Man Utd Transfer News: ten Hag TARGETS Bayern star, Romano reveals Hojlund DELAY, Amrabat FAKE NEWS

Graham Shaw

• Updated: 2 Aug 2023 23:59 CDT
• 9 min read

Man Utd remain interested in Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka, according to German transfer expert Floran Plettenberg.

United are expected to step up their chase for Fiorentina's Moroccan star Sofyan Amrabat in the coming days. But Sky Deutschland reporter Plettenberg says DO NOT sleep on the possibility that things could warm up with Goretzka.

The 28-year-old German international has all the attributes ten Hag is looking for, and Plettenberg says United retain a long-term interest in him.

MORE: Premier League summer transfers: ALL the done deals

The chance of something happening now is heightened by the fact Goretzka will struggle for game time under coach Thomas Tuchel this season.

Plettenberg says West Ham are also interested in Goretzka - and that he would be their dream signing.

ManUtd never lost their focus on Leon #Goretzka! Understand the 28 y/o is still on the list of the club. #MUFC

➡️ Goretzka wanted to stay 100 % - but the last ten days have clearly shown that he won’t be a starter under Tuchel for now. Tuchel is planning with Kimmich/Laimer and… pic.twitter.com/KeJh7GdYR0

— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) August 2, 2023

Hojlund DELAY as Romano reveals KEY Man Utd date

Man Utd are aiming to unveil their new £64m striker Rasmus Hojlund this weekend according to Fabrizio Romano.

This appears to be something of a delay after many reports had suggested the huge transfer would be completed on Wednesday.

The 20-year-old Dane is set to join the Premier League giants from Atalanta with a fee and personal terms agreed.

Erik ten Hag finally got his man earlier this week and Hojlund travelled to England on Tuesday to get the formalities under way by undergoing a medical.

Now the club are working on the final contractual formalities and a visa before they hope to unveil their new strike sensation over the weekend.

Romano RUBBISHES Amrabat FAKE NEWS in Man Utd BOOST

Fabrizio Romano has rubbished reports that Sofyan Amrabat is thinking about staying at Fiorentina.

With the signing of Rasmus Hojlund completed Man Utd are moving on to the Moroccan in hopes of strengthening their midfield. Amarabat, who played under Erik ten Hag at Utrecht, is keen on making the switch to Old Trafford.

Even his club Fiorentina have resigned themselves to losing their star midfielder and they have made it clear that he has no future there. Despite United's interest, however, no official bid has thus far been made, though contacts over personal terms with Amrabat's camp have been initiated and they proceeded swiftly in a positive direction.

Indeed, Amrabat is so keen on the move that, according to Italian media, he rejected Liverpool's approaches last week as he only wants to sign for the Red Devils.

Therefore, it was somewhat surprising when news filtered through on Tuesday night that the 26-year-old had spoken to Italian media after Fiorentina's friendly against Grosseto and said that he could stay.

Despite initially sharing the quotes on his Twitter account, Fabrizio Romano has now set the record straight in a YouTube video. He said: "On Tuesday night, from ANSA - the biggest Italian agency reporting all the biggest stories in Italy - they quoted Sofyan Amrabat with a sentence after the friendly game with Fiorentina saying something like, 'I could stay at Fiorentina, I'm staying, there is a chance to stay.'"

"I was checking this, guys, after this official report and what I'm told is that this sentence never existed, so this is not true. I'm told from very, very reliable sources that this is not real."

Man Utd takeover process 'PAUSED' with 'disappointing' bids blamed

Bad news for Man Utd fans this Wednesday morning - the club's takeover process has been effectively 'paused' by the Glazers.

The Old Trafford faithful have spent the last nine months praying for a conclusion to the process and the end of the Glazer tenure in M16.

But it appears we should not anticipate any time soon the news that either English billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe or Qatar's Sheikh Jassim have been successful in acquiring the Premier League's biggest club.

According to inews, a source close to one of the bids said the development is 'curious'.

The source added: “We’ve not been given any guidance at all on what comes next. There haven’t been requests to modify the offers or come up with a new round of bids as there was earlier in the process, there’s just been no communication whatsoever of late."

The suspicion is that Avram and Joel Glazer feel the bids so far are disappointed with the bids so far, and feel that the upcoming new round of TV deals will add more value to the club.

Watch this space...

Man Utd eye SHOCK target as replacement for Harry Maguire

Everton starlet Jarrad Branthwaite has emerged as a surprise transfer target for Manchester United.

Erik ten Hag’s side could do with reducing the average age of their back line, and Branthwaite is one of two young defenders being linked with a move to Old Trafford – along with Nice’s Jean-Clair Todibo.

At 21 and 23 respectively, Branthwaite and Todibo are considerably younger than the likes of Raphael Varane and Harry Maguire – the latter of whom was the subject of a rejected £20m bid from West Ham last week.

According to the Mirror, any deals for Branthwaite and Todibo would depend on Maguire leaving United before the end of the transfer window.

The England international – who is still the most expensive defender of all time – has endured a torrid last couple of seasons at Old Trafford – and was recently replaced by Bruno Fernandes as club captain.

West Ham are said to be readying a second offer for the 30-year-old, who has two years left to run on his contract.

SHOCK van de Beek price tag revealed as Man Utd start talks

Man Utd are willing to sell Donny van de Beek this summer, but according to reports, they are not ready to let the Netherlands international star depart at any cost.

Van de Beek arrived in 2020 from Ajax but has struggled with injuries and finds himself on the periphery of manager Erik ten Hag’s thinking – a surprising position for the 26-year-old to find himself given he was expected to be one of the big winners when the former boss of the Eredivisie side arrived at Old Trafford to hook up with one of his former protegees.

And he is likely to drop further out of the thinking with United closing in on a deal for Fiorentina’s Sofyan Amrabat.

Despite van de Beek’s falling star, Man Utd have put a €29 million (£25m) transfer fee on his head – well above the player’s €13m Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) - according to the Daily Mail.

Fabrizio Romano revealed on Tuesday that Real Sociedad have approached the Red Devils over a deal, with the clubs now discussing the formula and terms of the transfer.

Ten Hag spending tops £400m and it MIGHT NOT be over

The arrival of Rasmus Hojlund at Old Trafford will take Erik ten Hag's spending to £406m since his arrival at the club. And there could yet be more to come this summer.

According to the Manchester Evening News, more new recruits could be on their way soon - notably Fiorentina midfielder Sofyan Amrabat.

Any move for the Moroccan international star though does depend on players leaving first. Notably Fred or Scott McTominay.

Fred is reportedly close to joining Turkish giants Galatasaray while West Ham are confirmed admirers of McTominay.

Other players potentially on the way out before the transfer window closes are goalkeeper Dean Henderson and the aforementioned Harry Maguire.

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