TALKS HELD
Manchester United have reportedly made contact with Real Madrid over a move for striker Alvaro Morata. Mourinho reportedly had a conversation with the man himself on the phone. United’s offer for Morata is ‘very good’ but could face stiff competition from Chelsea. Despite this, Stamford Bridge is Morata’s favoured destination as he enjoyed working with Conte at Juventus. Chelsea are also willing to offer Real Madrid as much as £70m to get their man.
MORE TALKS HELD
Manchester United have reportedly approached Zlatan Ibrahimovic for a coaching role at Carrington. Mourinho is reportedly reluctant to cut ties with the Swede just yet and has held ‘tentative’ talks with Ibrahimovic over a coaching role.
DESTINY?
Manchester United midfield man Ander Herrera has revealed the exact moment that he realised he will play for United. It was almost two years before he actually made the move – the Europa League match between Athletic Bilbao and United. He fell ‘in love’ with the club that day and wanted to make the move. Herrera said: “I remember I saw the rest of the stadium and I thought – I didn’t say to anyone – ‘must be good to play in front of these fans every weekend. And then I played a fantastic game, maybe one of the best in my career and we beat United 3-2 at Old Trafford. But that day I realised one day that was going to happen, I was going to put the red shirt on and enjoy Old Trafford.”
THE WALK OF FAME
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has reportedly cleared space on walls at Carrington. If reports are to be believed, Mourinho intends to fill the blank space with pictures of achievements of the current group of players. A source said: ‘Jose wants his players to feel like they are part of the fabric of the club. He felt that it was wrong that the recent successes have not been marked and wanted to change that. He insisted that he did not appear on any of the pictures, but he asked for group shots from the FA Cup win last year and the League Cup and Community Shield to go up. He also asked for about two-thirds of the wall to be left blank. He wants the players to go out and make history.’
POGBA UPDATE
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba took part in light training on Tuesday (yesterday). This has raised hopes that the world-record man will play in the Manchester Derby on Thursday. Pogba limped out of the win at Burnley with a calf injury.
60 MEMORABLE YEARS
Today marks 60 years since Old Trafford first hosted a European match – a 2-2 draw between United and Real Madrid.