Over the weekend, Manchester United ramped up their preparations for the new Premier League season both on and off the pitch. On Saturday, United reached agreements with Bayern Munich to acquire defenders Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui for a combined fee of £51.5 million. This development was announced just hours before United faced their fierce rivals Manchester City in the Community Shield at Wembley.
Although Alejandro Garnacho’s late goal gave Erik ten Hag’s side a 1-0 lead, it was quickly nullified by Bernardo Silva, and misses from Jadon Sancho and Jonny Evans in the penalty shootout cost United the chance to secure the trophy. On Sunday, Aaron Wan-Bissaka made his way to London ahead of his £15 million transfer to West Ham, but these moves are just part of the broader transfer activities at Old Trafford.
Here’s a summary of the latest transfer updates from United.
A trio of medicals were conducted on Monday as both Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui arrived at Carrington for their assessments. The Bayern Munich pair took an early flight from Germany and were seen entering United’s training facility before 10am.
Meanwhile, Aaron Wan-Bissaka began his medical evaluation with West Ham. The 26-year-old, in the final year of his contract at United, is set to be replaced by Mazraoui, who is versatile enough to also play left-back.
Barcelona reportedly rejected a recent €50 million (£42.9m) bid from United for Frenkie de Jong, despite rekindling their interest in the midfielder. Despite Barcelona’s financial struggles, the club is open to offers for the Dutch international, but United’s initial offer was turned down.
Casemiro is likely to remain at Manchester United for a third season despite interest from Saudi Arabian clubs. Although there was speculation about his departure due to a dip in form last season, reports suggest that no Saudi club has shown strong enough interest to pursue the 32-year-old, who has two years left on his £350,000-a-week contract.