MAN UTD are continuing preparations for the Premier League's return as Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba returned to action in an intra-squad friendly at Old Trafford yesterday.
And on the transfer front Saul Niguez is said to be "very close" to signing while a deal for Lautaro Martinez could be back on with Barcelona struggling to come up with the money for the Inter star.
Follow all the very latest news from Old Trafford below…
IGGY'S HAPPY
Odion Ighalo looks pretty pleased with having sorted his immediate future out with the club.
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GET YOUR FIX
The weekend of Friday June 19 to Monday June 22 is currently looking like THE weekend for football after its return following coronavirus.
Here's how it looks.
Friday June 19
PL Norwich vs Southampton (6pm), Spurs vs Man Utd (8.15pm)
Saturday June 20
PL Watford vs Leicester (12.30pm), CH Fulham vs Brentford (12.30pm), BU Dortmund vs RB Leipzig, Bayern vs Freiburg (2.30pm), CH WBA vs Birmingham, PL Brighton vs Arsenal (3pm), West Ham vs Wolves (5.30pm), Bournemouth vs Palace (7.45pm).
Sunday June 21
CH Cardiff vs Leeds (noon), PL Newcastle vs Sheffield Utd (2pm), Aston Villa vs Chelsea (4.15pm), Everton vs Liverpool (7pm), SA Inter vs Sampdoria (8.45pm)
Monday June 22
SA Lecce vs AC Milan (6.30pm), PL Man City vs Burnley (8pm), SA Bologna vs Juventus (8.45pm)
NEW KIT WONDER
PES fan and Instagram artist Nikita_23 has shared pictures of new club kits on Instagram.
He has rendered them on players for this year's edition of Pro Evolution Soccer… and they look spectacular.
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?Manchester United home kit 20/21 . ? To buy all my kits – write to my direct . ?You can donate to my project. ?PayPal: [email protected] #manutd #manchesterunited #epl #england #efootballpes2020 #peskits #kitspes #kitmaker #pes #kits #officialpes #myclub #jersey #pes2020 #pes19 #pespatch#adidasfootball #adidas#pesedit #konami #football #soccer #todosobrecamisetas#futbol #[email protected] @officialpes @todosobrecamisetas#kits_nikita23k
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SWINGS AND ROUNDABOUTS
Manchester United star Sergio Romero's wife Eliana Guercio says their daughters don't even play on their controversial £20,000 playground – because Manchester is too cold.
The goalie, 33, and his wife put up the 12ft-high castle, a 10ft slide and a 14ft high penthouse den without planning permission.
Angry residents near their £2.8million mansion said it was too large and branded it a “theme park” and could distract passing motorists.
But fiery Eliana – mum to their three daughters, Jazmín, 10, Chloe, seven and Meghan, two – hit back at their neighbours.
She told Caras: “Where we put up the playground is part of our house, I don’t understand why the neighbours got annoyed.
“After 4pm, it’s already cold, so the girls don’t go out in the garden.”
WHAT A MAN
The King is never far from United fans' hearts.
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? A candid of the King ? #MUFC #Cantona
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FAT CHEQUE
Manchester United have been linked with paying an “astronomical amount” for teen Barcelona sensation Ansu Fati.
Fati lost his place in the Barca squad following the arrival of Martin Braithwaite in February.
Catalan publication Sport claim an £89MILLION bid was submitted to Barcelona, but it is not clear whether that club was United.
The local media often use United’s name to link to Barca players and it seems like this is another of those occasions, but the source is reportedly super agent Jorge Mendes.
It would seem a stretch, given Fati isn’t really on United’s radar like Sancho, Grealish or Van der Beek.
IT WAS MISHANDLED
Rio Ferdinand claims Manchester United “mishandled” Wilfried Zaha – and that he himself was partly to blame.
Crystal Palace hero Zaha, 27, was Sir Alex Ferguson's final signing for United, costing £10million from the Selhurst Park club in 2013.
Part of the reason for Zaha's failure was the speculation surrounding him and Moyes' daughter Lauren.
Zaha claims he was given no advice from the club on how to deal with this, prompting him to take to Twitter to deny the rumours.
He tweeted: “Wilfried Zaha was mishandled by mufc I believe… although the club had started a big transition & as a Snr player I should of done more to help him!”
KOUL SUM
United target Kalidou Koulibaly will cost any buyers a ‘large sum’ according to Napoli.
The Senegalese defender, 28, is reportedly worth around £100million.
The club’s sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli said: “Kalidou is a great player, who still has a long contract with us.
“If we were to sell, the club could ask for a large sum.
“A player like this cannot change his value even in a crisis, so we are not moving our valuation.”
TIME TO GROW UP
Ex-Liverpool star Emre Can told Jadon Sancho to “grow up” after he lashed out at the Bundesliga.
The England ace was fined £8,000 for getting his haircut during lockdown and called the decision an “absolute joke” on Twitter.
Sancho deleted the tweet shortly after but his Borussia Dortmund teammate Can was not impressed.
Can told Sky: “We know that he just has to be more disciplined in some things, but he knows that himself.
“He just has to be smarter and grow up with things like that. He can't afford to make such mistakes in the future.
“You have to lead Jadon the right way. He's a great boy, even off the pitch. Maybe he trusts too many other people in some things.”
RAK ON TRACK
Manchester United can reportedly land Ivan Rakitic for free as the Barcelona outcast insists he will see out his Nou Camp deal.
The highly-rated midfielder has just one-year left on his deal with the Catalan giants, but has admitted his frustration at a lack of playing time in Spain.
The 32-year-old has fallen down the pecking order under boss Quique Setien since the arrival of Ajax’s Frenkie de Jong.
And the Croatian ace looked set to spark a transfer scramble this summer with clubs across Europe including Juventus, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid set to pursue a deal.
Along with both United and Tottenham who are both in the market for a new midfielder.
APOLLO LAUNCHES
United are among the biggest clients to sign up to a health-measuring service called ApolloV2.
He said all the players can have their habits measured, from sleep, eating and when they have a massage.
He told the Evening Standard: “I’ve worked with Phil Jackson, Jose Mourinho, Capello, Terry Venables, I could go on and on.
“I’ve worked with probably close to 30 different top-level managers in different sports. So I know what it’s like to influence those people who make the changes.
“It has to be visual because if it’s bland or complicated coaches aren’t going to look at it.”
GOING, GOING DON
Edwin van der Sar has confirmed that United and Real Madrid are interested in signing Ajax midfielder Donny van der Beek.
He confirmed the news on Dutch broadcaster NOS.
Unfortunately, one of the two clubs will have to miss out though…
HIGGINBOTHAM CONTINUED
Fernandes has done brilliantly as a No 10 and having freedom to drift around.
Since arriving from Sporting Lisbon, he has thrived with time on the ball, thanks to pacy Anthony Martial and Dan James stretching the game.
That will only increase with the return of Marcus Rashford.
The beauty of pairing Pogba and Fernandes is United’s attack will leave opponents with a dilemma about which one to try to stop.
And rivals are going to drop deep to cut out space in behind.
READ ALL OF HIGGINBOTHAM'S EXCLUSIVE SUNSPORT COLUMN HERE
DOUBLE DILEMMA FOR UTD FOES
SunSport columnist DANNY HIGGINBOTHAM reckons United's opponents now face a terrible dilemma over who to focus on stopping out of Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes.
He wrote…
Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes both scored in a training game on Saturday — and are already striking up a great friendship.
Manchester United fans should be licking their lips — and future opponents biting theirs — because the pair can be a dynamic duo.
Ex-United boss Jose Mourinho is set to become the first manager to face not one, but TWO, playmakers when Tottenham host them in 11 days’ time.
Playing with Fernandes will add so much to Pogba’s game.
FINANCES WERN THIN
Jurgen Klopp could not morally justify Liverpool splashing out on Timo Werner after the coronavirus crisis.
The champions-elect had looked nailed on to sign the RB Leipzig striker, who is now set to join Chelsea for £54million.
But boss Klopp said: “All clubs are losing money.
“How do I discuss with the players about things like salary waivers and on the other hand buy a player for £50-60m — we’d have to explain.”
Liverpool are facing a £150m loss of revenue amid the coronavirus shutdown and decided to drop out of the race for Werner.
MORNING MAN UTD FANS
Napoli are insisting on receiving their £100million asking price in full if they are to sell Kalidou Koulibaly this summer.
That represents a huge blow to suitors Manchester United.
Napoli's sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli said: “Kalidou is a great player, who still has a long contract with us.
“If we were to sell, the club could ask for a large sum.
“A player like this cannot change his value even in a crisis, so we are not moving our valuation.”
Meanwhile, Everton are reportedly in pole position to land Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot.
The Frenchman has been strongly linked with Man Utd in recent times as a potential replacement for Paul Pogba.
Arsenal and Chelsea are also thought to be interested in his services.
But Tuttosport says Everton are ready to sign Rabiot in a deal worth nearly £27million.
Finally, Man Utd are reportedly “in talks” with Benfica star Florentino Luis, nicknamed The Octopus.
But they face a fight with Leeds who are hoping to land the Portuguese hotshot as a “luxury gift” for boss Marcelo Bielsa.
ESPN have claimed that the 20-year-old's agent Bruno Carvalho Santos, met with United bigwigs in January and the Red Devils have been keeping tabs on the youngster ever since.
The defensive midfielder's contract ties him down until 2024 and he is said to have a £52million release clause.
EXCLUSIVE BY ANDREW DILLON
Premier League stars are growing increasingly worried because their coronavirus testers are not tested themselves.
Players and staff at every club are tested at close quarters twice a week to try to contain the virus and enable the season to restart a week on Wednesday.
Up to 60 are carried out per club at any one time at training grounds by medics using swabs while wearing full personal protective equipment.
Even so, some players worry that the people carrying this out still pose a risk of infection.
A source told SunSport: “When the testing is done, the testers then leave the training grounds and go about their daily lives. That exposes them to infection before they return for the next round of testing.
“Some players have even asked the visiting medics whether they are tested and the answer they got was that, ‘We don’t need to be’. That’s not stopped some players from being concerned.
“Those testers may stop off on their way home to fill up with petrol, go to a supermarket, meet other people and that hikes up the risk factor.”
RUN RABIOT RUN
Everton are reportedly in pole position to land Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot.
The Frenchman has been strongly linked with Man Utd in recent times.
Arsenal and Chelsea are also thought to be interested in his services.
But Tuttosport says Everton are ready to sign Rabiot in a deal worth nearly £27million.
DANNY HIGGINBOTHAM
Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes both scored in a training game on Saturday — and are already striking up a great friendship.
Manchester United fans should be licking their lips — and future opponents biting theirs — because the pair can be a dynamic duo.
Playing with Fernandes will add so much to Pogba’s game.
Fernandes has done brilliantly as a No 10 and having freedom to drift around.
The beauty of pairing Pogba and Fernandes is United’s attack will leave opponents with a dilemma about which one to try to stop.
KOUL STORY BRO
Napoli are insisting on receiving their £100million asking price in full if they are to sell Kalidou Koulibaly this summer.
That represents a huge blow to suitors Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal.
Napoli's sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli said: “Kalidou is a great player, who still has a long contract with us.
“If we were to sell, the club could ask for a large sum.
“A player like this cannot change his value even in a crisis, so we are not moving our valuation.”
BETTER CALL SAUL
Man Utd are reportedly “very close” to securing a £71million deal for Saul Niguez.
Reports from across Europe have now claimed Manchester United are close to completing the deal despite interest from Chelsea and Arsenal.
It is said that he will make the move to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side at the end of the season.
Niguez has a huge £130million release clause as part of his contract with Atletico Madrid.
But due to a financial meltdown caused by the coronavirus, they are prepared to take just accept just over half of that.
LIVE A LITTLE
Liverpool are two wins away from winning the title – and no one will be able to claim they have paid their way to the top.
New statistics show Manchester City's net spend over the last five years is nearly six times more than Liverpool's.
NEVER SAY NEVES
Spurs boss Jose Mourinho is plotting a swoop for Ruben Neves, according to reports.
Man Utd are also thought to be interested in the Portuguese midfielder.
Wolves are reluctant to let Neves leave.
But should he go, they could sign former Everton man Idrissa Gueye from PSG as a replacement.
Chelsea and Arsenal have also shown an interest in Neves in the past.
FLOR BLIMEY
Man Utd are reportedly “in talks” with Benfica star Florentino Luis, nicknamed The Octopus.
But they face a fight with Leeds who are hoping to land the Portuguese hotshot as “luxury gift” for boss Marcelo Bielsa.
ESPN have claimed that the 20-year-old's agent Bruno Carvalho Santos, met with United bigwigs in January and the Red Devils have been keeping tabs on the youngster ever since.
The defensive midfielder's contract ties him down until 2024 and he is said to have a £52million release clause.
SHOW ME THE MONEY!
Most Premier League owners are desperate for football to come back so they can lessen the financial impact of Covid-19.
But most of them probably won't end up destitute given their enormous personal wealth.
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