MANCHESTER UNITED players will report for pre-season training in two weeks and there is every chance a new arrival will not be among them.
That is hardly cause for panic. The reality is one deal is all but done (Ederson) and there is a quiet confidence that Mateus Fernandes will be the second midfield incoming.
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Ederson played for Brazil last week Credit: Getty Images
Fernandes could soon be Cunha’s teammate Credit: Getty
United’s market activity tends to ramp up in July. Two years ago, Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro signed within four days of each other with United’s pre-season already underway.
Last year, Bryan Mbeumo joined just in time to board the club’s flight to Chicago for their three-game tour of the United States.
United have ample seniority for their first two lesser friendlies against Wrexham in Helsinki on July 18 and Rosenborg in Trondheim on July 24. Michael Carrick could field a starting XI of Tom Heaton, Yoro, Harry Maguire, Ayden Heaven, Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, Jack Fletcher, Mbeumo, Zirkzee, Patrick Dorgu and Benjamin Sesko.
The key first ‘deadline’ is August 9. That is when United will start their week-long training camp in Dublin with a full squad.
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Here is where United are up to with their market movements:
Ederson
United agreed a £35m deal with Atalanta for Ederson last month and the transfer will be formally announced in July.
Well-placed United sources expect the move to be finalised after Brazil’s World Cup campaign is over. Ederson was not included in Carlo Ancelotti’s original 26-man squad but replaced the injured Wesley at the 11th hour.
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Had Ederson, 26, not been on international duty then he would have concluded his move to United by now.
Mateus Fernandes
Patience is required with any move for a West Ham player amid the total disarray at the Championship club.
Karen Brady stepped down as vice-chair just before the end of the season, David Sullivan resigned as chairman over serious historic allegations and Daniel Křetínský is about to step in as majority owner.
There is also still no decision on the future of manager Nuno Espirito Santo following the club’s first relegation since 2011.
It is safe to assume Fernandes will not be hanging around in the second tier, having left relegated Southampton for West Ham last year.
Real Madrid expect Fernandes to join United and Arsenal cooled their interest in the Portugal international.
Tottenham have been linked with Fernandes but sources have doubted the seriousness of their purported interest.
It would suit West Ham to have a second bidder at the table. The competition for Mbeumo from Tottenham and Newcastle 12 months ago drove up his fee to £71m.
Wilcox with Mbeumo last summer Credit: Getty
Fernandes is unlikely to stick around at West Ham Credit: Getty
But sources in Portugal still anticipate a move to United for Fernandes, seen as a worthy alternative to Elliot Anderson.
Alex Scott and Carlos Baleba
Scott and Baleba are viewed as attainable options if United have the funds to move for a third midfielder. United have tracked Bournemouth midfielder Scott for several months and enquired about Baleba last summer, only to be told by Brighton he was valued at £100m.
Any move for either depends on whether United can shift Manuel Ugarte. The club are prepared to accept a small loss on Ugarte under the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules after the £40m sale of Alejandro Garnacho to Chelsea last year.
Academy sales count as pure profit and United also resisted any spending in the winter transfer window.
Although United agreed to pay £225.32m in fees last summer, Mbeumo’s up-front fee was £65m and Sesko’s was £66.26m. Cunha had a £62.5m release clause and Senne Lammens was a snip at £18.2m, so United did not exceed £70m for a single signing, part of the “disciplined” strategy chief executive Omar Berrada has advocated.
Left-hand side
United are open-minded about whether to go for a left winger or a left back. Luke Shaw started every Premier League game last season, his first at United without ever sustaining an injury.
However, Shaw is out of contract next year. The increased workload, with Champions League football back on the calendar, increases the risk of injury for Shaw, who turns 31 next month.
Lewis Hall would be open to joining United as he wants to play for a Champions League club and is unhappy with how Eddie Howe managed him in Newcastle’s run-in. Hall believes that cost him a place in Thomas Tuchel’s England World Cup squad.
Hall has shone at Old Trafford in the past Credit: The Times
Shaw started all 38 league games last season Credit: CameraSport via Getty Images
Hall, 21, is under contract at St James’ Park for another three years and Newcastle would be loath to sell him to United.
The dilemma for United is they have four left backs with first-team experience: Shaw, Dorgu, Harry Amass and Diego Leon, though the latter is yet to make his debut.
Leon, 19, spent the majority of last season with the under 21s and is all but certain to head out on loan. Amass, 19, would be keen to head back out on loan after impressing for Sheffield Wednesday last term but he is set to be involved for United in pre-season.
Dorgu has looked more comfortable as an orthodox left winger, scoring three goals in three starts under Carrick from that role.
Marcus Rashford also still has two years remaining on his contract. United will not publicly admit it but their preference would be to sell a player who last played for the club 18 months ago and is about to become their highest earner again after a year on loan at Barcelona.
West Ham winger Crysencio Summerville has scored twice at the World Cup for the Netherlands and has been eyed by United.
Summerville is also likely to leave the London Stadium this summer and he would not necessarily command a starting spot as Cunha has flourished from the left since January.
Striker
The midfield and left flank are United’s priorities but a more competent forward to support Sesko is also essential.
Zirkzee is not up to it Credit: Alamy Live News.
Zirkzee made one start in the final six months of last season Credit: Getty
Zirkzee has scored two Premier League goals in the past 18 months and managed nine goals in 75 United appearances overall since his £36.5m move from Bologna two years ago.
Zirkzee is well-liked by teammates and was the first official signing of the Ineos era, which means the Dutchman is not at the front of the queue for planned outgoings.
Unlike Ugarte, Zirkzee was involved in United’s run-in, appearing in their final six games. If there are no takers for the 25-year-old then that would prohibit United from moving for a replacement.
Goalkeeper
United were always going to be in the market for a new goalie this summer and Lammens’ form has ensured it will be a back-up.
Tom Heaton’s new one-year contract has maintained continuity in the United goalkeeping department and Heaton has a close relationship with Lammens.
United have told Andre Onana they want to sell him and expect Altay Bayindir to return to Turkey.
Lammens has kept goal in every game since his debut against Jattvibederland on October 4 but a new No.2 would be in line for more playing time with United back in Europe next term.
Darlow helped Leeds beat United at Old Trafford in April Credit: Alamy
Onana and Bayindir are both exit-bound Credit: Alamy
Veteran Karl Darlow, who United considered bringing in four years ago, is out of contract at Leeds next week but is in discussions about a renewal.
Angus Gunn, released by Nottingham Forest but starting for Scotland at the World Cup, is an alternative option.
