Man Utd Transfer News LIVE updates: Asensio bid made, Sanchez offer claim, Pereira loan

MANCHESTER UNITED TRANSFER NEWS: All the latest on Gareth Bale, Ivan Perisic and more…

Thursday August 31

Hargreaves Ibrahimovic prediction

05:15: Meanwhile, Owen Hargreaves thinks Zlatan Ibrahimovic will have a massive impact for the Red Devils.

The Swede re-signed on a new one-year deal last week.

Hargreaves said: "He’ll score 15 goals from January.  

"He will get them goals and be a leader for them as well.”

Asensio bid made

03:00: Manchester United have submitted a £51million bid to sign Real Madrid star Marco Asensio while making enquiries about Gareth Bale. 

However, Spanish outlet Diario Gol claim Real Madrid instantly rejected their offer as they are determined to keep the rising star at the Bernabeu. 

The Spain international has a £74m release clause inserted into his current contract, which runs until the summer of 2022. 

And it is said Real chief Florentino Perez is ready to raise his buy-out clause to a whopping £552m to ward off interest from potential suitors. 

Matic best piece of business 

00:30: Andy Townsend believes Manchester United signing Nemanja Matic has been the stand-out transfer of the summer in the English top flight.

This summer has broken all kinds of records in terms of business from Premier League clubs.

But former Ireland international Townsend believes Matic’s move to Old Trafford trumps the lot.

“They’ve done fantastic, their business has been great. They needed a big centre-forward, someone that’s ready to handle the responsibility of that and they got someone like that in Lukaku,” Townsend told Sky Sports’ The Debate shows.

“The Lindelof one in time will prove to be a good player. Physically he’s probably got a little bit to find in the Premier League.

“Matic I think is the most incredible piece of business in the whole transfer window.

“Jose will be delighted. He might have wanted one more but he’s got Zlatan back in.”

Wednesday August 30

United offered Sanchez

22:30: Manchester United have reportedly been offered the chance to sign Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez.

Sanchez has just a year remaining on his deal at Arsenal and looks to be on his way out this summer.

And according to The Independent, Manchester United have been offered the chance to sign the Chile international.

Sanchez’s intermediaries are said to have contacted United to see if they were interested.

And while United boss Jose Mourinho is keen to bring the 28-year-old to Old Trafford, Sanchez would prefer a move to their cross-town rivals Manchester City.

Mourinho has his fourth signing - Neville

20:00: Gary Neville believes Jose Mourinho will be happy with Manchester United’s transfer business this summer.

United have spent around £150million this summer on Romelu Lukaku, Nemanja Matic and Victor Lindelof.

But Jose Mourinho has repeatedly discussed his desire to land a fourth player ahead of this season to bolster their Premier League and Champions League hopes.

While Manchester United have been linked with Danny Rose, Gareth Bale and Ivan Perisic, they look unlikely to make another big signing before tomorrow night’s 11pm deadline.

And former Red Devils star Neville thinks Mourinho will be satisfied with the club’s transfer activity having also re-signed Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who should return from injury in the second half of the season.

“I don't think Man United will be desperate to do any business. Jose Mourinho has been quite honest in saying he wanted four [signings] and he's got three plus Zlatan Ibrahimovic,” he told Sky Sports. 

“I think he wanted a wide player but I don't think he'll be too concerned because of the form of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Anthony Martial and Juan Mata.”

United eye City wantaway

18:00: Jadon Sancho has left Manchester City completely baffled.

The highly-rated teenage prodigy has barely turned up for training in August, and has been ignoring City’s attempts to get in contact, according to the Telegraph.

Sancho joined City from Watford for £500,000 in 2015 but was omitted from City’s pre-season tour of America after telling Pep Guardiola he wanted to leave.

Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund and Red Bull Leipzig are among the clubs monitoring Sancho’s situation.

But it’s believed Sancho’s preference would be to return to London - putting Arsenal in the driving seat.

Lindelof: It's been tough

16:00: Victor Lindelof admits he’s had a difficult time watching from the sidelines.

Lindelof joined Manchester United from Benfica over the summer for £39.5million, but still hasn’t made his Premier League debut.

Lindelof told fotbollskanalen: "It's clear that you always want to play. It's tough competition with very good players. So we'll see how it gets, but of course you always want to play.

"I have just got to the club. The last training week has gone very well and I feel I'm getting into it more and more."

Willock NOT Pereira...

14:00: Conflicting reports from Holland suggest Andreas Pereira is NOT on the verge of joining FC Utrecht on a season-long loan deal.

Though there’s is another Manchester United youngster linked with the Dutch club.

Newspaper De Telegraaf claim midfielder Matty Willock is the most likely candidate to join in order to gain regular first-team football.

Pereira loan move

12:00: Andreas Pereira is closing in on a loan move to Dutch side FC Utrecht.

Pereira’s future has been the subject of much speculation after he enjoyed an impressive 2016/17 season in Spain with Granada despite their relegation to Segunda Division.

But it now appears Pereira will leave Old Trafford again for first-team football.

According to Dutch outlet AD, the Brazilian has chosen to join Utrecht on a season long loan.

The move means Pereira will link up with coach Erik at Hag, who worked with the midfielder at PSV when he was a youth prospect.

Real plot Sanchez swoop... good news for Utd!

08:00: Real Madrid are plotting a late swoop for Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez, reports claim.

Spanish website Diario Gol say president Florentino Perez is considering Sanchez as a replacement for Gareth Bale.

The report states that Manchester United have left a £92million off on the table for the Welsh international, and will secure his services if Perez signs Sanchez.

It’s believed Jose Mourinho has spoken directly with Bale, with the former Tottenham winger said to be ‘seriously tempted’ by a move to Old Trafford.

Marcos Rojo pumps iron in the gym

05:00: Meanwhile, Marcos Rojo is pushing for a return to first-team action and has been working out in the gym.

The Argentine defender, who is recovering from a knee ligament injury, was welcomed back to training last week.

And he was doing reps in the gym, of a which a video was uploaded by team-mate Ander Herrera.

Mkhitaryan equals record

02:25: Henrikh Mkhitaryan equalled a 23-year Premier League record during Manchester United's 2-0 win over Leicester at the weekend.

The Armenia international registered his fifth assist of the season after setting up Marcus Rashford.

He is the first player to reach such a feat after just the opening three Premier League matches since Ruel Fox in 1994.

Griezmann deal possible next summer

00:15: Manchester United are reportedly set to resurrect their interest in Antoine Griezmann.

United tried to sign Griezmann earlier this summer, but he ended up penning a new long-term deal with Atletico.

And according to Spanish news outlet Don Balon, Jose Mourinho will step up his pursuit for the Frenchman at the end of this season.

The publication claim a deal could be possible by then.

Tuesday August 29

Mahrez to Man Utd?

21:30: Possibly.

RMC Sport are saying that Manchester United are keen on the Leicester star.

However, they also add that he is still expected to remain at the King Power Stadium.

But, should United make a move, then they could land their man. 

Griezmann would have signed

20:00: Antoine Griezmann would have signed for Manchester United but for his transfer ban.

That's according to the player's former agent, Eric Olhats.

"Griezmann didn’t feel able to leave Atletico," Olhats told the Independent.

"He’s been integral to them and has shown his commitment to the club at a time when they couldn’t sign players.

"Without the Fifa sanctions he would have gone."

Man City favourites for Sanchez

17.45: Manchester City remain favourites to sign Alexis Sanchez despite late interest from rivals Manchester United, according to the bookies.

Sanchez is desperate to quit Arsenal before Thursday’s deadline and City have made contact this morning.

But Manchester United are also in the race and Sanchez’s representatives are believed to have made contact with the Old Trafford club to analyse interest.

City remain Sanchez’s preferred destination as he looks to team up with former boss Pep Guardiola again.

And bookmakers Coral believe a move to Manchester City is more likely and have cut him from 2-1 to 1-2 to be a City player by Friday.

Giggs would be worth £2billion

14:15: Roy Keane has claimed former team-mate Ryan Giggs would be worth £2billion in today's "mind-boggling" transfer market as clubs rake in massive fees for "average" players.

The Republic of Ireland assistant manager admitted his surprise at some of the figures which have been paid this summer, with Paris St-Germain forking out a staggering £200million for Neymar and preparing to invest heavily once again in Monaco's Kylian Mbappe.

However, it is the prices which have been paid for players lower down the food chain which have surprised Keane.

He said: "It's mind-boggling, the figures that are out there - especially for the average players. If ever there was a time to be a professional player it's now. Average players are going for £35million. My goodness.

"I don't really analyse it too much, but that's the market place at the moment. There aren't many top players out there. The really big players are going for big money and it's filtering down now.

"When average players are going for £30-40million, it does make you scratch your head. But if the clubs are prepared to pay that, then it's not the players' fault."

Arsenal want Evans

12:00: Arsenal have joined the battle to sign West Brom centre-back Jonny Evans.

Manchester City are thought to be leading the race for the Northern Irishman’s signature, with a £30million bid expected in the coming days.

But The Telegraph believe Arsenal now have their sights set on the former Manchester United defender.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger approached West Brom for Evans last season, and is once again interested after a calamitous start to the season that’s seen them ship eight goals in three matches.

Leicester had a bid of £21 million for Evans rejected this week but are likely to lose out to City or Arsenal.

Perisic move off?

10:30: Croatia coach Ante Cacic claims Ivan Perisic has told him he wants to stay at Inter Milan.

Manchester United have been pursuing a deal for the winger all summer but executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has so far refused to pay Inter's £48m asking price.

But Cacic believes Perisic is going nowhere, saying: “I spoke to Ivan Perisic, he is happy in Inter. 

“The coach appreciates him, they are preparing new contract for him."

United fans call for Sanchez signing

09:05: Desperate Manchester United fans want an announcement that Alexis Sanchez has signed before deadline day.

Sanchez wants to leave Arsenal with United's fierce rivals Manchester City trying to sign him and Raheem Sterling being offered in a swap deal.

But that hasn't stopped fans posting hopeful tweets to the official club account to try and influence a Sanchez signing.

United tweeted yesterday "Top of the @PremierLeague AND it's a Bank Holiday! #MondayMotivation" - and it was greeted with hundreds of transfer-related replies.

One user simply replied "Announce Sanchez" while another continued on a similar line and said: "Announce Sanchez or Danny Rose."

One user said "I think Alexis should put on a Red Devils jersey now… I felt for him yesterday when Liverpool crushed Arsenal" and another, referencing the move to sign Robin van Persie from Arsenal, wrote: "announce sanchez , make it like RVP."

Fellow fans added "Announce Alexis!!!!", "#SignSanchez" and "Sanchez our new number 7, announce now".

Shaw set for new deal

07:55: Manchester United are ready to offer Luke Shaw a 12-month contract extension. 

That is according to The Sun, who claim they want to protect their investment after paying Southampton £33m for him in 2014. 

Jose Mourinho criticised the England international for his work ethic in the past, and he has been linked with a move to Tottenham as a result. 

But the Portuguese boss has been impressed by his return to fitness after his turning out for the Under-23s.