Man Utd eyeing move to sign 23 y/o star called the “Usain Bolt of football”

Manchester United are reportedly interested in making a move for a world-renowned Champions League player described as the “Usain Bolt of football”.

It’s all go at Old Trafford currently, with Erik ten Hag’s future as manager once again a talking point, following a disappointing start to the new Premier League season.

While the Dutchman doesn’t yet appear to be in huge danger of losing his job, more poor results in the coming weeks will likely change the situation, and the likes of Simone Inzaghi and Max Allegri have reportedly been eyed up as successors at United.

In terms of potential new signings in one of the upcoming transfer windows, the Red Devils have been linked with a stunning move for Bayern Munich superstar Jamal Musiala, who is one of world football’s leading young talents currently. Manchester City are reportedly the front-runners to acquire his signature, however, with Real Madrid, Liverpool and Chelsea also interested.

United are also thought to be eyeing up Fulham left-back Antonee Robinson, with Luke Shaw’s injury problems making it increasingly clear that he doesn’t represent the long-term solution in his position.

Man Utd eyeing move for world-renowned speedster

According to Give Me Sport, Manchester United are considering making a move for Bayern Munich left-back Alphonso Davies in the near future.

The report says that he is a name being “considered” along with Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez, but it does also stress that Real Madrid are in pole position to snap up the Canadian on a free transfer at the end of this season.

Davies could be an incredible long-term replacement for Shaw if United were able to entice him to Old Trafford, with the 23-year-old arguably the best player in Europe in his position currently.

The Bayern ace is known predominantly for his remarkable speed, which helps him be such an attacking outlet for the Bundesliga giants, and Rio Ferdinand said of him back in 2020: “He is the Usain Bolt of football. His trajectory has been phenomenal. He is now comfortably one of the best left backs in the game. What I love is his desire at both ends of the field. He utilises his pace to devastating effect.”

There was a time when if United chased a world-class player, they had every chance of getting him, given their brilliance under Sir Alex Ferguson. The likes of Ferdinand, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Ruud van Nistelrooy wanted to join the Red Devils because they were the best around, but their current status under Ten Hag makes it harder to snap up the best talent.

11 fastest players in the Champions League in 2023/24

Club

Speed (km/h)

1. Nuno Mendes

PSG

37.2

2. Karim Adeyemi

Borussia Dortmund

36.3

3. Kylian Mbappe

PSG

36.1

4. Erling Haaland

Man City

36

=5. Lois Openda

RB Leipzig

35.7

=5. Marcus Rashford

Man Utd

35.7

=7. Achraf Hakimi

PSG

35.6

=7. Daizen Maeda

Celtic

35.6

=9. Alphonso Davies

Bayern Munich

35.5

=9. Mohamed Simakan

RB Leipzig

35.5

=9. Sandro Tonali

Newcastle

35.5

For that reason, the threat of Madrid is a major issue for United, with the Canada international no doubt eyeing a link-up with the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham, but if Sir Jim Ratcliffe managed to get him on a possible free deal, it would be an almighty coup.

Premier League

‘Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t meet his standards’ – Erik ten Hag ‘was right to take on’ CR7 at Man Utd, claims ex-assistant Steve McClaren

C. RonaldoManchester UnitedE. ten HagPremier LeagueAl Nassr FCSaudi Pro League

Erik ten Hag has been told that he “was right to take on” Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United as the forward “didn’t meet his standards”.

Ronaldo left Man United in November 2022

Had a bitter fallout with Ten Hag

Ronaldo’s second coming at Old Trafford had a bitter end as his contract was ripped up in November 2022 following an explosive interview with Piers Morgan, in which he criticised Ten Hag and the club hierarchy. The decision to part ways with one of football’s greatest players was met with mixed reactions, but Ten Hag’s unwavering commitment to his philosophy saw him remain firm throughout the saga.

WHAT STEVE MCCLAREN SAID

Ten Hag has now received backing from his former assistant McClaren, who worked as the Dutchman’s assistant in his first two seasons at the helm.

“I couldn’t fault his approach,” McClaren stated in an interview with The Telegraph. “He really handled it very well. I said at the time he was the right man to go in. That was shown in the way he handled [the departure of Cristiano] Ronaldo. He [Ten Hag] came in with set standards. Set rules. Set way of playing. And if you didn’t run, you didn’t play. He was rigid on that. Which the Dutch are. He knew that was what was needed. There could be no flexibility, no way the players could manoeuvre [out of that responsibility].

“This is what you had to do – or you didn’t play. And he took on Ronaldo, and quite rightly. Other managers have tried to adapt. Erik didn’t feel it was necessary to do that. [Ralf] Rangnick had tried and it hadn’t quite worked out and Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] the same. So he [Ten Hag] stuck to his guns and developed other players.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE

McClaren also pointed to an incident involving Marcus Rashford, where the England forward was benched for being late to a meeting on a matchday. Despite the minor infraction, Ten Hag upheld his standards, sending a clear message to the squad.

“On instances like lateness for meetings [that] was well documented, the Wolves one, [when Marcus Rashford] was a minute or two late for a meeting on game day,” he began.

“He [Ten Hag] put him on the bench. Granted he put him [Rashford] on and he scored the winner. Things like that were important. Discipline was important. Standards were important. Behaviour was important. Everybody knows that about United. That’s what he [Ten Hag] brought. Some people didn’t like that – that’s normal – but he never swayed from it. That’s his strength.”

WHAT NEXT FOR CRISTIANO RONALDO & MANCHESTER UNITED?

Since leaving United, Ronaldo has continued his illustrious career, now playing for Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr. The Portuguese superstar has shown no signs of slowing down and has started the 2024-25 campaign in remarkable form, scoring five goals in his first six appearances for the Saudi club. Meanwhile, United will look to get back to winning ways against Twente in the Europa League after they were held to a stalemate at Selhurst Park by Crystal Palace.

Man Utd aiming to make Old Trafford the new home of boxing as plans for new 100,000-capacity stadium take shape

Manchester UnitedPremier League

Manchester United plan to make Old Trafford the new home of boxing if they go ahead with plans to build a new 100,000-capacity stadium.

WHAT HAPPENED?

The Red Devils are currently considering knocking down Old Trafford to build a new 100,000 seater stadium which has already been dubbed the ‘Wembley of the North.’ According to the Daily Mail, part of those plans involve hosting boxing “mega fights.” United want to rival Wembley as a venue and believe they could accommodate a record boxing crowd of 110,000, making the proposed new stadium the future home of the combat sport.

United have already claimed that a new stadium could provide a huge boost to the UK economy. A crowd of 96,000 spectators packed into Wembley recently to watch Daniel Dubois knock out Anthony Joshua, but United’s plans would make Old Trafford an even bigger venue. The Red Devils are set to partner with a renowned international architecture firm as they look to firm up plans to regenerate the area around Old Trafford.

DID YOU KNOW?

It’s expected that if Manchester United do build a new stadium, it would cost around £2 billion and take six years to complete.

WHAT NEXT FOR MAN UTD

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is expected to decide on the club’s stadium plans before the end of the year. In the meantime, Manchester United return to action at Old Trafford on Wednesday against FC Twente in the Europa League.