Manchester United are linked with five players in a ‘youth’ and ‘data’ recruitment drive under Sir Jim Ratcliffe, while Paris Saint-Germain are sniffing around Marcus Rashford as their Kylian Mbappe replacement.
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There’s various talk of ‘stumbling blocks’ and ‘hurdles’ as news outlets try to milk the Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid transfer for all it’s worth, but it is going to happen, and Paris Saint-Germain will need a replacement.
AC Milan’s Rafael Leao has been linked along with Benjamin Sesko of RB Leipzig, but the French giants could also reignite interest in one of their former targets, Marcus Rashford.
The England international isn’t having the best time of it under Erik ten Hag, neither on the pitch nor off it, but dips in form weren’t previously an issue for PSG, who last made an attempt to lure Rashford from Old Trafford in the summer of 2022, on the back of a season in which the forward managed just four Premier League goals.
Caughtoffside claim the Ligue 1 side are ‘ready to make an approach for Rashford’, but only if he indicates that he wants to leave United, having felt they were previously used as leverage by him to earn a more lucrative contract with his boyhood club.
“Marcus Rashford is also a historical PSG target. The club were keen prior to Rashford extending his stay at Old Trafford, but after taking meetings in Paris they felt they were being used as leverage,” transfer expert Ben Jacobs revealed.
Rashford signed a new deal at Old Trafford worth £300,000 per week in July, committing his future to the club until 2028.
Jacobs added: “Rashford is still committed to Manchester United, but a summer swoop from PSG can’t be entirely ruled out. However, Rashford would first have to indicate he has changed his stance on leaving otherwise PSG don’t want to waste time trying for a transfer without clear player buy in.”
‘DATA’ AND ‘YOUTH’
Whether Rashford stays or goes, new minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe is set to overhaul the squad in the summer, and The I claim his team have decided to focus on ‘data’ and ‘youth’ in their drive to improve the team.
Those two metrics have led them Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise and Jarrad Branthwaite of Everton, both of whom have been hugely impressive this season.
Branthwaite spent last season on loan at PSV Eindhoven, where he earned rave reviews from the manager and former Red Devil Ruud van Nistelrooy, before returning to Goodison Park and becoming a stalwart in Sean Dyche’s side.
And Olise has been one of the standout wingers in the Premier League this season, contributing to nine goals in 11 league games for Palace.
MAN UTD PENNY-PINCHING
In a further use of data, rudimentary though this particular data set is – to the extent where a very quick Google can provide the answers, United are also keeping a close eye on players with expiring contracts.
With a view to operating within the bounds of the Premier League profit and sustainability rules, Ratcliffe and his team are keen to sign quality players on the cheap and targeting those at the end of their contracts may mean they’re able to land them for nothing, or at least in cut-price deals.
ESPN claim Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich, Lille star Jonathan David and Khephren Thuram of Nice are all players United are looking at ‘with the recruitment team looking to usher in a new-look era’.
