Ajax defender Timber strongly linked
It’s not uncommon for a new manager to raid a former club for trusted professionals. A defender that immediately fits the bill in that respect is Ajax’s Jurrien Timber, a young Dutchman with bags of potential who Erik ten Hag knows extremely well. The 20-year-old can operate at right-back and at centre-half and could replace the likes of Victor Lindelof, Eric Bailly, Phil Jones, Harry Maguire and Axel Tuanzebe. Matthijs de Ligt of Juventus and Villarreal’s Pau Torres have also made a reported list of targets put together by Erik ten Hag and those around him at Old Trafford.
Pogba out, De Jong in?
After promising to deliver so much but ultimately providing very little, Paul Pogba’s hugely disappointing time back at Manchester United is coming to an end. The Frenchman is expected to leave, with major clubs in Europe casting an eye over a talented player whose career has clearly stagnated. With Pogba’s departure on the cards, reports suggesting a move for Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong are emerging. The Dutchman is known by Ten Hag and is reportedly surplus to requirements at the Camp Nou. But with no Champions League football on offer next season, can Manchester United tempt relatively big names like the Barcelona star to the club? Alongside De Jong, the Red Devils are linked with several other central midfield players, namely Kalvin Phillips of Leeds United, West Ham’s Declan Rice and Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante.
Darwin Nunez a priority
United’s reliance on an ageing Cristiano Ronaldo to score most of the team’s goals simply cannot continue. This, coupled with doubts over the future of Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, alongside the imminent departure of Edinson Cavani, mean that acquisitions in the final third of the pitch are absolutely vital. A name already in the frame is Benfica’s Darwin Nunez, a young Uruguayan international who has scored 34 goals in 41 appearances in all competitions. Nunez is attracting plenty of attention from some of Europe’s major clubs, though. Should Manchester United fail to land the goal-getter, then a number of other options could emerge. The likes of Ajax’s Antony, who is a winger, has been linked with a move to supplement an already thin attack, alongside Inter Milan ace Lautaro Martinez.