Here are your Manchester United evening headlines for Friday, April 3.
Premier League releases new statement about resumption of season
Nearly a full month after the last round of Premier League fixtures was played, the Premier League has announced the season has been suspended indefinitely until it is safe to resume the programme.
The league’s decision-makers had previously targeted April 3 and then April 30 as the end of its suspension, but the latest statement confirms there is now no specific date for when the competition will get back underway.
"It was acknowledged that the Premier League will not resume at the beginning of May – and that the 2019/20 season will only return when it is safe and appropriate to do so," the statement reads.
"The restart date is under constant review with all stakeholders, as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic develops and we work together through this very challenging time.”
Manchester United won their last match before the suspension, against Manchester City, to go five games unbeaten in the league. They currently sit fifth in the table.
Harry Kane unlikely to be a realistic Man Utd option due to Spurs stance
Tottenham Hotspur sources have suggested Manchester United will be unable to prise Harry Kane away from the club, despite suggestions the England striker might be open to an exit if Jose Mourinho’s side was no longer 'progressing as a team or going in the right direction'.
Kane, who is under contract with Spurs until 2024, would be expected to command a fee of more than £100m, and United’s priorities are thought to lie elsewhere.
Jadon Sancho of Borussia Dortmund and Aston Villa top scorer Jack Grealish remain on United’s radar as they look to strengthen in the upcoming transfer window, but Kane is seen as less attainable than either of those two due to Spurs’ continued reluctance to part ways with their prized assets.
When Mourinho was in charge at Old Trafford, a move for Kane was played down on the grounds that, in the manager’s words: "Can you buy Tottenham’s best players? No, because they don’t sell. Of course, they are so powerful that they can say no.”
The 26-year-old was also a target of former United manager Louis van Gaal back in the 2014-15 season, but the club’s hierarchy realised even then that a move wasn’t likely to come off.
Matthijs de Ligt’s father-in-law responds to United speculation
Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt is unlikely to leave the club for Old Trafford, according to his father-in-law.
The former Ajax man has been watched by United scouts in the past, but the M.E.N. understands the Reds weren’t optimistic about a switch to the Premier League last summer.
A difficult start to life in Turin hasn’t changed that, with De Ligt’s father-in-law Keje Molenaar telling Tuttojuve : "It’s just rumours, that’s all, there’s nothing more to say about it".
“Matthijs doesn’t regret having chosen Juve at all, he and Annekee are really enjoying themselves in Turin and maybe they can spend some more time in Italy,” Molenaar continued.
De Ligt has made 20 Serie A appearances for Juve after helping Ajax reach the semi-finals of the 2018-19 Champions League.
