The Manchester United Thread

Doron Salomon @DoronSalomon Follow That's England U16, U17, U18 and U19 squads named with no United players included. Really quite baffling. No lack of talent at the club. :(
 
There were claims in the British media on Wednesday that Manchester United had agreed to pay the release clause of Nicolas Otamendi, which currently stands at €50m. We did a little tracing on the reports and they originate from Deportes Cope Valencia (radio) who claimed that the Spanish club had held talks on the possibility of selling Otamendi to Manchester United and decided that would be the case.

Deporte Valenciano have picked it up and they explain that the radio programme said that the Spanish club's president Amadeo Salvo and the club's general manager Rufete have talked through the scenario, which would be a good financial deal for Valencia, and agreed Otamendi can move to Manchester United at the end of the season. They headline their piece 'Valencia gives up Nicolas Otamendi for next season' and the sub-headline is 'Amadeo Salvo and Rufete have held talks during which the leaders have taken for granted Manchester United signing Otamendi at the end of the season'.

Periodista Digital also cover the Deportes Cope Valencia claims and say Valencia take it for granted that Otamendi is moving to Manchester United at the end of the season after talks concluded with a willingness to accept a €50m fee without causing much fuss.

Although the club don't need the cash with the recent investment from Peter Lim, they do need to stay on the right side of FFP and this is one way of doing that and leaving money available for summer purchases.

The meeting between the two men would be largely cosmetic if Manchester United do put forward the €50m clause. That should make a transfer automatic and whilst clubs can be awkward about it and threaten to have extra tax added, it's not a likely scenario and that kind of stance is usually adopted only by Athletic Club Bilbao - as Manchester United will be well aware.

Manchester United would need the will of the player on their side and it's claimed that Otamendi was tempted during the winter transfer window because he was offered a higher salary by the Old Trafford club. Several Valencia sources, including the one mentioned above, now confirm that Manchester United made a €35m bid during the winter window.

There need be no more talks ahead of the transfer being completed, other than personal terms, as long as Manchester United would pay the clause. That's where the doubt has to hang - €50m for a central defender (which works out to be £36m) is huge - but needs must, and Manchester United certainly need.
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I hope the Otamendi rumour isnt true. Well at least not for that much anyway. It would be a nice partnership for him and Rojo but surely there are cheaper just as good if not better alternatives out there?
 
I hope the Otamendi rumour isnt true. Well at least not for that much anyway. It would be a nice partnership for him and Rojo but surely there are cheaper just as good if not better alternatives out there?
I think the interest is defo there. You mention the price and I agree is steep. But all top CBs will cost that much. He has been class this season also.
 
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal is a "great teacher", according to Bayern Munich legend Paul Breitner.

The Dutchman almost won the Treble in his first season with the Bavarian giants, only losing out to Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan in the Champions League final after a domestic Double in 2009/10.

Breitner saw first hand how van Gaal's plan had a major impact at Bayern, which is still evident in the way Pep Guardiola's Bundesliga champions-elect perform at present, and thinks a similar situation is unfolding at Old Trafford.

"He has a special philosophy," Breitner told manutd.com at the launch of Red Heart United. "A great view. He has an outstanding view of how football has developed and what football you have to play to demonstrate it today.

"He is a great teacher. He has great ideas. I hope he is here for many years in Manchester to realise all these ideas. Of course, he has demonstrated he is prepared to work for the big clubs. He brought us a new way of playing, with new tactics and a new system.

"He played the game of ball possession, of control of the game and domination. This is the way our team is still playing under Pep Guardiola. He developed the way Louis van Gaal started to work with our team and Pep gave a lot of credit to this style and way of playing in the 22 months or so he has been here. But the man who prepared the style, this new Bayern Munich style, was Louis van Gaal."
 
I might be in the few that detest the matches against liverpool at anfield, just skip the day ffs aha.

I'd take a point right now, but the pressure and tempo they will hit us with early on will give me the *****, just hope jones and co do their job.
 
I might be in the few that detest the matches against liverpool at anfield, just skip the day ffs aha.

I'd take a point right now, but the pressure and tempo they will hit us with early on will give me the *****, just hope jones and co do their job.
Yep gonna be a nail biter. But I worry about these games less atm.
 
Yep gonna be a nail biter. But I worry about these games less atm.

We could have pep, jose and fergie and i'd still worry about this game, they're just awful and probably not since the 90's has there been an actual decent game. We're either so bad or the games are just *****.
 
We could have pep, jose and fergie and i'd still worry about this game, they're just awful and probably not since the 90's has there been an actual decent game. We're either so bad or the games are just *****.
I don't really worry bout playing against top teams as much, as our record is pretty good usually against them especially this season. Would settle for boring 1-1 though :)
 
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Some pics of todays training :)
 
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