Manchester United Thread 25/26 - Teamtalk/Transfers/Gossip Mod Note in OP 26.09.24

If Leipzig made an agreement with Sesko that he could leave and agreed a price range they're not going to dick around and try milk more money. Because the next big thing they try to sign might think twice before signing.

Edit, meant to quote the post 3 above by @johnnyryan89…

What you're saying Leipzig won't do, is exactly what Brentford did with Mbeumo and seemingly again with Wissa.

Simon Stone has an article out tonight confirming the stories of United looking to move on Hojlund for 30mill but hoping to use him as stated prev to supplement the Sesko deal.

James Ducker reporting the same story.

Id imagine they are being fed info over in the states

If your asking me whether we go to the same amount of money as Rasmus for Sesko I'd just leave it. Same gamble, our goals output should improve with the 2 attackers we brought in. Too much of a gamble at that price.

Decision time looming. Again claiming that the reason United haven't bid yet is because they're waiting for the player to make his choice known.

Can't see us signing him. If he was so determined to join us his mind would have been made up by now. Financially speaking Newcastle can offer the biggest bid, agent fees and salary which suits all parties.

Yes, and just watch as he's our only centre forward option on opening day. We would need to sign two strikers to make selling him a good idea.

I imagine United want to agree a deal with the player first & then go to the club. If the players wants United only then RBL can try a bidding war but be wasting time & as we have seen United will want to do a deal in installments

Sesko and his agent/team are well aware of what Utds contract offer is FFS. It's plainly obvious that Utd have said to Sesko if you choose us we will buy you and have also told RBL that if Sesko chooses us over Newcastle that a satisfactory bid will be made. It's an incredibly well managed transfer on Utds end and yet we have people being critical and taking unnecessary shots.

You do realise we have Zirkzee and Chido at the club right? So no matter what happens your implication that "he's our only centre forward option on opening day" is wrong.

Yes technically the club have more than one CF but Chido is a kid that likely should be out on loan to gain experience. Zirkzee while a CF doesn't play like a 9. He prefers to drop deep to get on the ball and he a creator.

Zirkzee is a grand option for the system, a lot of the 9 role will be dropping in shielding and laying off the ball out wide so him dropping deep shouldn't be a massive hamper. The problem will be his pace to get himself up as an option then for the when the ball is being crossed back to the centre.

Chido, it wouldn't be fair to expect him to.be able to fulfil the 9 role right now. Would probably go the way of Hojlund and potentially ruin him having that level of responsibility on him when young players notoriously struggle for consistency as they develop.

Hojlund has shown some improvement in this during pre season, still young obviously but at 22 should be starting to mature now and will be familiar with the league, teammates, tactics etc so if he is to go another striker who is strong enough to hold the ball and engaged enough to play the right pass is essential.

This American gentleman probably explains it better than I will - long watch but decent if your into that stuff. Sesko also gets a mention.

I am curious if we will see Mbeumo get any minutes at ST tonight. I think he will get a fair chunk of minutes there this season simply because Amad is a viable RW alternate that will thus get minutes at RW.

Laurie Whitwell has posted an article based on a recent Amorim sit down with journalists.

If you don’t have access and want a long read, here are some of the snippets from it:

• Has a good relationship with Jim Ratcliffe. Says JR is easy to deal with and feels he can be direct with him. Knows JR will knock him if he detects any bullshit answers.
• RA says he feels more excited. Has learned a lot, small things - how to build up to a game. “I truly believe that I will be better managing the season.”
• RA says he always feels that he has the clubs backing. On his offer of walking away if they wanted him to - “Walk away is more an ego thing,” he says. “I’m like that. If you saw Sporting: I won the league and we had second place in the next year. In the third year, when we lost Matheus Nunes, Joao Palhinha, and all these guys, we were fourth in the league, and I put my place (up for discussion).
• RA says he wants to be here long term - “I want to stay 20 (years),” “That is my goal, and I truly believe in that. Something will happen. In some moments, I will be lucky. I had a lot of luck during my career as a manager, and my idea is to stay for many years. Results will dictate that. And I know that all the credit I had when I arrived… last year was used on that. But I’m ready to start fresh.” & “The pressure is different (at United). But I don’t like to change clubs. I like to bond with people and carry on. I was waiting for the right club. It sounds crazy, but I chose this club. I had the feeling. Until I can, I will stay here.”
• On the struggles last season: “I had that feeling during the season that I’m so frustrated, I cannot do anything, so I have to wait. And to wait, and being manager of Manchester United, is like going to a fight with my hands like this.” Amorim drops his arms by his side, almost placing them behind the chair he is sitting on.
  “In some moments, I just needed to survive to the end, because everything I need to do, I will need to do with a new start, with more time, with some changes that I cannot do now. That is even people around the staff and players.
  “My goal in that moment, three months to the end, was trying to win the Europa League. We struggled a lot, trying to save players, to play 60 minutes. You play against Newcastle, all these clubs, and you have to perform, or we will have problems. But you need to take one guy off at 60 minutes — and you cannot do it in Manchester United, you cannot think like that, I cannot change three guys because I have to try to maintain the team fit to win the Europa League.”
  He is asked how going home following those performances felt.
  “To tell you the truth, it’s not how I returned to my house after the games — (it was) how I left to go to the games. Because I knew that we will struggle in specific games. That is the hardest part, to go to the games and know that we are not going to be competitive, how we should be.
  “When I returned (home), I just looked to my family and tried to think in different things. But I was really frustrated.”
  “If I have the feeling that before the game, that we are going to be competitive, we’ll be OK,” he says. “I just don’t want to return to that feeling that we are thinking it’s not a 50-50 game.”
• New code of conduct. Sanctions include time keeping and engagement with fans.
  “I treat them as a man, but they have rules now. And that can change the way you train. If you don’t train in the right way, I have footage to show you. And I show you in front of everybody. So I’m always on top.” & “But in the moment, if you train one time bad, I will show you the image. I will not just speak. I will show everything. So that really requires a lot of energy. But what I feel in this year is that I have more people to do that.” (Love this bit)
• New 6 man leadership group - Bruno, Maguire, Heaton, Martinez, Maz & Dalot. - They are responsible for the group. There are some things that, in the last year, I had to deal with that. I said to them, ‘You deal with that. Small issues are with you guys. You are responsible’. All these small changes, it’s helping the group.”
• RA says medical and nutritional dept revamps are significant changes - “We improved in every department,” says Amorim. “Omar and Jason, they were aligned about everything we need to change.”
• On emotion - “We need to be a little bit more emotional in this team,” he says. “With the emotion, we become more sacrifice, more pace, more energy. We are improving on that.
• RA wants a small squad so players feel more important - “Competition is going to help. If you see Matheus Cunha is playing, Mason Mount is on the bench. Bruno and Kobbie Mainoo are in the same position. Bruno can do different positions and even Kobbie. These things will help.” “If you have a lot of players, you have one week to prepare, and a lot of players are going to be out and then in training, they will be frustrated, then the quality will drop.”
• Carefully planning senior additions - “For someone to come into our team, we need to do all that work that we did with Bryan and Cunha,” he says. “We need to be really careful to assess the character the way they play, try to imagine if they play abroad, try to imagine them physically, technically playing in our club.”
• On the bomb squad and Garnacho in particular - “The market is open. There are players who clearly show they don’t want to be here, and that is normal. They are not bad, and I’m good. I’m not bad, and they are good. It’s a simple situation that they want new challenges.”
  “You can see he’s a really talented boy,” he says. “Sometimes things don’t work out. You cannot explain specifically what it is but it’s clear that Garnacho wants a different thing with a different leadership. I can understand that. It’s not a problem. Sometimes you adapt to one guy, you have the connection. Other times, you want a new challenge.”
• Expects the financial picture to improve - “I have no doubts, because there are some things that you cannot buy — this club has,” he insists. “The pedigree, the history, the fans. “We have money without the Champions League. You talk with Omar and all these guys, they are making all the strategy to have more money in the future. That will not be a problem. “Then if we have a different culture, with all the pedigree, the money, we can return to our place. That is clear.”
• On his system - says he’s not so stubborn and does evolve. “I changed so many things during my short career as a manager,” he says. “When I see a different thing that works, I will use it. I copy so many things about other managers, the way they play, warm-ups. I stole warm-ups. I’m not so stubborn. To be a really strong team, we need to have a base. When the base is OK, we will start doing different things. It’s a process.”
• On Mbeumo & Cunha - “I’m really happy with the players that we bring. They proved in the Premier League, so I’m not concerned about the physical aspect. I’m really happy with the character.
• “I think personally, Jason and Omar also, that all the players that we want to bring to Manchester, any coach will want them. ‘This is not my style’… I can guarantee you, if you bring any manager here, they will say, ‘Bryan, thank you. Matheus Cunha, thank you’.”

A lot of positives in that. He says the right things and I’m hoping it starts to translate onto the pitch from the off this season. He knows himself it needs to improve massively. Let’s hope it does.