Here are your Manchester United morning headlines for Thursday, 13 August.
Grealish to talk to Villa on future
Jack Grealish is set to talk to Aston Villa chief executive Christian Purslow about his future upon his return from holiday.
The MEN cite a report from The Mirror that claims the United transfer target fears Villa may price him out of a move this summer.
It is claimed that Villa could demand up to £80million for the 24-year-old, which may force United to end their interest.
Grealish enjoyed a standout season with the West Midlands club in 2019/20 but is thought to be keen to move on.
Differing views on football heritage
Jose Mourinho famously spoke of ‘football heritage’ after Sevilla eliminated his Manchester United side in the Champions League round of 16 in 2018.
The two sides now meet again in the semi-finals of the Europa League, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer the man in the hot seat at Old Trafford.
A report in the MEN outlines the changes at United in the time since the Norwegian replaced Mourinho at the helm.
Solskjaer will likely prepare for this game in a very different way to Mourinho two years ago.
If United are to defeat Sevilla in this clash and go on to build on those results for next season, he could continue to expose Mourinho’s shortcomings at the club.
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Under 23-boss praises sextet
Manchester United Under-23 boss Neil Wood has praised his side’s work ethic while reflecting upon the 2019/20 campaign.
Wood picked out Brandon Williams, Ethan Laird, James Garner, Dylan Levitt, Ethan Galbraith and Arnau Puigmal for particular praise in this regard after a season in which the club were promoted to Premier League 2 on a points-per-game basis after the early curtailment in March.
“You saw them all the way through as they came up in the system and it was part of their identity really,” Wood told the United website, via the MEN.
“Brandon especially and Ethan too, they like to defend but love to attack as well. If you can get those two flying up and down, it is some sight to watch them. It’s exciting and we were creating chances.
“It was good to watch but demanding for them and we demand that off them. Sometimes I thought they might be thinking ‘give us a break’ really but they kept going and you’ve seen Brandon has got his rewards and done exceptionally well with the first team. Ethan has also recently been training with the first team as well and I am very pleased with them.
“When you think of the midfielders we had in there, we’d got Jimmy Garner, Dylan Levitt and Ethan Galbraith – a good mix of talent as they have all got different things that complement each other so well.
“At times, Arnau Puigmal pushed into there as well to add something different as he likes to run forward and attack and scored some goals for himself. With the vision, creativity and range of passes, plus the accuracy, that those lads can play, it was a vital component of the team.”
