about whether to pay 67,
09:17 60 or 70 million for Rasmus Hoyland. They're just not going to be able to afford Mbappe
09:22 plus wages as well. So, I think personally, a long-term expense of transfer seems very
09:27 unlikely. I think the only way it could happen is if there's some form of short-term loan.
09:33 And yeah, but if I'm totally honest, I think it looks very unlikely at this stage.
09:38 Michael, just moving on to Manchester City, what's the sort of latest on the transfer
09:42 front? I know they were moving in on Garvey Dole and we spoke last time. Is there any
09:46 sort of update there or what can you sort of tell us?
09:49 Yeah, well, it was an interesting one last week where there were reports basically that
09:55 it was really moving on, that a fee had been agreed, that I think that a medical had taken
10:00 place and that isn't the case. That wasn't the case. I mean, that has been all but publicly
10:07 confirmed by both clubs now at this stage, but that didn't happen. So, I mean, I think
10:12 there's certainly interest from City. I think that there seems a... I think that they feel
10:19 that Leipzig's asking price is a bit steep at the moment and I suspect at the moment,
10:24 reading between the lines a little bit, that it's a player that they're interested in and
10:27 would like, but right now it's not a player they absolutely need. They've still got Aymeric
10:33 Laporte, they've still got Kyle Walker, they've still got Jack Pinchello, they've got enough
10:37 defenders at the moment, they don't need to do that. I think that if Walker and Laporte
10:41 were to go, that might suddenly change a little bit, but we'll see in that regard. But I don't
10:46 really think... I don't think we'll see a massive amount of movement in that in, let's
10:50 say, the next week or so, but we'll see. But in terms of transfers and income, that is
10:54 really the big one at the moment. They are the champions of Europe. They don't need a
11:00 huge amount new in... I think it would be very much a case of just replacing anyone
11:06 who goes out. And I think as well that from... OK, it's only one pre-season friendly. I certainly
11:10 don't want to make too many conclusions, but I think there'll be encouraging signs and
11:15 a bit of encouragement that how well the young players have done in pre-season and whether
11:19 a few of them, particularly James McAtee, Oscar Bob, whether they can step up and play
11:23 a role in the first team squad. So yeah, that's it in terms of incomes at the moment. Obviously
11:29 worth mentioning that if there's players who go out that they will need replaced. I think
11:32 Riyad Mahrez is the big one. A fee has been agreed for him to leave the club. I think
11:38 it's worth up to £70 million. I think he is now talking to the club. And yeah, it's
11:42 gone actually quite quiet that one really, to be honest. In terms of where we are with
11:45 the latest on that, obviously, Mahrez is quite a low profile type player. He doesn't really
11:51 draw a huge amount of spotlight away from football as well. So yeah, he's quite a profile.
11:58 We'll see in that one. But I think he'll leave. I think that will happen. I think he'll move
12:02 on. So I'll see about that one. I mean, I mentioned Walker, Laporte, plenty of interest
12:06 there. Cancelo as well. I certainly don't think all three of them will be at City come
12:10 the end of the transfer window. I mean Pep Guardiola, just before I came on this video,
12:14 he had his press conference. He said something like they would fight for Walker or something
12:17 like that. I can't remember the exact words he used, but again, interesting one. And then
12:22 another player who's been linked away, Calvin Phillips. I certainly don't think that's going
12:25 to happen. I think he'll be a Manchester City player come the start of the season. And then
12:29 just to mention, in the last week or so, we have had movement. One player leaving, James
12:33 Trafford, who's departed the club, joining Burnley. Quite a sizable feat actually as
12:37 well for a player who's never played in the Premier League. But certainly quite a lot
12:41 of encouragement from Burnley that he can go on to be a potential England number one
12:46 in the years to come. And then just the final one for me is to mention that there is obviously
12:50 West Ham are really interested in Carlos Bortes, a youth player at Manchester City. Really
12:56 good, really impressive player. Played really well on the youth team last year. I think
13:00 I saw a £14 million bid being lodged. We'll just have to see in that one, but I wouldn't
13:05 be surprised if that one happens. City have got a really good system in place about selling
13:10 on youth players, buyback clauses, sell-on clauses, all these types of things. We saw
13:15 that a lot last season. I think we saw the likes of La Vida, Dozie moving to Southampton.
13:20 So yeah, I suspect we'll see a lot more of that this summer. But by and large, relatively
13:23 quiet from City. I suppose it's not a surprise, as I say, the treble winners don't need to
13:28 do a huge amount of work really.