Category: Sports

10

Manchester United are set to make their way to Selhurst Park on Monday to take an in-form Crystal Palace that have taken 10 points from their last four matches.

United will be keen to avoid further misery following a barren run in April that saw Erik ten Hag’s men win just one of their five top-flight clashes.

The Red Devils will undoubtedly be eager to register a win over the Eagles as they seek to secure Europa League football, now that Champions League qualification is out of the picture.

Man United team news

Ahead of the match, Ten Hag has welcomed back defender Jonny Evans and striker Anthony Martial into first-team training – brilliant news for the United boss and his coaching staff.

See more

Welcome back, lads 👋

🤝 @AnthonyMartial x Jonny Evans 🤝#MUFC || #PL pic.twitter.com/clWm2KGOnx

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) May 2, 2024

The pair was seen at Carrington on Thursday, intensifying their training regimen. Evans has been absent since United’s match against Chelsea, while Martial has been sidelined since January. Martial’s last appearance for the 20-time English champions was in their loss to Bournemouth at Old Trafford last year.

Evans’ return will especially come as a huge lift to Ten Hag, who has been grappling with an injury crisis in the defensive department. The Dutch coach has been forced to deploy a centre-back pairing of Harry Maguire and Casemiro in recent games.

With Martial now available, United possess an alternative to Rasmus Hojlund and bolster their attacking options from the bench.

However, Ten Hag relayed in his presser that Scott McTominay, who suffered an injury scare late on against Burnley, is expected to return to training on Saturday with a late decision to be made on whether the Scot makes the journey down to South London.

Bruno Fernandes is a doubt for the match although he can’t be completely ruled out as Ten Hag himself stated. The 29-year-old has yet to miss a game for United since arriving at the Theatre of Dreams from Sporting Lisbon.

There are also question marks over Marcus Rashford, who has not featured since limping off in extra time in the FA Cup semi-final vs. Coventry City. Ten Hag said that Rashford hasn’t completely healed and is still recovering from the issue he picked up.

Lisandro Martinez, Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw, Raphael Varane, Tyrell Malacia and Willy Kambwala all remain absent.

Crystal Palace team news

Like United, Palace have received a huge defensive boost with Englishman Marc Guehi now back in training. Guehi still hasn’t played under new boss Glasner but could finally get the opportunity on Monday.

Influential midfielder Eberechi Eze is also expected to make his comeback for Palace after he was left out in their previous game against Fulham. Eze has notched eight goals and three assists for the London club in 24 Premier League appearances this term.

Jefferson Lerma and Cheick Doucoure will also likely be in contention to line up for Palace against United. There will be no reunion for Carrington academy graduate Sam Johnstone but his goalkeeping counterpart and also former Red Dean Henderson will almost certainly start between the sticks.

The game kicks off at 8pm BST. Live coverage of proceedings is available on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League.

---

Want to be the first to hear breaking Man United news? For carefully selected, crucial updates, join our WhatsApp channel: https://bit.ly/United-Breaking-News.

3

Manchester United star Casemiro has revealed how he helps teammate Kobbie Mainoo to realise his great potential as he tipped the youngster to potentially become one of the greatest midfielders the Premier League has ever seen.

Mainoo’s emergence has been one of the few success stories of United’s dreary season.

The 19-year-old has impressed with his calm and composed displays that have often made him stand out head and shoulders above some of the more senior and experienced professionals within the club’s ranks.

So far this term, Mainoo has made 27 appearances for United across all competitions. In that time, he has managed three goals and one assist.

Casemiro previously indicated that Mainoo has the skill set to become an England great and in a recent interview with Telemundo (via SportWitness), the five-time Champions League winner re-affirmed this stance once more.

The Brazilian was questioned about his role in aiding younger players to integrate smoothly into the first team and adapt effortlessly to the spotlight, with a specific mention of Mainoo.

Casemiro responded, “Yeah, good friend, good player, excellent player. I see that he enjoys himself a lot on the pitch, I give him a lot of love because at the end of the day he is a player who needs that.”

“And also we can’t give a lot of pressure to those players, so at the end you try to take that pressure off those players because that’s the process of football, isn’t it?”

He added, “Of football, of life, which I think, speaking specifically here about Kobbie, I think in three, four years from now he’s going to be one of the best players in centre midfield in the Premier League.”

“They have to enjoy it, they have to have that process, they have to have this fear of not losing the ball, this fear of continuing to grow, of continuing to learn, to come here to Carrington and to keep growing, to keep training hard.”

In recent games, due to an injury crisis in the defensive department, Mainoo has had to carry on in the middle of the park without the steady and experienced hand of Casemiro who has been forced to operate in central defence.

Ahead of United’s clash against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, the pair will undoubtedly be hoping to be reunited in midfield with one or two defenders set to return from their injury setbacks.

---

Want to be the first to hear breaking Man United news? For carefully selected, crucial updates, join our WhatsApp channel: https://bit.ly/United-Breaking-News.

6

Manchester United are reportedly set to include a buy-back clause in the imminent deal that will see Alvaro Fernandez join Benfica on a permanent basis.

Fernandez joined Benfica during the January transfer window after United cut short his temporary spell in Spain with Granada.

His time in Portugal started under difficult circumstances as he struggled to convince coach Roger Schmidt that he was able to be included in the club’s starting XI.

However, in the past few weeks, Fernandez’s stock appears to be at an all-time high. He recently scored his first goal for the Eagles as they comfortably beat league rivals Farense in a 3-1 victory.

The United loanee’s performance on that occasion earned him praise from some of Portugal’s biggest newspapers, who encouraged Benfica to make his stay a permanent one.

Late last month, a report covered by The Peoples Person relayed that Benfica were poised to trigger the €6million (£5.1m) clause in his contract to sign him permanently.

This was then confirmed by Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano who wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “Benfica are still planning to trigger the buy option clause for Álvaro Fernández, almost €6m to Manchester United.”

“Plans have not changed as he’s doing well and Benfica are expected to proceed even before the scheduled date.”

See more

🔴🇪🇸 Benfica are still planning to trigger the buy option clause for Álvaro Fernández, almost €6m to Manchester United.

Plans have not changed as he’s doing well and Benfica are expected to proceed even before the scheduled date. pic.twitter.com/hxGPNrnZ0Q

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 1, 2024

According to A Bola, United don’t want to lose complete control over the future of their academy graduate and have moved to insert a buy-back clause.

The news outlet states that United “will continue to pay attention” to Fernandez and the 20-time English champions will retain a “repurchase option” for the talented full-back.

It’s understood that Erik ten Hag’s side are firmly aware of the “scope of evolution” of the 21-year-old and they do “not wish to lose sight” of him even as he undertakes a new path away from the safety net of Old Trafford.

A Bola further note that the financial value of United’s buy-back clause is currently undisclosed.

In addition to the clause to buy him back for a fixed amount, United could also have the option to match any offers that are made for him in the future.

---

Want to be the first to hear breaking Man United news? For carefully selected, crucial updates, join our WhatsApp channel: https://bit.ly/United-Breaking-News.

4

Manchester United are expecting a busy summer with INEOS taking control of their first transfer window in charge of the sporting structure at the club.

Erik ten Hag’s side have struggled badly this season leaving the new minority owners in no doubt of the size of the rebuild required across the first team squad.

With reinforcements predicted across the park, a raft of names have been linked with making a move to Old Trafford in the coming months.

As reported by Caught Offside, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has provided an update on two players that are rumoured to be high on United’s list of targets.

According to Romano, Bayern Munich pair Leon Goretzka and Dayot Upamecano may well be available for transfer with the duo open to leaving the Allianz Arena.

Goretzka would provide Ten Hag with some much needed solidity in his midfield with United far too open in the middle of the park throughout the campaign and Romano says his future will depend on Bayern’s decision on their new manager.

“It’s a possibility for Leon Goretzka to leave Bayern in the summer, but it will depend on the manager. We have to wait,” he claims.

Upamecano has been a long standing target for United and once again, Romano says the “possibility to leave” is there but no clubs have made a formal approach as yet.

“Dayot Upamecano is another possibility to leave Bayern in case they receive a proposal, but so far there are no negotiations, no talks, no contacts. I can’t mention any specific clubs now as it’s very quiet, but we will see in the summer,” Romano states.

The Frenchman would certainly fancy his chances of nailing down a first team place in the centre of Ten Hag’s defence which has been desperately lacking in consistency this season.

With Raphael Varane and Jonny Evans likely to move on in the summer, coupled with the lack of genuine quality at the back, Upamecano would be tasked with taking United’s defence to the next level.

However, with Ten Hag’s position at Old Trafford looking less secure with each passing week, a new man in the dugout at United could have a huge impact on INEOS’ recruitment plans for next season.