Man Utd takeover news LIVE: Potter lined up to replace Ten Hag after meeting Ratcliffe EXCLUSIVE, Sancho ‘transfer exit’

'Out of sync'

Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel has slammed manager Erik Ten Hag's confusing instructions after the dismal loss to Bayern Munich.

There isn’t a lot of pace in the team. You’ve got a little bit on the left wing, a little bit up front.

But then you’ve got a midfield who seems to be confused with what their job is – some of them are pressing, some of them aren’t pressing.

They leave that massive gap between the defenders and the front players, and it’s like two linear lines. Everything seems a little bit out of sync.

Peter SchmeichelCBS Sports

Taking the Mic

Fans were left baffled after ex-Manchester United ace Owen Hargreaves began speaking about painting a fence live on TV.

Hargreaves was commentating during United's crucial Champions League clash with Bayern Munich, where he also played, for TNT Sports on Tuesday.

However, during the first half the ex-midfielder went off on a tangent and began speaking about a time he went to his youth coach's house to paint a fence.

The former England international went on to joke that he wasn't good at painting and that he failed to finish it as the weather was too hot.

The 42-year-old then elaborated and revealed that his coach told him to finish before the next game.

Serhou Guirassy boost

Manchester United transfer target Serhou Guirassy has rejected a new deal at Stuttgart.

United are very keen on Guirassy ahead of the January transfer window as he has already registered a whopping 16 goals in just 12 Bundesliga matches.

And according to transfer insider Christian Falk, Guirassy is now "ready for the next step" after turning down a contract extension from his current club.

Stuttgart tried to buy the Guinea international's relatively low release clause as well.

That means the 27-year-old will be available for a bargain €17.5million (£15m) come January.

However, the Red Devils are not the only ones keeping tabs on Guirassy with Borussia Dortmund as well as Premier League rivals Newcastle also showing interest.

Hayden Hackney transfer war

Manchester United are facing a transfer war with Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham for Middlesbrough ace Hayden Hackney, 21.

According to The Mail, scouts were in attendance at Boro matches in recent months, and Spurs are among those most interested.

Premier League talent spotters attended the midfielder's last game away at Bristol City before he picked up a hamstring injury.

Interestingly, most of those top six clubs have not watched the team during the England Under-21 international's three-game absence.

Not a Don deal

Manchester United's forgotten man Donny van de Beek's huge wages could block a move to Eintracht Frankfurt.

Eintracht remain favourites to land Van de Beek on loan in January ahead of admirers from LaLiga but despite holding advanced talks the Germans can't afford his monthly wages of around £500,000.

Girona are also hovering for the playmaker, while even Barcelona and Juventus have been mentioned.

Eintracht, though, remain confident of luring the Netherlands international for the rest of the season.

But transfer insider Christian Falk claims the 26-year-old's £6million annual salary is simply beyond the seventh-placed Bundesliga club.

Reduced transfer budget

Manchester United are set to be handed a reduced summer transfer budget after their Champions League exit.

United were booted out of Europe entirely as Bayern Munich won 1-0 at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

And according to the Manchester Evening News, their loss in revenues is expected to have a knock-on effect on their transfer activity as they must comply with domestic and European financial fair play rules.

The report adds high-ranking sources at Old Trafford wanted to invest more in the squad last term but were limited due to FFP.

Man Utd elimination affects all

Manchester United’s Champions League exit is bad news for all English clubs.

And if Newcastle join them tonight by failing to make it out of the group stage when they face AC Milan then the Premier League is at serious danger of missing out on an extra Champions League place next season.

The group stages will change next term due to the introduction of the “Swiss-style” format, with four additional teams being added to take the number of clubs competing to a total of 36.

Uefa will award two of the extra four places to the nations that have collectively performed best in Europe during the previous campaign.

Points are awarded by Uefa for victories in the group stage and participation in the Round of 16.

However, United’s exit and Newcastle’s possible elimination could hit England’s association club coefficient average.

England are now third in the table – behind Germany and Italy with Spain just behind – and English teams would usually gain more points due to their results in the knockouts, but we are now already one team down.

That means the Premier League’s top clubs will now be desperate for Newcastle to defeat Milan in their must-win showdown and hope Paris Saint-Germain either draw or lose at already-qualified Borussia Dortmund.

Sir Jim's dig

Sir Jim Ratcliffe could be set for an awkward encounter with Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes when he arrives at the club following a comment he previously made about the playmaker.

In the opening page of Ratcliffe's book 'Introducing Grit, Rigour & Humour: The Ineos Story', he recalls a trip to Cook Island where he watched a local rugby match.

Sir Jim marvelled at the physicality on show, claiming he felt the ground tremble every time one player smashed into another - with one player even breaking his leg.

The Brit then compared that to Fernandes, who he mocked for "clutching his untouched face" in the 7-0 loss to Liverpool.

Anthony Martial exit?

Manchester United ace Anthony Martial has been tipped for a free transfer next summer.

Martial is out of contract in June and his latest performances haven't made a case for a contract extension.

According to The Athletic, United have already decided not to to trigger the option of a further year on the forward's deal.

So unless the France international is sold in January, he is likely to depart in the summer.

Rashford and Martial latest

Manchester United duo Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial were absent on Tuesday's Champions League loss to Bayern Munich at Old Trafford.

Rashford and Martial were both sidelined due to an illness, which also made them miss training heading to the Bayern clash.

The forwards will now race for a swift return in time for Sunday’s Premier League derby against Liverpool at Anfield.

If they can't make it then United manager Erik ten Hag may have to field the same attack he had against Bayern with captain Bruno Fernandes behind Rasmus Hojlund and Antony as well as Alejandro Garnacho on the wings.

Double injury blow

Manchester United have been hit with another injury blow after Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw limped off against Bayern Munich on Tuesday at Old Trafford.

Maguire was forced off with what appears to be a groin injury during the first half of the 1-0 defeat against Bayern.

Shaw was also withdrawn at half-time after the commentary team had picked up on a potential hamstring problem in the first half.

The left-back has already missed three months through injury this season, only returning to action in recent weeks.

This raises some serious questions about the defenders' condition heading to Sunday's Premier League derby against Liverpool at Anfield.

United boss Erik ten Hag is dealing with an injury crisis, which has also seen centre-back Lisandro Martinez being sidelined while Victor Lindelof remains a doubt.

Leon in wait

Manchester United are ready to battle Arsenal for Santos wonderkid Marcos Leonardo.

And it seems like Leonardo is on his way out of Brazil as his representative Rafaela Pimenta has admitted that his days at Vila Belmiro are numbered.

Already in the previous transfer market he had the possibility of being sold, but Santos’ sporting situation was very particular.

He agreed to stay because he wanted to help out until the end of the championship.

He didn’t want to leave because it wasn’t the right thing to do.

But the time has come to move. He wants to have a European experience and his time will come this winter.

Rafaela Pimenta

'Forwards can't handle pressure' - Saha

Louis Saha has claimed that Manchester United's forward can not deal with the pressure in order to beat defences.

Louis Saha was speaking to Paddy Power: “Erik ten Hag is still the right man to fix Manchester United’s problems, but he needs to recognise that he’s making mistakes.  

“He has a young striker [Rasmus Højlund] who needs a certain type of service but he’s not getting it. Manchester United have a front line whose confidence needs to be built up. Normally, defenders and midfielders are very stable, and they should be very consistent, but we’ve had issues with defence and the goalkeeper [André Onana] who made mistakes. 

“But the front line at United is made of players who are not playing with confidence. So, we need someone who is almost arrogant but every time he’s playing, he’s going to provide that consistency, drive and crazy aspect where he knows what he’s doing. 

“There are too many players at Manchester United who can’t get the right messages across to their teammates. The only player at the top of their game is Bruno Fernandes and he’s going to create chances and score goals.  

“The other players are so inconsistent because their confidence gets shattered so quickly. United need a strong front line who are capable of handling pressure like Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo used to do. They would force defences into crumbling and that’s just not the case right now. 

“They’re too easy to read, and when they don’t take their chances, they get punished.” 

Man Utd fixture update

Manchester United will have to play just one Premier League match in January due to schedule changes.

As things stand, United will face Wigan and Tottenham at the start of the New Year.

Should the Red Devils defeat Wigan in the FA Cup, one more game will be added to their January schedule at the end of the month.

However, the Manchester giants’ only Prem outing will be a home clash with Tottenham on January 14.

Erik ten Hag’s men were originally set to face Wolves in the league on January 30, but that fixture has been moved to February 1 so it can be shown live on TNT Sports.

The fixture change will likely come as a relief for United as the club continue to manage several injuries.

Keane hits out at United

Roy Keane has slammed Manchester United's treatment of players over the years.

He told the Stick to Football podcast: “Manchester United are a great club, brilliant club, but the way they’ve treated players over the years and the way they’ve let players go – Jaap [Stam]’s not the first or the last that I’ve heard from – it’s absolutely disgraceful. Paul Ince – there’s loads of others.

“A lot of these players who probably didn't think they’d done anything wrong. They were good pros and all that. I know sometimes you have to move players on.

“I said to Paul Ince, you didn’t have to leave, you’ve got a contract. I think Ole [Gunnar Solskjær] had the chance to leave, he said no.

“But when the manager is saying that to you, and you’re so hurt, and obviously you’ve got your pride, it’s hard to stay.”

RED DREAD

Keane slams Man Utd's 'disgraceful' treatment of stars as he hits out at Fergie

Fergie snubbed by Gullit

Ruud Gullit has snubbed Air Alex Ferguson when picking his best manager of all time.

He told Gambling Zone: "I think Ancelotti is a bit bigger than Sir Alex and Pep due to the Champions Leagues he's won!

"He's top-notch, and he's the king of European success. 

'Both Pep and Sir Alex are a part of history, but let's look at what Ancelotti has achieved.

"He's the king of kings, better than anyone else, and I'm very proud of him."

United's last CL failure team

Manchester United last finished bottom of their Champions League group in the 2005/06 season.

This is what the team looked like then...

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Greenwood update

Getafe president Angel Corres has claied that the club wants to sign Mason Greenwood on a permanent deal at the end of the season.

The Man United player is currently on loan at the LaLoga side and has shown signs of his previous form.

Corres told Cadena SER: "With Greenwood, we are not only planning on him staying another year, but we also want to buy him."

De Gea can still compete

David de Gea has been told to sign for Newcastle and get “competing for major honours” again by a Toon and Manchester United legend.

When asked by BetFred on whether he thinks it would be a good move, Cole, 52, said: “Absolutely, it would be a great move for David.

“Regardless of what Newcastle United are going through at the moment, they’re two years ahead of schedule and if David was to go there, I think he would only improve them. 

“It’s not as if he’s a downgrade on Nick Pople because David would definitely be an upgrade.

“Pope is a very good goalkeeper, but during his time with Manchester United, David was phenomenal.”

What's up next?

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Antony has 'not justified' price tag

Dwight Yorke has claimed that Antony has not justified his £85million price tag since joining Manchester United.

He told Instant Casino: "People must be having a laugh if they're praising Antony for putting in some decent performances - he was £85m.

"Everybody is entitled to their opinion, but we need to be frank - Anthony just hasn't been good enough. It's all well and good producing the occasional decent performance, but that shouldn't be an acceptable benchmark at Man United.

"I appreciate that every player needs time to settle in, but Antony is another player who needs to man up. He needs to blitz down that right-hand side, cut in, assist, and score goals - that's what they paid £85m for.

"We're talking about a player as expensive as him finally becoming an OK player. The whole club is becoming an OK one, where they pat themselves on the back for being decent and having players who turn in acceptable performances. Man United had a good month where they scooped up all the monthly Premier League awards, but let's not forget about the rest of the results - the ones against Galatasaray, Bournemouth, and Newcastle. It's as if they don't count."

"The discussion around Antony becoming an OK footballer is nonsense. He cost £85 million. He has to be better than that."