Manchester United

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Sir Alex Ferguson has paid tribute to Newcastle and England legend Kevin Keegan, who passed away on Monday at the age of 75.

The Scottish manager and Keegan shared one of the most famous rivalries in Premier League history as Manchester United and Newcastle United battled for the title in 1996.

Speaking to Track Radio, Ferguson said: "I had the utmost respect for him. We had many duels when he was manager of Newcastle, but I have to say the job he did at Newcastle was fantastic.

"He re-energised that club and he brought that enthusiasm and fanaticism that great supporters can give. That's the job he did.

"And he also brought three great players to the club - [David] Ginola, [Faustino] Asprilla, Philippe Albert - and added a bit of class to the team, and I must say the challenges we had with Newcastle at that time at United were huge."

Keegan was well known for his passion for the game and one of his most memorable moments in charge at St James' Park came during a Sky Sports interview in the middle of a tense title race against Ferguson's United side. In the now-famous Premier League moment, the England great called out his rivals' mind games as the title race came to a head.

However, Ferguson said the two bumped into each other at Wentworth Golf Club weeks after his side beat the Magpies to the title and the rivalry was quickly forgotten as the pair spent the night around the piano.

"The great thing about him, he held no grudges," Ferguson said. "That was a fantastic quality he had and we had a great night.

"All aside whatever happened in previous weeks, that was soon forgotten. I really respected him for that."

With the 2026 World Cup done and dusted, the return of club football is back on everyone's minds.

Pre-season preparations are under way and we want you to have a think about Manchester United's squad.

Tell us one player you would like to move on this summer and one realistic target you want the Red Devils to bring in before the transfer window shuts.

Get in touch with your picks here

Simon Stone
Manchester United reporter

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Manchester United boss Michael Carrick was watching academy training sessions at Carrington the week before the senior players returned for pre-season training.

There has been a renewed commitment to youth development at United on and off the pitch in recent months.

Off it, they are reinforcing their talent pool by committing £8m to bring in promising England youth international Tynan Thompson from Tottenham.

On it, Carrick, whose son Jacey has been confirmed as a first-year scholar this season, has been spending time assessing the development of players at under-21 and under-18 level.

In Helsinki on Saturday, he fielded an entirely academy-produced side in the second half of the pre-season game against Wrexham and roughly the same group of players will be involved against Rosenborg in Trondheim on Friday.

"It's really important," said Jacob Devaney, who skippered United's Under-21s last season before spending the second half of the campaign on loan at Scottish Premiership outfit St Mirren.

"We speak about it as a group. It's great to have Michael there at the games, and even when we were in training a week before the first team, I think he was out at every session with the staff.

"It's nice that he has knowledge of what you're doing and he's obviously not afraid to throw the youth in. He's shown that last year.

"It's positive to have someone like him in the building."

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BBC Radio Manchester's Gaz Drinkwater and Joe McGrath discuss transfers in the latest episode of The Devils' Advocate.

Gaz believes United manager, Michael Carrick, might have some hard decisions to make when it comes to midfield this season.

"I've got a lot of thoughts on our centre-midfield and some concerns," he said on the BBC Sounds podcast.

"In an ideal world, Youri Tielemans needs a more defensive-minded partner, which Andrey Santos is. As a centre-midfield pairing, it works quite well.

"But there's just no way United don't play Kobbie Mainoo. Michael Carrick loves him. If Mainoo plays he needs Santos, so a Tielemans and Mainoo partnership doesn't quite fit.

"So it makes me think we should go for another centre-midfielder who would be our marquee signing. Someone like Eduardo Camavinga. But I think that's it."

Listen to the podcast below or on BBC Sounds

Simon Stone
Manchester United reporter

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Marcus Rashford is contracted to Manchester United until 2028. His salary of £325,000 a week makes him the club's top earner at a time when minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is trying to stay on top of salary costs, which are, by some distance, the club's highest expenditure.

Barcelona had an option, in the loan deal they agreed for Rashford last season, to turn it into a permanent transfer for £26m.

As expected, that deadline passed in the middle of June without it being activated.

There was another clause in Rashford's contract that allowed other clubs - Liverpool and Manchester City excepted - to buy him for £40m, which expired earlier in July. As expected, no-one triggered that either.

Sources close to the player felt it was illogical to think a club would come in and offer more than Barcelona would have had to pay.

With England's World Cup campaign at an end, Rashford is now entitled to a three-week break.

Unless the timings are altered, or his situation changes, he will return to Manchester United just as they begin a six-day training camp in the Republic of Ireland, scheduled around an historic meeting with old rivals Leeds at Croke Park on 12 August.

Suggestions around Rashford have been that he is relaxed about the prospect of returning to training at United.

For a start, there is not the same confrontational relationship between the player and his coach.

Ruben Amorim fell out with the forward within weeks of his arrival from Sporting Lisbon. Amorim eventually exiled him, which triggered a loan move to Aston Villa.

Amorim's replacement, Michael Carrick, is a former team-mate of Rashford's. He has also been his coach and was, briefly, his manager, following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's dismissal in 2021. The pair are said to get on well.

Carrick's only public statement around Rashford, towards the end of last season, was conciliatory in nature, which is in keeping with his general personality.

For their part, United are sticking to their refusal to renegotiate a deal with Barcelona on reduced terms or consider a second loan to the Catalan giants.

The consistency of United's messaging is being articulated in a summer where they are keen to prove they will not be bullied into overpaying to get deals over the line.

Read more on where Rashford's future lies

Manchester United lead the chase for Roma and France midfielder Manu Kone, 25, but face competition for his signature from Arsenal. (L'Equipe - in French), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

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Thirty-four years ago a £13m transfer caused national outrage in Italy.

When AC Milan signed Gianluigi Lentini from Torino in 1992 for a then world record fee, newspapers called the deal "obscene", while the Vatican's official newspaper described it as "an offence against the dignity of work".

Today that fee would barely register among the Premier League's biggest transfers.

This summer alone Chelsea have agreed a club record £117m deal for Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers, Manchester City paid Nottingham Forest £116m for Elliot Anderson, and Tottenham spent a club record £100m on Sandro Tonali.

These are not the only major deals. Tottenham also agreed an £85m move for West Ham midfielder Mateus Fernandes, Barcelona paid £69m to sign Anthony Gordon from Newcastle United, and Manchester United spent £50m on Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos.

It is the first transfer window in Premier League history to produce three £100m-plus signings - and there are still weeks to go before deadline day on 1 September.

During the 2025 summer window English top-flight clubs spent a record £3bn.

So why are transfer fees continuing to climb? Why are clubs paying record sums for players already playing in England? And why are more clubs willing to sell some of their biggest stars?

Read more here on the big spending taking place in the Premier League

The World Cup and transfers are on the agenda in a fresh episode of The Devils' Advocate, from BBC Sounds.

Join Gaz and Joe as they round up the summer showpiece and look to the future at Old Trafford.

Listen below or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

Explore all Manchester United content on BBC Sounds

Opta have named their World Cup Team of the Tournament.

A host of familiar names feature, including Manchester United's Lisandro Martinez. Key names to depart both Arsenal and Chelsea this summer also make the list.

Opta explained the selections as follows:

Martinez - "Martínez led his country's backline in passes (460) and accurate passes (427) while he became the only Argentine defender on record to score and assist in a FIFA World Cup game (v Cabo Verde)."

Cucurella - "Cucurella led the way for full-backs for successful final third passes (142) and successful passes (382) and was second for touches in the opposition box (19)."

Rodri - "The Spanish midfielder registered the most accurate passes (756), most carries (164) and most line-breaking passes (122) in the competition while that haul of 756 successful passes is the most ever in an edition of the World Cup on record."

Trossard - "As well as scoring two and assisting two, no player created more chances from open play than Trossard (17) at the 2026 FIFA World Cup."

Haaland - "Haaland averaged a goal every 17.1 touches at the 2026 World Cup (120 touches, 7 goals), the second fewest on record (since 1966) for a player to score five or more at a single tournament after Oleg Salenko in 1994 (16.7 – 100 touches, 6 goals)."

Simon Stone
Manchester United reporter

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Manchester United have signed teenage winger Tynan Thompson from Tottenham in a deal that could be worth £8m.

The 18-year-old England youth international scored 13 goals and contributed six assists last season across Under-18 to Under-21 level.

The initial fee will be £4m with a further £4m in add-ons related to the first team and there is a 15% sell-on clause.

It is unclear which squad he will join yet and whether he will be part of United's squad in Norway for Friday's pre-season game against Rosenborg.

Simon Stone
Manchester United reporter

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The most concrete World Cup news for Manchester United was Manuel Ugarte's knee injury.

Ugarte is going to be out until 2027 after having surgery to repair cruciate ligament damage. Given the Uruguay midfielder was likely to be sold this summer, it has added an extra layer of complication around United's recruitment plans.

Then we have Kobbie Mainoo.

The 21-year-old shrugged off the disappointment at being continually overlooked by Ruben Amorim to deliver excellent performances over the second half of last season, which suggests he can bounce back from not playing for England at the World Cup.

However, Michael Carrick, who experienced the same thing under Fabio Capello in 2010, might need to put an arm around his shoulder.

Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez went off injured in the World Cup final with what looked like a muscle injury, and United will be hoping the damage is not serious when he is fully assessed.

Read more on the World Cup's impact on clubs

Simon Stone
Manchester United reporter

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Tom Heaton is backing Manchester United team-mate Senne Lammens to emerge as a stronger character from his World Cup disappointment.

Lammens had been back-up to Thibaut Courtois throughout the tournament until the veteran Belgium goalkeeper was injured 19 minutes from the end of the quarter-final against Spain.

The 24-year-old had barely touched the ball before he spilled Pau Cubarsi's shot late in the game, which allowed Arsenal's Mikel Merino to steer home and give Spain a 2-1 victory.

Lammens was distraught at the final whistle and Heaton has spoken to the youngster, who was outstanding at United last season after arriving as a relative unknown from Royal Antwerp in preference to Argentina's Emi Martinez, for £18.1m.

"Yes, I spoke to him," said Heaton after Manchester United's opening pre-season defeat by Wrexham in Helsinki.

"It was obviously a challenging moment for him, but that's the life of a goalkeeper.

"As soon as you put the gloves on and go between the sticks, you have to be ready to deal with that.

"He'll be stronger for it. I think his personality is fantastic for a goalkeeper, so no issues there. As I say, I honestly think it can help him in the long run."

Lammens is now on a three-week break before returning to pre-season training.

"I highly doubt Senne will be going into it with fear or worrying about what may happen," added Heaton.

"That can happen at any point. Literally every time you cross the foot over the earth. If that was your mindset, I'd be inclined to say it's more likely to happen.

"Goalkeeper is a position where if something goes wrong, it's going to end in a goal. Goals can change games and cause you to lose. You have to be realistic about that.

"It is tough, but Senne is very strong mentally. I saw that from him as a young goalkeeper coming into Manchester United and dealing with it unbelievably well."

Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick picked all his most experienced players to start in the friendly defeat to Wrexham and changed his entire team at half-time - and there is obviously lots that cannot be learned from a single 45-minute outing.

However, it was clear what Andrey Santos' task was.

Starting on the left of a two-man midfield, with Mason Mount on the right and Jack Fletcher slightly further forward, Santos was the player who always dropped back the furthest.

It didn't happen often, but Santos was not scared to take up a position akin to a quarterback in NFL as deepest player; if anything goes wrong there, you are in trouble.

In formation terms, it was the role Casemiro has vacated since his contract expired at the end of last season.

Santos is clearly more mobile than his fellow countryman. Whether he can read a game anywhere near as well is another question.

He is alert, though. At one point early in the contest, he slid in to intercept a pass going to a player he had been marking but had let run into the area without being pursued.

Largely, Santos was effective.

There were not too many moments of genuine excitement for a crowd of 20,069 at the Olympic Stadium.

But the former Vasco da Gama man provided one as he spotted danger building around the Manchester United box and sprinted across to address it. The firm block of Smith's attempted cross drew appreciative applause from the fans who were invested in the game and knew what they were watching, which is not always the case in pre-season.

There was evidence, both in the warm-ups and the match itself, that Santos can deliver accurate first-time passes in short spaces, which could allow him to both play alongside or instead of Kobbie Mainoo, who was by far United's best at doing that over the second half of last season.

European champions Spain broke the resistance of 10-man Argentina in extra-time to win their second ever World Cup in New Jersey.

Barcelona's Ferran Torres was the difference maker in what was an overall disappointing final that was littered with interruptions.

Spain created the best opportunities against the defending world champions, who mainly resorted to spoiling tactics and had Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez sent off just before the game went into extra time.

Torres was the hero for Spain when he collected substitute Nico Williams' header to beat Argentina and Aston Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez with a powerful shot from close range after 106 minutes.

Seven Premier League players will now return to their five respective clubs for the new 2026-27 season having won the biggest honour in world football.

Liverpool are prepared to join Manchester United in the race for Roma's 25-year-old France midfielder Manu Kone. (Football Insider), external

Celtic have received a boost in their quest to sign Radek Vitek, with the United goalkeeper saying he is ready to leave Old Trafford. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

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Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez will help Argentina's attempt for back-to-back World Cups against Spain - live on BBC One from 19:00 BST - while also bidding for his second title.

Martinez became the fifth player to win the World Cup while playing for United, despite being an unused sub in the victory over France at Qatar 2022.

Fast forward to 2026 and the centre-back has started six of Argentina's seven games at the tournament, scoring against Cape Verde in the last 32.

Can United's number six make it back-to-back world titles? Only European champions Spain stand in their way.

Simon Stone
Manchester United reporter in Helsinki

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Manchester United goalkeeper Radek Vitek says he hopes to resolve his future quickly as he looks to secure a move away from Old Trafford.

After encouraging loan spells at Accrington Stanley and in the Austrian Bundesliga, Vitek excelled at Bristol City last season, winning three club player of the year awards.

While some United fans hoped that would signal a return to the club as deputy to first-choice goalkeeper Senne Lammens this season, that was never under consideration.

It had been expected that Vitek would find a new club before pre-season began.

That has not happened, and the Czech goalkeeper kept a clean sheet during the second half of the 1-0 defeat to Wrexham in Helsinki.

It remains to be seen whether Vitek will also be involved on 24 July when United travel to Norway to face Rosenborg.

However, he is clear that his current situation is only temporary.

"I'm ready to go somewhere again and hopefully be number one," he said.

Asked whether that would be another loan move or a permanent transfer, Vitek replied: "I'm ready for both, to be fair. It depends on what the club wants and also on the options.

"There has been a few interests on the table. We're hoping to choose the best one and hopefully it will happen soon."

Speaking to BBC Sport in March, Vitek said his main objective was to play regularly.

Nothing has changed.

"My mind is the same," he said. "I want to play every week and that's the goal for next season."

Minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has previously complained about United's inability to generate significant funds through the sale of academy players.

They may be able to achieve that with Vitek, which is why a permanent transfer remains a possibility despite the goalkeeper having two years remaining on his contract, rather than another loan spell.

However, any deal would almost certainly include a substantial sell-on clause and a buy-back option.

Simon Stone
Manchester United reporter in Helsinki

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Manchester United have played down fitness concerns over striker Benjamin Sesko and new goalkeeper Karl Darlow.

The pair were notable absentees from the 25-man squad named by head coach Michael Carrick for the opening game of United's pre-season campaign against Wrexham in Helsinki on 18 July.

Sesko missed the final three games of last season with a shin problem that flared up during the home victory over Liverpool on 3 May.

Wales and former Leeds United keeper Darlow has had what is being described as a "procedure" at the end of last season.

"Both players are expected to be fully fit and available for the start of 2026-27," said the club.

Andrey Santos, a £48m signing from Chelsea, is included, but Youri Tielemans is missing, along with United's other senior players who have been at the World Cup.

There is no Matthijs de Ligt in the squad as he recovers from back surgery.

Defender Tyler Fredricson is not involved either before what is expected to be a permanent summer move away from Old Trafford. Europe is seen as a likely destination for the 21-year-old, whose proposed switch to Celtic in January fell through after he was injured before it could be completed.

Fifteen-year-old forward JJ Gabriel is not involved as he only returned to training less than a week ago.

The Wrexham game marks the start of a six-game pre-season for United, who have opted to stay in Europe rather than venture to the United States or Asia.

They also play Rosenburg in Trondheim on 24 July before facing Atletico Madrid in Stockholm (1 August), Paris St-Germain in Gothenburg (8 August), Leeds in Dublin (12 August) and AC Milan in Wroclaw (15 August).

Travelling squad: Heaton, Vitek, Mee, Maguire, Dorgu, Yoro, Shaw, Heaven, Amass, Kamason, Armer, Mount, Santos, J Fletcher, T Fletcher, Collyer, Gore, Devaney, Thwaites, Zirkzee, Mbeumo, Chido Obi, Wheatley, Lacey, Williams.

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With pre-season officially in full swing, we asked you to tell us what you're looking forward to about club football returning.

Here are some of your replies:

Beth: I can't wait to see Matheus Cunha, Bruno Fernandes and Youri Tielemans play together. Hopefully it's our year!

Nigel: Simply looking forward to seeing Manchester United compete in all competitions. We have not seen this for a while.

Paul: I am hoping that United can get closer to the top teams this season, have a reasonable Champions League campaign and maybe win a trophy (League or FA Cup).

Peter: I long for United to once again be a force in the Premier League. However, they never will be as long as they miss out on players such as Elliot Anderson because of the cost. United must be one of the richest clubs in the world but are being run as a business and not a football team.

Andrew: For the first time in a long time, I'm optimistic about the season. United have made a couple of key signings. I'd like to see Harry Amass as back-up to Luke Shaw and integrate some youth players into the squad. We have to develop these players! Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City all do this. You can't solve everything by spending, and bringing young players through will encourage others to sign.

Mark: The youth making an impact on the first team - JJ Gabriel, Shea Lacey and Jim Thwaites all getting first-team minutes. Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans combining well, or alongside Kobbie Mainoo or Mason Mount. Benjamin Sesko getting 20 goals in a season - he should play more regularly.

Dom: Watching Kobbie actually getting to play football.