It’s set to be a pretty exciting season for Manchester United on the back of the arrivals of Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane.
The Old Trafford side finished second in the Premier League last season but ended their campaign 12 points behind league champions and neighbouring rivals Manchester City. Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will hope to close the gap on City but, with Chelsea set to fix their striker problem with the signing of Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan, it’s set to be an open race to the Premier League title. The Red Devils will kick off the term against Leeds United this Saturday and fans will be expecting a convincing win given the club’s summer acquisitions.
Sancho will be available for selection on the weekend while Varane could also play a part. The France defender got to Carrington for his medical on Tuesday this week and should have officially signed his contract on Wednesday. It’s also reported that Varane will wear the No.4 jersey for his new club.
United goalkeeper David De Gea has given his take on the club’s new signings, pointing out that it’s always great when novel faces are brought in.
“It’s always a pleasure to welcome new faces and quality players to add to the group, it’s always a positive,” the stopper told the club’s official website. “We still have the odd player to join up with the group, but [I’m] delighted with the new signings.”
De Gea will be especially close to another new signing in Tom Heaton. The keeper returned to his boyhood club on a free transfer earlier in the summer and has been bonding with his Spanish teammate following the latter’s return for pre-season training in Scotland.
“[I’m especially excited to welcome] Tom, the keeper, who I’m with a lot of more of the time,” De Gea offered. “He’s a great bloke and a top keeper. He’s really going to bring a lot to the group and let’s hope it’s the same with the rest of the signings too.
According to Manchester Evening News, United have suffered a setback in their pursuit of Eduardo Camavinga. The 18-year-old Rennes midfielder has reportedly told his representatives he’s intent on joining Paris Saint-Germain though it’s understood that they would prefer him to fashion a move to United.
The player is heading into the final year of his contract with Rennes and has been one of the players featuring pretty regularly in Manchester United transfer news. The aforementioned outlet
claims to have been told the Red Devils are keen on signing a midfield player before the transfer window closes.
Meanwhile, a new survey has backed Solskjaer to lead the club to a trophy this season. 38 per cent of respondents tipped the club to win silverware while 31 per cent do not expect them to win anything. United are 8/1 to win the Premier League title in 2021/22, with City the outright favourites at 4/6 while Chelsea and Liverpool are 5/1. Fans keen on placing bets could take advantage of all of the best sportsbooks deposit bonus around.
Former United forward Dimitar Berbatov has backed the club to challenge for trophies as well.
“Manchester United are in a strong position to challenge for the title, especially after the signings they’ve made this summer,” he wrote in his blog for Betfair.
“I am very happy that they are bringing in Varane from Real Madrid. He is a World Cup and Champions League winner, he has a winning mentality and he has played with the best over the years.
The Mail is also reporting French midfielder Paul Pogba will leave United after his contract expires next year. The outlet claims the player’s hopes of moving to PSG were nearly scuppered by the signing of Lionel Messi. While he’s set to spend the upcoming term with United, he will not extend his deal with the club and will leave on a free transfer next June.
Pogba’s agent, Mino Raiola, is understood to have held talks with PSG, with the club readying a bid of £40 million. However, they could not pass up the opportunity to sign Messi after it was announced that he would be leaving Barcelona and it would have been difficult to secure both deals.
Messi will earn a whopping £35 million a year per his PSG contract. Pogba is also looking to earn more than the £290,000-a-week he’s currently on at Old Trafford. He has rebuffed a new contract offer from the Red Devils and is likely to leave for nothing next year. The World Cup winner could sign a pre-contract agreement with a non-English club in January.
United could also sell him while the transfer window remains open or when it opens back up in January. As of this week, it was revealed that the player is unlikely to be a key player under Solskjaer this season, although he’s open to remaining with the club for one more year.
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