Liverpool agrees to sign £50,000 a week player targeted by Manchester United
Zubimendi Sociedad celebrating
Manchester United are desperately looking to improve the No.6 position at Old Trafford and have suffered blow in pursuit of a major target.
According to Manchester Evening News, Man Utd are interested in hiring the services of Martin Zubimendi to reinforce things in the center of the park.
However, reports in Spain (AS via Paisley Gates) indicate that Liverpool are prepared to activate the release clause of 60 million euros so that they do not even have to negotiate with Real Sociedad over fee.
Even Champions League clubs like Arsenal and Barcelona have failed to convince the player to join them.
So, it will be fair to say that the Red Devils are not an attractive destination as they can only offer Europa League football.
As per MEN, United have chased Manuel Ugarte but their interest has cooled down due to the high valuation slapped on the Uruguayan by PSG.
The French champions have been asking for a fee of almost £50m and if Man Utd are not willing to pay that sum, then it is likely they would not be willing to pay £51m (60 million euro) for Zubimendi, something that Liverpool are prepared to do as per AS.
The 25-year-old star’s current deal with Sociedad will expire in 2027 and he is one of the highest earners at the club, taking home around £50,000 a week.
With the new season about to start, Ten Hag is once again left with first choice DM, Casemiro, who had the worst campaign of his life last term.
On the other hand, United opted not to sign Moroccan holding midfielder, Amrabat, on a bosman.
Now, Man Utd are not willing to meet the fee for Ugarte and Zubimendi might end up moving to Liverpool as Sociedad expects him to accept to a deal with the Anfield side.
In your opinion, who should the Old Trafford club sign to reinforce the No.6 position before the window closes this month.
Sir Alex Ferguson was absolutely furious and unloaded on the Manchester United player.
Sir Alex Ferguson told player he would ‘never play for Man United again’ for swapping shirts
Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson once laid into one of his players after he swapped shirts with a Manchester City player.
Ferguson was a know disciplinarian and not a big fan of shirt swapping. So when Ruud van Nistelrooy walked into the changing room with the shirt of rivals City, the Scot absolutely lost it.
The game in question was Rio Ferdinand’s first derby as a United player after he signed in a £30 million move from Leeds.
The fixture was City’s last derby at Maine Road before moving to the Etihad Stadium and Kevin Keegan’s side claimed a historic 3-1 victory.
Shaun Goater bagged a brace, with Nicolas Anelka also on target. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer netted United’s goal but it was his strike partner who courted controversy after the game.
“We got beat 3-1 at Maine Road with Shaun Goater scoring two goals,” Ferdinand recalled on a FIVE podcast episode featuring Vincent Kompany.
“That was the first derby I played and the moment I realised how big it was was in the changing room after.
“We walked in and the manager shut the door. It was quiet and then all of a sudden he just erupted.
“Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was the God then, walked in with a City shirt in his hand and I remember Sir Alex Ferguson just absolutely unloaded on him. He destroyed him, saying: ‘If I ever see any of you walking with a City shirt ever again you’ll never play for this club.’
“That’s how he was, he was just mad. That’s when I sat there and thought: ‘This is a big game, isn’t it?’
“I didn’t realise before that game and ever since then, whether you win more or less, I knew that week leading up to a derby was all or nothing.”
Image: Getty
Van Nistelrooy was United’s main man up top at the time but that didn’t stop Ferguson from giving a dressing down.
According to former United captain Gary Neville, Ferguson stopped his players from swapping shirts in domestic games as a result.
Van Nistelrooy scored in the return fixture at Old Trafford but Goater, on as a substitute, salvaged a point for City with a late header.
In five seasons at United, Van Nistelrooy scored 150 goals in 219 appearances for the club before joining Real Madrid.
He and Ferguson butted heads in his final days at United and in 2011, Van Nistelrooy revealed he went out of his way to apologise to the Scotsman for his behaviour.
The ex PSV and Real Madrid man sealed a return to the club this summer, joining Erik ten Hag’s coaching staff.
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