Manchester United

Wolves were given a £25,000 suspended fine in February 2010 after Mick McCarthy rested 10 first-team regulars for a game he did not expect to win at Old Trafford. Wolves lost 3-0 and nine of the players were promptly recalled for the next fixture, against relegation rivals Burnley, which Wolves won. A precedent having been set, Morgan said he expected Manchester United to be fined if Sir Alex Ferguson rested Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs and Nemanja Vidic against Blackpool, who are fighting with...

Rio Ferdinand can give no guarantees about Manchester United lifting the Champions League trophy at Wembley Stadium on May 28. But one thing the England defender can state, without any fear of contradiction, is that Manchester United will not stand beside Barcelona in the Wembley tunnel prior to kick-off and feel intimidated. It is often said football is a game played in the mind. Ferdinand knows it is true. He has emerged from the home dressing rooms at Old Trafford often enough to know...

It was right at the start of the ’90s that I heard the name Paul Scholes for the first time. The football world and the media, this newspaper in particular, was waking up to the fact that something unusual and wonderful was taking shape at Manchester United. A group of kids who were growing up together at Old Trafford were starting to make ripples. Some of them who were aged just 16 or 17 were already pushing for a place in Alex Ferguson’s first team. So I took myself off to United’s old...

Samir Nasri has infuriated Arsenal by refusing to dismiss a move to Manchester United. The midfielder issued what amounts to a 'come and get me plea' to United manager Sir Alex Ferguson with his comments in a French TV interview. His stance echoes that of Spurs star Luka Modric, who last week dropped more than a few broad hints about a possible switch to Old Trafford. Nasri is coming into the final year of his contract at the Emirates and Arsene Wenger may be forced to cash-in rather than...

It is three years to the month that Arsène Wenger pulled off his last notable transfer coup when he persuaded Aaron Ramsey to choose Arsenal over Manchester United when it had looked like the then 17-year-old was a cert for Old Trafford. Ramsey was invited to fly out to Switzerland to meet Wenger who was then working as a pundit covering the France team at Euro 2008. Ferguson had relied upon his assistant Mike Phelan to sell Old Trafford to Ramsey who was also sent on a stadium tour open to...

Manchester United will officially sign Ashley Young when the Aston Villa forward returns from holiday later this month but their capture of Phil Jones from Blackburn Rovers has been delayed by a dispute over the defender's transfer fee. Jones passed a medical and agreed personal terms with United on Wednesday after the Premier League champions met the £16m release clause in the contract Blackburn awarded the 19-year-old in February. He then joined the England Under-21 squad in Denmark in...

Blackburn are adamant that United were forced to increase their original offer of £16.5 million after the club’s owners, the Venky’s poultry group, sought legal advice to prevent the Old Trafford side signing the player for the value of a release clause inserted into his contract earlier this year. A statement on the club’s website confirmed that the fee surpassed the £17.5 million received from Manchester City for Roque Santa Cruz in 2009, describing the Jones deal as a “potential club...

Manchester United are set to step up their interest in Udinese's Alexis Sanchez, according to the Daily Mail. United have been linked with a move for the former River Plate man since last summer, when he produced some impressive performances for Chile at the World Cup. Sanchez continued his form into the domestic season, scoring 12 goals in Serie A for Udinese. It is understood that United chief executive David Gill met Gino Pozzo – the son of Udinese owner Giampaolo – in Barcelona on Tuesday...

Nani claims he does not fear losing his place to Ashley Young and says sitting on the bench is “boring”. Nani welcomed Young’s £16million arrival at Manchester United from Aston Villa and claims the England winger will help the team win more trophies. The Portuguese winger is unfazed by the increase in competition among United’s widemen, after having to go up against Cristiano Ronaldo when he first came to Old Trafford. “Of course I have to welcome everyone they sign,” he said. “I think Man...

Former Manchester United striker Andy Cole has tipped the twin-striking force of Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez and Wayne Rooney to get better in the 2011/12 English Premier League season.The former Manchester United player said this as he launched a youth football development programme that will see mobile phone operator Airtel Kenya sponsor this year’s Kenya Secondary School Term Two “B” Games to the tune of Sh10.5 million. The player, part of the 1999 Manchester United’s Dream Team,...

English champions Manchester United agreed a deal to sign highly-rated young goalkeeper David de Gea from Atletico Madrid on Wednesday. The 20-year-old, who helped Spain's under-21 team to win the European Championship title last weekend, passed a medical at Old Trafford on Monday and will join on a five-year contract. He follows England winger Ashley Young and under-21 defender Phil Jones in moving to the UEFA Champions League finalists in post-season transfers. De Gea, who had long been...

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has praised his younger players following the 3-0 victory over Tottenham on Monday. The Red Devils took the lead in the second half through Danny Welbeck, before further goals from Anderson and Wayne Rooney secured a convincing win. Now the Scot has hailed the likes of Tom Cleverley, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Danny Welbeck for the part they played in the match. "It tells you we still believe in young players. All the fans appreciate that," Sir...

Sir Alex Ferguson has cast doubt over the future of Dimitar Berbatov at Manchester United after appearing to suggest that the Bulgarian could leave the club. Ferguson made the admission after his reserve side's 8-2 defeat in a charity match against Marseille in Monaco on Tuesday evening. A French television journalist asked the United manager if Berbatov could play with Paris St-Germain, who are interested in signing the striker. "Yes," a smiling Ferguson replied. "Absolutely, no problem."...

Cleverley, named alongside Manchester United team-mates Phil Jones and Chris Smalling in Fabio Capello's England squad for the euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Wales, has been ever present this season, filling the void left by the retired Paul Scholes in which Ferguson had hoped to deploy Inter Milan's Wesley Sneijder. Manchester United's Tom Cleverley goes to top of class of 2011 with England call-up The 22 year-old's energetic performances in midfield have embellished the club's...

When Tottenham Hotspur visit Manchester United, two goalkeepers with reputations for inconsistency — one reputation recently earned, the other of a more long-standing vintage — are due to face each other. David De Gea’s beginning at Old Trafford has not exactly been the ticker-taped coronation imagined after slow-witted performances against Manchester City in the Community Shield and West Bromwich Albion last weekend. On the Spurs side, Heurelho Gomes is also a No 1 with previous, and none...