‘Some conversations going on’ - Dan Ashworth drops major Man United transfer hint amid plenty phone calls
Manchester United sporting director Dan Ashworth has suggested the Red Devils could still get some transfer deals done before the 11 pm deadline tonight.
The Old Trafford club are expected to announce the signing of Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Manuel Ugarte today after agreeing a £51 million deal, but the Uruguay international is not likely to feature against Liverpool on Sunday having not trained and played for a while.
Man United have been linked with Chelsea attacker Raheem Sterling, with Jadon Sancho tipped to head in the opposite direction in a separate deal.
The Red Devils have also signed forward Joshua Zirkzee and defensive trio Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui so far this summer, parting with £206m for the quartet and Ugarte, and they could end up paying an additional £8.5m in add-ons for the soon-to-be Man United player should certain targets be met.
Further additions have not been ruled out, with Ashworth telling the Daily Mail journalist Mike Keegan his phone did not stop ringing while the draws for the Europa League were ongoing.
“I had a few missed calls,” the Man United chief told Keegan.
“I kept getting nudged from Sir Dave Brailsford! My phone was vibrating. Let’s see what happens. The window is still open. We’ve got some conversations going on.”
The Red Devils started the 2024-25 campaign with a narrow 1-0 victory over Fulham on the opening day of the Premier League season before losing 2-1 to Brighton & Hove Albion in their following game last weekend.
It was clear in both games that their current squad does not have what it takes to challenge the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal for the Premier League title, and whether they can get one or two more quality additions through the door in the coming hours remains to be seen.