TOUR BEGINS
The Manchester United squad for the 2017 preseason Tour departed Manchester yesterday reaching Los Angeles late last night. As expected Adnan Januzaj was omitted from the travelling party while Sam Johnstone also missed out. Surprisingly Angel Gomes was left out. New signing Victor Lindelof was also part of the squad while Lukaku was not mentioned because he is yet to be named a United player officially. Lukaku is expected to be unveiled before linking up with his new teammates.
SQUAD: De Gea, Romero, J Pereira, Valencia, Darmian, Fosu-Mensah, Bailly, Blind, Jones, Smalling, Lindelof, Tuanzebe, Rojo, Shaw, Mitchell, Young, Carrick, Fellaini, Herrera, McTominay, Pogba, Lingard, Mkhitaryan, Mata, A Pereira, Martial, Rashford.
ROONEY LEAVES
Wayne Rooney officially left Manchester United yesterday which confirmed days of speculation. He rejoined his boyhood club Everton after 13 years at United. Rooney thanked the management, players and fans for their support during his time at Old Trafford. Rooney signed on a two-year deal.
UNITED: HIJACK SPECIALISTS?
Manchester United have an agreement in place for the transfer of Tiemoune Bakayoko from Monaco if reports are to be believed. Chelsea were previously favourites and even had a deal with Monaco agreed. But the move has stalled over the past few days and United remain ready to pounce. There were also reports of a private jet going from Monaco to Los Angeles. The news of the flight triggered Bakayoko as well as Fabinho speculations on a number of forums.
SAM JOHNSTONE BACK TO VILLA
Sam Johnstone is set to return to Villa for another year on loan. He spent the second half of the 2016-17 season at Villa Park and impressed manager Steve Bruce. Several media outlets spoke about a battle between Championship clubs Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Villa for the United reserve. But Johnstone’s return is set to be confirmed by the club. Johnstone’s contract expires at the end of next season. The possibility of losing him for a fee increased with the decision to send him out on loan again.
PERISIC TALKS
Inter Milan player Ivan Perisic is expected to hold showdown talks with his Inter Milan boss soon. Perisic is reportedly distracted by the United speculation and wants to seal a dream move to Old Trafford by the end of the window. Spalletti said: “I will speak to everyone and, of course, for those who are ‘distracted’ there will be different words. I will listen to him (Perisic). I’m counting on him but we’ll have to understand his intentions. It would not be nice for me to hear him say words like ‘I want to leave’. We’ll see. You keep talking about Perisic and his desire to leave but I need to listen to his own words first and then decide how to act. I hope to have him in the side, I am counting on it and I am positive in that sense.”