The Hard Tackle brings to you an assimilation of all the news involving the Premier League club Manchester United today.
Manchester United couldn’t have had a better start to 2017, with the club recording three victories in a row without conceding a single goal to make it nine wins in a row. Ahead of the crucial encounter against Liverpool on the weekend, here’s a roundup of everything happening in and around Old Trafford.
Manchester United would enter the match against the Reds full of confidence as they beat Hull City 2-0 at Old Trafford on Tuesday night to get one step closer to setting up a final date of the EFL Cup next month, as goals from Juan Mata and Marouane Fellaini gave Jose Mourinho’s side a comfortable cushion heading into the second leg in a fortnight.
United’s man of the match Mata was relieved that his side managed to keep a clean sheet, despite the visitors coming close on a couple of occasions. He told MUTV, “It’s very important that we didn’t concede a goal because in this kind of competition it’s massive to score away.”
Mata also iterated the importance of Fellaini’s goal that gave Manchester United the two-goal cushion ahead of the second leg at the KCOM Stadium. He added, “We didn’t concede, we scored twice; I think Marouane’s goal was very important as well, so we are a little bit closer but it’s not over yet.”
Speaking of the win on Tuesday night, and Manchester United legend Dwight Yorke believes that manager Jose Mourinho’s frustration after the match are signs of the team making positive progress under the Portuguese manager this season.
Jose Mourinho appeared to be dissatisfied despite the 2-0 result, as he said that he wanted to see more from his team and the fans at Old Trafford, as he was unimpressed by a highly lackluster first half showing.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Yorke said, “They are playing with so much confidence. The momentum has swung, the dynamics of the team and everything seems so much in tune with what Manchester United are about.
“Even last night, with a 2-0 win against Hull, the manager still expects so much from his team and that goes to show where Manchester United are at the moment.”
So, nothing but positives for the United fans at the moment.
Moving on to some transfer news, and it looks like Manchester United has completed their first deal of the January transfer window, with reports claiming that the club has accepted a £22 million bid from Everton for out-of-favour midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin.
The Frenchman has struggled to establish himself ever since his move to Old Trafford, and with a lack of playing time taking his career nowhere, Schneiderlin asked for a move away from the club. And, manager Jose Mourinho confirmed the same in his post-match press conference last night.
The move would see Schneiderlin reunite with his former manager at Southampton Ronald Koeman who is now at the helm at Goodison Park, and United’s loss will be Everton’s gain as the France international will help reinforce Koeman’s midfield options.
Meanwhile, Ligue 1 side Olympique Lyonnais have sought the advice of former Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal for a player the legendary Dutchman managed during his spell at the club. And the player in question is Adnan Januzaj.
That’s right, Lyon is interested in signing the highly rated midfielder from Manchester United, but before doing that they have approached the former Red Devils boss, with Gerrard Houllier speaking to van Gaal for his inputs on Januzaj who is currently on loan at Sunderland.
Reports suggest that Januzaj is the primary target for Les Gones, with the club interested in initially signing the Belgian on loan for the rest of the season with an additional option to buy the 21-year-old at the end of the season.
With Jose Mourinho indicating that Januzaj is in his long-term plans, it will be interesting to see whether Manchester United actually agree to sell the starlet.
Finally, Manchester United are set to go head-to-head with Southampton for a highly rated youngster, with the two clubs vying for the signature of French wonderkid Yasser Larouci, after he rejected a contract to play for Le Havre.
The 16-year-old French youngster is a playmaker who boasts of speed and trickery in his bag of traits, and is adept at playing on the wings. And after impressing at the Le Havre academy, Larouci rejected a fresh contract, and is now on the radar of several Premier League clubs including Manchester United and Southampton.
The world’s most expensive player and Manchester United’s prodigal son Paul Pogba also made the move to Old Trafford from Le Havre, and it will be interesting to see if Larouci follows in the France international’s footsteps.
