On Sunday, Manchester United registered their 14th Premier League defeat of the season in what was another frustrating performance from Erik ten Hag’s men, who could do little to trouble Arsenal at Old Trafford.

The rare positive moments that United produced either came from Kobbie Mainoo in the middle of the park or their two young wingers, Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo.

As INEOS get ready to make their moves in the summer transfer window to rebuild the team, it is important they focus on adding more young and hungry talents to their ranks instead of ageing marquee names, like Casemiro, who dropped another disastrous display against the Gunners.

It seems Sir Jim Ratcliffe intends to move in the same direction and are set to underline their vision by submitting an offer for one of the Championship’s most sought-after prospects.

According to The Northern Echo, the Red Devils are set to table a formal offer for Sunderland sensation Chris Rigg.

The English starlet, currently on a scholarship deal with Sunderland, will be eligible to sign his first professional deal in the summer when he turns 17.

Ahead of this, a host of clubs, both home and abroad, including Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen, are monitoring his situation.

However, it appears United are prepared to make the first move.

The Black Cats, meanwhile, are hoping to convince Rigg to stay at the Stadium of Light on account of assured first-team football. At 16, he made 21 appearances in the Championship this season.

On the other hand, United are poised to make the ‘strongest’ attempt to convince Rigg to move to Manchester, as the club’s new hierarchy prepare to strengthen their academy set-up.

In that regard, INEOS have already made a promising move by roping in Jason Wilcox as their new technical director.

Previously, Wilcox played a key part in transforming Manchester City’s youth sides as their head of academy.

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Based on current form and the injury crisis, United are not expected to get too many points from their remaining two league games and are in danger of failing to qualify for Europe altogether.

That could impact United’s spending power in the summer and their ability to attract top talent. Keeping PSR concerns in mind, the club will need to focus on selling players first before they can start thinking of recruitment.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is planning a large-scale clearout and that includes players who are out on loan like Jadon Sancho and Mason Greenwood.

Greenwood’s future

A lot has been written about the controversial United academy graduate with recent reports citing interest from within the Premier League while Juventus are also named as potential suitors as well teams from the cash-rich Saudi Pro League.

Rumours recently surfaced about the potential of a swap deal involving Barcelona’s Vitor Roque heading the other way. INEOS have made it clear that they would prefer a straight cash sale.

His current outfit Getafe are keen to try and hold on to the forward for another year after seeing the 22-year-old register 10 goals and six assists in 33 games across all competitions.

But should United press for a permanent solution, TeamTalk have now revealed that Atletico Madrid are in the lead with Getafe unlikely to be able to match United’s valuation.

The 20-time English league champions are asking for £40 million, a figure the Madrid-based team can afford to pay. There were earlier reports of United asking for £50 million which had seen both Barca and Diego Simeone’s team exit the race.

“Getafe would love to land Greenwood again for next season, but they would not be able to afford to sign the player on a permanent basis with United holding out for around £40 million for him.

“Reports in Spain have claimed Man Utd want as much as €60m (£52m) for Greenwood and that has put both Atletico and Barcelona off.

Atletico in the lead

“But sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk that the 22-year-old is available for the far more reasonable sum of £40m, which will be music to Atletico’s ears.

“A number of clubs in Italy and Germany have been credited with an interest in Greenwood, including Serie A giants Juventus, while the Saudi Pro League has also been named as a possible destination. However, TEAMtalk can reveal that Atletico are confident of winning the race for his signature.”

INEOS are even open to reintegrating Greenwood into the United first team should they not receive a satisfactory offer. Fans might have something to say about that after their backlash forced the club into a U-turn last year.

The academy graduate was charged with attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour and assault occasioning actual bodily harm and was suspended by the club two seasons ago. Those charges were subsequently dropped.

But United announced the player would not return to the first team. The England international was eventually sent out on loan on deadline day.

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This was their 14th defeat in the Premier League, the most losses in any campaign since the competition’s inception, and judging from the safety-first approach employed by manager Erik ten Hag, more losses are on the cards.

After their most recent hammering at the hands of Crystal Palace, the Dutchman decided to finally shut shop against the Gunners and that resulted in United enjoying the majority of possession but hardly threatened the opposition goal.

Even with the clock ticking down, the Red Devils showed little urgency and the form of Rasmus Hojlund is another concern.

Rasmus’ difficult debut season

The Dane is hardly getting any service from his fellow attackers while the 21-year-old seems to be struggling with the physicality in the English top flight and is often seen backing into defenders trying to hold on to the ball.

With his full focus on trying to win the physical battle, he mostly ends up losing the ball and that does not allow the team to relieve some of the pressure.

Ten Hag had asked for reinforcements last summer as well as in January as he felt it would be wrong to overburden the Denmark international considering his limited experience.

But no help was forthcoming and with Marcus Rashford’s form falling off a cliff while Anthony Martial remains sidelined, Ten Hag has had no choice but to keep playing Hojlund, who looks in need of a break.

Sesko remains a target

An elite summer signing is required to alleviate some of the pressure off the former Atalanta starlet’s shoulders and one name that has been doing the rounds for quite some time is Benjamin Sesko, currently of RB Leipzig.

The Slovenian was a major target back when he was playing at sister club RB Salzburg, and the 20-year-old earned a move to the Bundesliga last summer and has carried on in the same vein.

In 21 starts across all competitions, Sesko has 17 goals and two assists and is the club’s second top-scorer this season with Leipzig currently fourth and enroute to achieve Champions League qualification for next season.

Benjamin Šeško’s agent was in attendance at Old Trafford for Manchester United-Arsenal.

Here’s Elvis Basanovic posting from the stadium ahead of summer transfer window. pic.twitter.com/q7YJt1IpIg

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 13, 2024

And the rumour mill was sent into overdrive as his agent Elvis Basanovic was spotted at Old Trafford, watching the United-Arsenal game.

This is not the first United game the agent has attended with Basanovic also spotted at The Theatre of Dreams for the clash against Liverpool back in April.

Sesko’s agent spotted at OT

He could have been there simply to watch the game or to talk with the club regarding a summer move. Both clubs have been linked with a move with INEOS keen to pair him up with Hojlund.

The young striker has a release clause of €50 million and there were reports that the Bundesliga club are open to selling him for less than that amount.

But the Slovenia international has been on fire in the second half of the campaign and is currently on a run of scoring in six straight Bundesliga games. And his release clause is said to have increased by €15 million.

It will be intriguing to see where Sesko lands up. Whether United target someone experienced alongside the Denmark international or whether they choose to go down the route of adding young talent in the summer remains to be seen.

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Manchester United signed the Dutchman for €39 million from Ajax in September 2020 and it looked at the time to be a superb signing. Van de Beek was one of the most coveted midfielders in world football at the time.

However, things did not work out as expected. Immersed in the chaos of Manchester United’s mismanagement, a series of endless injuries, unsuccessful loan deals and erratic form, the now 27 year old’s career has faltered and ground to a halt as we gallop towards the fourth anniversary of the day he signed.

His latest loan deal at Eintracht Frankfurt has been another disaster. He has only made eight appearances all season, with two starts, and the German club has long since decided not to exercise the option to buy that was included in the deal.

Propped up by the sentimentality of fond memories of his former glory days in Amsterdam, Ajax recently boldly nailed their colours to the mast and offered to kill the fatted calf for their prodigal son.

However, Van de Beek’s agent, Guido Albers, turned down the move, stating that “my preference was to look in Spain, France or Italy”.

Albers, therefore, will presumably similarly be turning down the latest club to throw their hat into the ring by virtue of their geography.

According to fichajes.net, Galatasaray “see in the Dutch midfielder an attractive option to strengthen its midfield and increase its competitiveness in the different competitions in which it participates.”

The report explains that Gala “hope to convince Van de Beek by offering him the opportunity to have a more constant participation and a relevant role in the team.”

There is plenty of time to sort out a new club for Donny before the new season starts, but it may be that Albers is not serving his client well by holding out for a starting number 10 role in one of Europe’s top leagues after the four years the player has had.

There have been murmurs of Real Sociedad and Inter Milan showing some interest, but nothing concrete has developed at this stage. A loan to Sociedad fell through previously and there may be big boots to fill there if Martin Zubimendi moves on. Meanwhile, opportunities could be limited in a successful and established Inter side which tends to operate with twin strikers rather than a number 10.

Of course, the option remains for Van de Beek to sit out the last year of his Old Trafford contract if nothing emerges to please him. However, that would almost certainly mean his spell in the wilderness will extend to five years and his stock could be so low that ships such as Ajax and Galatasaray might have sailed, too.

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