MANCHESTER UNITED are ready for a busy summer on and off the pitch as the Premier League looks to kick on with Project Restart.
But there are concerns that their transfer pursuit of Jadon Sancho is pushing Angel Gomes closer towards Chelsea.
Follow all the latest updates and transfer news below…
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GOM WITH THE WIND
Angel Gomes reportedly feels he is being pushed further towards the exit door by Man Utd's pursuit of Jadon Sancho.
The winger is a target for Chelsea and stalling over a new £30,000-a-week new deal after being “discouraged” by United's links with the Dortmund and England star.
He is also said to be disappointed to have received just 19 minutes of Premier League action this season while Mason Greenwood has blossomed into a regular starter.
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KITTY BRAT
As life in lockdown reaches its two-month mark, many people are feeling the boredom of being stuck at home.
And the Ronaldo household appears to be no different, with girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez taking to dressing their bald little cat up as a baby just to stay entertained.
The 26-year-old, alongside Cristiano and the kids, has recently returned to Turin after nearly two months holed up on her boyfriend's home island of Madeira.
And while the Juventus No7 is hard at work getting ready for the eventual proposed return of Serie A, Georgina has been finding novel ways of numbing the monotony of life in lockdown.
She posted a picture on Instagram of the little tabby wearing what appeared to be a baby's outfit, topped off with a blue hat.
Two-year-old son Mateo is seen giving the pet a little kiss, while also clutching a doll.
The cat doesn't look particularly impressed, however, seeming to wear a scowl at the whole experience.
That didn't stop Georgina posting the snap, accompanied by the caption “Baby Girl” and a heart emoji.
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WELL IN
Manchester United starlet Charlie Wellens has signed his first professional contract with the club.
The ace, 17, has penned a two-year deal.
Wellens's father, Richie, came through the United academy and made one appearance for the first-team in 1999.
He is now manager of Swindon Town and he has tweeted his pride at his son's commitment to the club.
Wellens wrote: “Twenty-three years ago I signed my first professional contract at the biggest club in the world.
“To say I’m proud to see Charlie sign his is an understatement. Well done mate it’s only the start but you deserve it.”
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RED REFUND
Manchester United were given a full refund for Dong Fangzhuo after the Chinese striker flopped at Old Trafford.
United infamously signed Fangzhuo from Chinese club Dalian Shide in 2004 for an initial fee of £500,000, which could have risen to £3.5million, depending on appearances.
But the forward only played three matches and failed to score a goal before his contract was terminated four years after moving to England.
However, a clause inserted into the deal meant Dalian Shide agreed to refund United if they were not satisfied two years after the striker completed the move to Old Trafford.
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RINGS A BELL
United are keen on Jude Bellingham's younger brother as well as the Birmingham starlet himself.
The Red Devils are optimistic they can win over the Blues' teenage prodigy ahead of the new season.
According to 90min, Solskjaer is also looking at bringing in his younger brother Jobe, too.
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COLLARED
Leaked images of (what is believed to be) United's new home shirt have been posted online.
The Adidas kit, with a fuzz of yellow and black dashes in the background, have been posted on social media.
Imagine Jadon Sancho, Jack Grealish and Jude Bellingham lining up in this.
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SMASH 'N RAB
Arsenal are reportedly looking to snare Adrien Rabiot away from Juventus at the end of the season with Mikel Arteta a huge fan of the midfielder.
The 25-year-old – who joined the Old Lady last summer after running his contract down at Paris Saint-Germain – looks set to leave the Serie A side after just 24 games.
Manchester United are also believed to be interested in luring the Frenchman to the Premier League, with the player keen to play in England.
And such is his desire to leave Juventus, Rabiot is said to have went on strike in France and is refusing to return to Turin after being left unhappy over his £7million pay-cut.
According to Italian news outlet Calciomercato, the Gunners are prepared to offer him an escape route out of Juventus.
They state that the North London giants failed in an attempt to bring the five-time Ligue 1 winner to the Emirates in loan in January after a move was blocked.
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RE-PAUL-SED
Paul Scholes is “sick to death” of being compared to Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.
The Manchester United legend was infamously difficult to squeeze into the England team alongside the midfield pair and is bored of having the conversation in retirement.
Speaking on the BBC's Savage Social podcast, Scholes was asked who was the best of the trio.
And in disgruntled fashion, the 45-year-old replied: “Stevie G and Frank, of course.
“I’m sick to death of hearing about this to be honest. It doesn’t really matter.
“People can have their own opinions. Them two were amazing, amazing players. But very different players.”
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STIFF COMPETITION
Manchester United’s transfer chase for Jadon Sancho is reportedly pushing Angel Gomes out the exit door as he feels “discouraged” by the possible new signings.
The United starlet’s contract expires on July 1 and he is yet to put pen to paper on a new deal with the clock running out.
Old Trafford chiefs are itching to keep a hold of their academy graduate and have tried to tempt the youngster with hefty new terms to avoid him walking away for free.
The 19-year-old contract rebel has a £30,000-a-week offer on the table but the negotiations are said to have reached a deadlock.
It seems the midfielder is more concerned about game time than the dosh.
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PLAYING THE TOOL
Here are the stats on Carlos Tevez after he was accused of “downing tools” at Manchester United.
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RED RETURN
Manchester United’s trip to Tottenham is set to be the first Premier League game back with all ten matches on TV that weekend.
And the Red Devils trip to Spurs' new ground will feature at least three huge stars with Marcus Rashford, Paul Pogba and Harry Kane all set to be fit.
Top-flight football in England is pencilled in to restart on Friday June 12 following the coronavirus lockdown.
However, that could be pushed back to Friday June 19 to allay players' fears about rushing back too soon.
Here is how we think both sides could line up for the first game back.
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'BETTER OFF WITHOUT HIM'
SunSport's Neil Custis reckons the Red Devils are better off without Angel Gomes if he wants to hold out for a bigger contract.
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KNOW IT ALL
Jurgen Klopp has joked that Gary Neville's opinions stretch to “absolutely everything”.
The Champions League-winning Liverpool coach said: “I didn’t learn a lot during lockdown except Gary Neville has an opinion about absolutely everything! It’s incredible!
“So no, I didn’t learn a lot but I have known myself for 52 years.
“I know I can deal with difficult situations before and this is a difficult situation not only for me and my family but for everybody on this planet.
“I am quite proud of how we as a society are dealing with it.
“We as human beings are not perfect so we make mistakes but I think we have understood a lot more of how we are all connected to each other. That is something good.”
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EASY RVPEASY
Robin van Persie revealed he left Arsenal for Manchester United as he wanted to play for a team that “knew how to win”.
The striker only lifted the FA Cup during his eight-year spell with the Gunners from 2004 until 2012.
He told Premier League productions: “Ferguson made the difference for me in my choice to choose Manchester United.
“Because of the way he manages, the stories I heard, because of the players that were there.
“I really wanted to win and when I look at that team of [Ryan] Giggs, [Michael] Carrick, [Paul] Scholes, [Nemanja] Vidic, [Rio] Ferdinand they were all winners, they won it all.
“I was in that period of my life where I felt like a winner but I wasn't so I had to win.”
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BABY STEPS
Eric Bailly has shared a video of himself performing a treadmill workout during lockdown.
The Ivorian defender, 26, has been out of action for much of his time at Old Trafford with a litany of injuries, mostly on his knee joints.
And this season has been ruined after he had surgery on another troublesome knee problem, but he recovered to play in the huge wins over Chelsea and Manchester City.
Bailly showed he is not only running on the treadmill, but performing various side-step routines as well as running forward.
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KIA HITS BACK
Gary Neville and Carlos Tevez's agent Kia Joorabchian rowed live on TV as their furious spat over the Argentine's behaviour at Manchester United hit a new high.
Neville had sensationally claimed Tevez “downed tools” during his time at Man Utd – “messing around” in his final season, faking injuries and turning up late to training.
Tevez's agent claimed: “I think Neville was wrong. I often let things go…
“But when you go after somebody and you make a lot of wrong and incorrect statements, letting it go will not do a benefit to the public listening to fake information.
“Gary mentioned about Carlos downing tools in his second year and about people talking in his ear. To that I have three comments…
“In terms of the people he claimed were talking in his ear – who and what was said?
“Unless you were hacking him or taping him he couldn’t have known what they were saying.”
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RABBI IN HEADLIGHTS
Rabbi Matondo switched to Schalke to focus on getting first-team football, as opposed to waiting in the wings at Manchester City.
United are reportedly looking at the Welsh winger as an alternative to Jadon Sancho.
He told SunSport last year: “It was an offer I couldn’t turn down.
“I trained with the first team and it was a good experience training with Pep and the other players. They are top players.
“If I had stayed there, then I would have tried my best to break through.
“But I had other options and I thought it was the best time for me and my footballing ability to progress somewhere else.”
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BON ANNIVERSAIRE
Happy 39th birthday to this man.
How many titles did you win Patrice?
HE LOVES THIS GAME!
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MOVIE NIGHT
Jamie Carragher started munching on a bag of popcorn as Gary Neville explained to Kia Joorabchian why he thought Carlos Tevez had downed tools at Manchester United.
The former United right-back was explaining to the agent why he thought the Argentina international's attitude was wrong during the second of his two seasons at Old Trafford.
But former Liverpool star Carragher, eager see what would unfold, brought in a comedy bag of popcorn to melodramatically set the tone.
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'TAR-A
Lautaro Martinez is set to snub Manchester United, City and Paris Saint-Germain – as he only has eyes for Barcelona, according to reports in Spain.
Martinez, 22, has been tipped with a move to Barca all season – with Inter holding out for his full transfer release fee.
Between July 1 and 15, the Argentine's clause will be at its lowest, but still worth a staggering £97m.
Despite that, Barcelona are confident in signing Martinez, provided they can offload some deadwood in the squad – including Chelsea target Philippe Coutinho – to raise funds.
Earlier reports had claimed Barcelona could propose a players-plus-cash deal for Martinez, with Carles Alena and Nelson Semedo heading to the San Siro.
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VAN THE MAN
Paul Scholes has named the best striker he played with over his 20-year Manchester United career.
The midfield maestro played behind an array of top forwards like Eric Cantona, Wayne Rooney, Dwight Yorke, Carlos Tevez, Cristiano Ronaldo, Andy Cole and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
But Scholes told the BBC:”That's an easy one.
“I don't want to disrespect any of the other forwards – because I've played with some amazing players, especially at United.
“Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke, Ole Gunnar [Solskjaer] at the time but I always thought I had the best connection with Ruud van Nistelrooy.”
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MORNING, UNITED FANS
Rabbi Matondo is a bargain target for United – amid reports they have agreed to pay Lyon £61.8million for Moussa Dembele but might bault at Jadon Sancho's £100m price-tag.
Schalke winger Rabbi Matondo, 19, is said to be regarded as a safe bet by Old Trafford chiefs in the same way his Wales team-mate Daniel James was before his £15m move from Swansea to United last summer.
Meanwhile, United are still being persistently linked with Swans' centre-back Joe Rodon, 22.
But ex-Celtic and Fulham frontman Moussa Dembele, 23, who has yet to win a full cap for France, could well be first in at Old Trafford.
Lyon need to make cutbacks after coronavirus forced Ligue 1 to finish early, meaning they dropped to seventh on points per game and so missed out on lucrative qualification for Europe.
But Bayen forward Robert Lewandowski has urged United and Real Madrid target Erling Haaland to stay at Borussia Dortmund.
Lewandowski said: “He has huge potential, but still has time. ‘If he works hard, he can become a better player and eventually reach the top level.
“Therefore, it might be good for him if he would stay in the Bundesliga longer before taking the next step.”
Gareth Bale could be offloaded on a free by cost-cutting Real Madrid over the summer.
And major United target James Maddison has admitted his priority is to win trophies – surely a boost for the Leicester star's suitors.
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BRAND NEW START
United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer feels his exciting youngsters might actually benefit physically from the coronavirus lockdown.
He told Sky:“It's going to be exciting now with the young players, Brandon (Williams) and Mason (Greenwood).
“Maybe the break will do them good, their bodies might fill out, it's a new training environment for them.”
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'I'D RATHER GO BROKE'
Troy Deeney has blasted the plans for Project Restart.
Watford’s outspoken skipper has been a key figure in talks among Premier League stars.
And he insists he will not put a return to action before his family’s health — even if it means going broke.
He cannot see how:
Football can return in June if people cannot get haircuts before July.
Penalty areas will be packed while the rest of the nation is social distancing.
Players can be tested regularly for Covid-19 when NHS staff and key workers are short of tests.
Deeney was one of the senior Prem players briefed by medical experts on Covid-19 risks during a conference call on Wednesday.
He said: “I am not even talking about football at the moment — I am talking about my family’s health and that is it.
“What are they going to do, take money off me? I’ve been broke before so it doesn’t bother me.”
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MADD TROPHY HUNTER
United and Chelsea target James Maddison is keen for the Premier League to resume and has told Leicester his priority is to win silverware.
The Foxes' once-capped England midfielder, 23, told Arsenal legend Thierry Henry on a Puma Football Instagram Live chat: “It has only really come in the last year or two, but my biggest goal now is to win trophies.
“In my house I have a trophy cabinet and there are… individual awards but no trophies.
“We have Chelsea in the FA Cup quarter finals and hopefully we get to play that.
“My mouth gets wet when I walk around the Leicester training ground and the stadium and see the pictures of them winning the league and here the players talk about it.”
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