Manchester United Rumours

13 Mar 2020 08:23:26
It looks as though there is now little to zero chance of the premier league being completed and it's possible no more matches will be played. This can only mean that this years premier league will be voided. Deciding who should play champions league football next year may need a play off system between all clubs who had the mathematical chance of making top 4.

Clearly this situation will not please all fans but there are things more important than football and people need to remember that before bemoaning the situation. The elderly and physically weak will be especially vulnerable to this pandemic and many will sadly not survive it. Prayers to them and all those who they leave behind.

13 Mar 2020 09:23:38
There are several options they could choose to do.

Either a play off system as you suggest. Yet that might be hard if all matches are postponed.

They could just finish with the table as it is. Which would be a huge relief to Chelsea who are in indifferent form, with us and a couple other breathing down their necks.

They could choose to go back to last season's final table and go with that as that was the last completed season.

Or they could choose to use some sort of coefficient system to pick which teams will represent the EPL in which European competitions.

Currently by the sounds of it we are looking at a 4 week postponement of the league. However, current estimates put the UK as hitting peak infection rate in late April/ early May. In which case it seems unlikely that the league will restart when the risk is greater than it is now.

I think they will go with the approach of postponement to start with, but with the idea that they will cancel it further down the line when people have become more accustomed to the idea and they will face less backlash.

I'm 95% sure that if they just announce a postponement in the next day or so that it will lead to the cancellation of the league in a months time.

13 Mar 2020 09:26:01
yes there is more to life than football and sport in general. what really angers me is the attitude of some that this disease only affects the elderly and therefore just quarantine them and let the rest of us get on with it. As someone in their 30's I might be less likely to have serious symptoms, b ut i don't want it passed on through me to someone who it will have serious affects on. The health and well being of ALL members of the public must be the top priority not entertainment and profits.

13 Mar 2020 09:55:43
I think Ed said likely be that the table will stand as it is with no winner announced, not sure tho if relegation and promotion will happen or will the European places stand as they are? All guesswork atm. Now Everton are in isolation too.

13 Mar 2020 10:15:35
In theory this could stop Liverpool winning the league and stop Leeds getting promotion. However, it would also leave us in 5th place.

13 Mar 2020 10:18:14
In theory this could stop Liverpool winning the league and stop Leeds getting promotion. However, it would also leave us in 5th place.

13 Mar 2020 10:27:16
Imagine that happens, City’s ban is upheld and we get given 4th place and CL qualification 😆.

{Ed002's Note - That is not going to happen.}

13 Mar 2020 10:29:08
5th could be enough for CL with City ban.

13 Mar 2020 11:03:53
unless the games are played at some point then there is no fair way to end the season. however this is an unprecedented situation and as such we just have to accept what happens. If united don't make champions league then we will have to deal with it, the implications on promotion/ relegation are much more pertinent especially with the monetary gains/ losses involved.

13 Mar 2020 16:05:22
Premier league will be cancelled until the start of next season. All results, promotion and relegation will be null and void. The best 12 pictures of Liverpool fans, taken after hearing this news, will be made into a calendar and sold off for charity. 😂😂😂😂.

{Ed047's Note - yeah that would be hilarious 🤦‍♂️

13 Mar 2020 17:03:13
Games will likely begin again just after the peak has hit as by that point we will have a majority of herd immunity to the virus so safe to play.

sounds daft but the fit healthy players should be actively seeking to contract the virus and immediately self isolate until free form spreading it to family members.

this would be the same for the support staff who are not considered "high risk".

At the end of the day the majority of the population is set to get it. the rich young healthy folk are most likely to not have ill recompense form the virus.

Its the older gen and those with high blood pressure and other such underlying health issues. (Like myself with chronic bronchitis and Asthma )

13 Mar 2020 22:32:00
You sure you don't support liverpool, Ed?

{Ed047's Note - no Sepp, just not a great fan of bitterness

13 Mar 2020 23:46:54
Only way to do it is to cancel it all. My concern is civil unrest when we have nothing to pre-occupy us when we are all at home with nothing to do.

14 Mar 2020 07:25:15
Ed047.Bitterness? Really? Behave yourself!
😂😂😂😂.

{Ed047's Note - I know mate, you’re well old enough not to be that! 😉🤣

14 Mar 2020 09:38:23
Indeed Ed047. This isn't the new years honour list. It's a sporting contest that has to be won and not just 'deserved'. Do you think for one moment the scallies wouldn't be all over this if it were us in their present position? The Kop songwriters would be burning the midnight oil composing for next season. Just as will the United and Everton songwriters if LFC are 'awarded' the title because they 'deserve' it. Not bitter. It's life. 😉🤣.

{Ed047's Note - I know Scooby, it all makes for interesting reading on the relevant pages right now. Mighty Reds will never live it down bless him. 🤦‍♂️

I’d be the same with the Spuds! In fact, that they have lumbered themselves with Mourinho is an absolute delight 🤣🤣

14 Mar 2020 11:26:41
😂😂😂😂.

14 Mar 2020 16:31:42
I'd give them the title now, they would always be the team who were given a league, it would be tainted forever and they would have the piss ripped out of them forever.

15 Mar 2020 01:49:52
Not trying to set off the Liverpool supporters but this decision will set a precedent for if this ever happens again in the future.
I think ed002 said Italy were looking at leaving the table the way it is and not declaring a winner.

I'm all for this and I believe if the title race in England was closer then there would be calls for this to happen, I know Liverpool are along way ahead and they fully deserve it but they still haven't mathematically won it.

If they had mathematically won it, I would be all for them being awarded the title as there was no chance of anyone catching them, in saying that, there is no chance of anyone catching them anyway.
I wonder what the premier league rule book says, if they have anything written in there in case of something like this.

11 Mar 2020 12:19:17
ED002,

Jude Bellingham reports in the media that the fee will be £35-£50 million. An initial fee with add ons.
The kid is 16 nearly 17, can they get a large amount of money for him at such a young given that he hasn't signed a professional deal yet.

Thanks.

{Ed002's Note - Birmingham will sell him in the summer but there is no financial restriction imposed because of his age. It is very much a matter of what interested sides value him at.}

11 Mar 2020 13:44:59
Thanks ED002.

{Ed002's Note - You are welcome.}

12 Mar 2020 08:07:11
Don't worry, it's an already agreed fee of 12.5m according to a well placed source on here😂.

12 Mar 2020 08:27:30
You're right it has. Same with gabriel going to Everton.

Is it not a rumour site? Cheers Shappy 👍👍.

12 Mar 2020 14:48:47
I have not seen him play how do people rate him? what kind of player is he?

12 Mar 2020 22:29:29
Take this with a grain of salt as I haven't seen as much of him as I would like. Unlike many players nowadays, he is pretty good with both feet. On the ball it looks like he has good vision - picks passes well. Happy to take players on, good dribbler (did I mention that he uses both feet) and uses his body well to shield the ball. Is fast and strong. Defensively i'm not so sure, Takes up good positions but seems to rely heavily on his pace and long legs. Not so sure about his striking of the ball - tends to scuff it too much for my liking (which means his long passes don't have as much pace as they should) . However everything I've seen suggest that he is a real player and if he continues to work hard on his game then whoever gets him is getting a bargain.

10 Mar 2020 09:24:42
Some interesting comments from Timo Werner today regarding the prospect of joining a team that's already competing or being part of something new. He supposedly name-checks us when talking about the latter.

It's possible that he only mentioned us to drum up interest and improve any potential offers he might receive from Pool, Bayern or City, but if he really does see some value in being a part of a rebuild, it certainly gives the management something to think about.

He looks like a very good player and would certainly add to the team although I expect he's Liverpool bound:

Any interest from United, Ed002?

{Ed002's Note - Timo Werner (S) RBL know of the interest of Chelsea who consider TW as a suitable replacement for Giroud - but they have other preferred options. Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid remain keen - but this could change quickly depending on other targets clubs have - for example, if by some chance MU were able to sign a particular Free Agent or Ighalo for the summer then interest in TW would go - equally if other clubs were not able to sign their targets, interest in TW might increase. Atletico signing Cavani would likely kill off their interest. There is clearly interest from Klopp, but would Timo Werner be interested in a move to sit on the bench at Liverpool most of the time? If the answer is yes, or if Firmino is leaving then it makes sense. Many of the fans expect Klopp to add all of these players without anyone leaving and then completely change tactics and rotate them - it makes zero sense and the club has to meet Home Grown quotas as well. PSG are concerned about being shunned by Icardi and have looked at TW but have not declared any interest. Mr Mourinho is keen for Spurs to take him but there are concerns about the cost. The interest of Dortmund has gone with the signing of Haarland - but could return in the summer if Real Madrid could prise Haaland away. Bayern Munich were never going to do business in January and played down all transfer talk but there is no doubt that Robert Lewandowski, who will be 32 at the start of next season, is going to need replacing in the next 18 months - and the plan had always been that it would be Timo Werner - they could yet look to do something or perhaps suggest he waits another year at RBL who have offered a new contract. Last summer there was an approach from PSG who wanted Werner as a Cavani replacement - in the end Cavani stayed and they took Icardi on loan. The player has always said he wants to play for Manchester United one day but a move last summer was not possible and then Werner said he wanted tp play for Bayern Munich over all others. Now after a potential illegal approach he clearly wants to join Liverpool - the riot act has been read to him over public statements by both his club and Red Bull who are seeing him become a bigger and bigger jerk - and this constant talking about other sides will remove the interest of clubs like Chelsea who see it as unacceptable as he becomes more and more of a jerk. There was a third party trying to negotiate for a BM move last summer but they were a long way apart on price and RBL looked to extend. As BM were expected to need Werner this coming summer, a release clause was agreed with his new contract that would make him available at a low fee so RBL would keep him another year and then he could move to Bayern Munich next summer.}

10 Mar 2020 10:36:13
Wow, amazing detail thank you!

10 Mar 2020 11:07:32
Thanks as always, Ed.

Dries Mertens and Ighalo being looked at suggests that the club sees Martial, Rashford and Greenwood as the club’s future strike force and so are only looking for a short term solution while Greenwood grows into his game.

Martial and Rashford’s stats this season have been pretty impressive and Greenwood definitely looks like he could become a very good player. I wouldn’t say no to Werner and think he’d do a better job than Ighalo or Mertens whilst offering a long term solution if it’s decided that Greenwood or Martial aren’t upto scratch in a few years time, but our midfield and RW seem like much higher priorities.

{Ed002's Note - There is also interest in Dembele. You can almost certainly scratch Mertens subject to the issues currently hitting Italy being resolved, although the clubs are assuming it will be with Inter in London yesterday and today working on transfers for a couple of players. If the problems go away Mertens will likely sign a new deal. Ighalo would likely be open to providing cover on a more permanent basis.}

10 Mar 2020 11:11:06
Ed002, if I might ask, is the free agent MU are looking at in the summer Cavani?

{Ed002's Note - No, it is Mertens.}

10 Mar 2020 11:52:45
Thank you for the reply.

{Ed002's Note - You are welcome.}

09 Mar 2020 16:59:39
Few reports flying around that Jude Bellingham was shown around the training ground with his parents today.

09 Mar 2020 18:54:50
Wouldn't be surprised, we are pushing for him apparently.

09 Mar 2020 19:15:54
Must say shappy I thought he was for Dortmund last week after the outbreak of reports. Would be a good signing if he fulfils the potential. Ed001 have you seen much or head much about Bellingham? Apologies if you’ve been asked before.

{Ed001's Note - not seen much other than highlights, but heard so much about him. He is the most sought-after teenager in European football right now for a reason. Every single report raves about him.}

09 Mar 2020 19:33:22
Phil Jones rocking up in his yellow Lambo behind Bellingham. Maybe he was part of the tour group.

09 Mar 2020 19:42:38
Grim, either that or just highlighting that you don't need to fullfil your potential to drive a Lambo at United 😂.

09 Mar 2020 21:01:03
It's a done deal. Fee agreed,12.5m rising to 28m. He will join in the summer.

09 Mar 2020 21:25:06
why would they sell or 12.5 mill when h is the most sought after youngster in europe.

09 Mar 2020 21:44:15
Pretty sure I read somewhere that they rejected a deal of 25m in January.

10 Mar 2020 04:40:17
It's 12.5m. It's not fifa 20 or footy manager. The value will increase with add ons that are easy to obtain.
The kid, is a kid. He will not be a starter in the premier league, hence the price.

10 Mar 2020 08:28:18
Pabawan what is your source for this?

He's currently one of the most sought after young players in Europe, he is also English which normally bumps the price up as he fulfils the homegrown criteria.

16 years ago we paid 26m for an 18 year old kid from Everton who had just over a year's worth of first team experience.

Admittedly that was EPL experience, and he was a year older than Bellingham will be in the summer.

But prices for players have skyrocketed in the past 16 years. If Gomes leaves on a free transfer, we will only get a compensation fee, which is likely to be somewhere between 5-10m. So to sign a player for an initial fee which is only 2.5m more than a club might expect for a compensation fee seems ludicrous.

10 Mar 2020 10:31:22
what as fifa or footy manager got to do with it. he is one of the most sought after youngsters in europe. as shappy said they turned down more before. you probably do not want to read twitter to mutch.

10 Mar 2020 16:51:46
Did BCFC turn down more than that previously? Where was it reported that we actually bid. on twitter? Ha.

Fifa and FM make transfers simple. It certainly doesn't work like that.
Obviously, we all lack knowledge on transfer dealings and i'm not saying i am privy to any of the workings that go into a transfer.

I can't disagree with what you're saying shappy, i agree it seems mad considering what's been done (deal wise) previously.

I'm just sharing what i know. It will more than likely be reported as more in the 'Press'. But it's 12.5 going to 27.5m in (Easy) add ons.

10 Mar 2020 21:41:31
i would rather wait for edo2 to say its happening.

{Ed002's Note - The family has been shown around and the kid has been to the club shop no doubt.}