Having retained the Revenue Cup on Tuesday after announcing record income of £627m, Ole Gunnar Solskjær knows that if he could get his Manchester United team to match the performances of the club’s world-beating marketing bods, things would be just hunky-dory at Old Trafford. To do this he needs cold, hard goals, though. United have scored only eight in the Premier League this season and with a threadbare strike force that has an average age of about 12, he wants a wily old head up front.
The Class of 99’s Teddy Sheringham is not currently available so instead United will “swoop” for rugged Juventus forward Mario Mandzukic, who has won medals wherever he has gone by sticking his rock-hard head in where it hurts and joining the dots with some neat hold-up play. With Juventus understood to be only too happy to let him go, the 33-year-old – who United were close to signing last summer – should be available for a packet of fags and some spare change.
But one cheap-as-chips forward just won’t do – Ed Woodward has a point to prove and United have cash to burn, so they might break their transfer record with a £100m+ bid for Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembélé. The Spanish champions need to balance the books and the Manchester moneybags could help them do this. Solskjær has also deployed scouts to watch the Brescia midfielder Sandro Tonali. The 19-year-old looks like a young Andrea Pirlo. If he plays anything like Pirlo perhaps he could be the man to turn United’s fortunes around.
United could even look into the possibility of throwing some of their cash in the direction of Crystal Palace for one of their former players if they so wish. Reports in Italy suggest Wilfried Zaha is still hoping to escape south London, preferably in January. The 26-year-old was valued at a staggering £100m in the summer so only a select few megaclubs could rustle up that kind of money.
Newcastle medical bods have taken a good look at Andy Carroll’s ankle and have determined that it may well be the eighth wonder of the world. They also reckon he won’t be able to start a game for Steve Bruce’s struggling side until Christmas. It’s the reason scouts have been told to keep a keen eye on Sevilla’s former Manchester City trainee Rony Lopes, who the Spanish side are happy to let go in the winter transfer window. The attacking midfielder cost £22.5m in August but new manager Julen Lopetegui has taken just a month to come to the conclusion that his face doesn’t fit. Read More
