Tchouameni TRANSFER Boost! Rashford RETURN! Chris Wheeler exclusive

Hello everybody and welcome to the United Stand. I am joined by the Manchester United correspondent for the Daily Mail, Chris Wheeler, for all your latest Manchester United news and transfer news. Chris, it's brilliant to have you back in the studio. Good to be back again, Beth, yeah. You having a good summer so far? Enjoying it, yeah, so far. Yeah, it's pretty good, huh? Would be better if Manchester United get a few more signings through the door. Yeah. This Fernandes saga is really driving a few people a little bit crazy. Will Manchester United get this deal over the line? Won't they get this deal over the line? Regarding Mateus Fernandes and Manchester United and the battle with Spurs, how do you see it at this moment in time? It feels like on a knife edge, doesn't it really? I mean, who knows how it's going to end up. They're clearly facing more of a battle than they thought they were going to face. You know, Tottenham are coming hot and heavy. Pushing that price up, Man United, I think we're hoping for something, you know, similar to the last summer where they got Cunha done very early and Bumo, of course, beat Spurs to him as well, relatively early, and hopefully that will be the case again. But it's far from done, and the fact that, you know, how many weeks in now since they made their kind of serious move for him, and we're still not there. At some stage, they're going to have to, you know, put in the bid that we'll get it done, or they'll have to all go and walk away from it. Based on the prices that are being quoted and where Manchester United stand now, they've obviously put a lot of work into this deal, so if they were to walk away, it'd be interesting how that would go down, especially after the whole Elliot Anderson debacle and him being put out there as the number one target for Manchester United, despite the money always looking a little bit out of reach when it comes to Manchester United. Do you think they would be prepared to walk away? I think they have to be, you know, and they've had this long list, or longer than short list, of players that we've been hearing about. I think they've been quite happy for that list to be circulating, you know, quite a few names out there for Scott and Shirmaini, I believe there are quite a few more knocking around. Yeah, I think realistically, were they ever going to go and get Anderson, I think we knew fairly early on this summer that the fee being talked about and what it has now become, but even the wages, I think, given the new wage structure that they're looking at, I think Anderson was always a real stretch, and I think also his heart was elsewhere anyway, so they're now looking at Fernandes, £80 million minimum, it's a lot of money, and I think the way this summer was always going to go, there's so many big teams in the market for new midfielders, it was always going to push that price up, and so it's proven, you know, and the feeling I think at Man Utd was that the Anderson deal would almost set the bar, you know, obviously he'd be the most, and then we'd see from there what happened next in terms of that would filter down in terms of who went elsewhere, and for how much money, but Fernandes, they've obviously made him, you know, after getting Ederson, he's the next one, they're trying hard, but there's no guarantees, and sadly, you know, the days of Man Utd clicking their fingers and players coming to Old Trafford are kind of long gone, aren't they? And it's looking like Tottenham Hotspur are well in that race, and I think a lot of United fans think to themselves, we could lose a transfer battle to Spurs here, again, no disrespect to Tottenham Hotspur, but they finished very low in the table, back-to-back seasons, I know they did beat us to the Europa League, but then they went on to have a terrible season in the Premier League again, and didn't do too much in the Champions League, so it's one of them where they have been notoriously poor now for a couple of seasons, no European football, and just in the grand scheme of things, Manchester United and Tottenham, there is a pretty big gap, we're used to losing transfer battles to City now, because mainly of the financial power, and the consistent success, which is so unfortunate to see as a United fan, but that is where we're at, but to lose to Spurs would be a real kick in the teeth. Do you think Tottenham could show the ambition to go out there and match that price, that £80 million that West Ham have put out? Absolutely, and probably would probably pay more, and I think the fans are probably split Beth, in terms of there'll be a faction of fans that will say, just get it done, you know, blow Tottenham out the water, go out, if you want him, go and get him, get it done, let's go and move on, and there will be another school of thought that will be, well, we have overpaid for players far too much in previous years, we've now got a new regime that is looking at things differently, they've got a better wage structure, they will, you know, and dare I say it, there's a lot of City influence now at Man United, a lot of their kind of people, you know, their old kind of director of football and execs and CEO are now in place at United, and I think you're seeing that influence in City, and don't forget in previous years Manchester United have gone out and beaten City to, you know, Fred and Maguire, Sanchez, dare I say it, you know, because City as a club, as much money as they had, prepared to go and walk away from these deals, so that's a school of thought that's kind of come into Man United now, and I think there will be a faction of fans that will understand it and say, well, actually the days of just writing blank checks and, you know, and all the rest of it should be gone, and as a club we should be more pragmatic and we should be prepared to walk away from deals, and don't forget, sorry to, you know, on another level we're only a week or 10 days on from the club with the new stadium, you know, they were absolutely, you know, locked in towards with that freightliner for a long, long time, they clearly felt they weren't getting the value, they had a plan B, they walked away and did something else, and I think there is reason to applaud something like that, and equally in the transfer market, you shouldn't have all your eggs in one basket, and let a club like West Ham activate a bidding war, and let a club like Tottenham come in, and again some fans will think, well, if the player is genuinely ambivalent about which way he goes, Tottenham or Man United, let him go. Do you know what it is for me? I don't think it's completely cut and dry as to, you should go and pay excessive amounts for a player you want, every single player you want, go and pay the money, write the blank checks, but also on the other side, no matter what, we are not breaking this structure, we are not breaking the wage parameters, we are not breaking the transfer fees that we want to pay, I think it's about, and I think this is hopefully in the future can adopt the same approach, knowing which players are worth overpaying for, and knowing which players aren't. We've overpaid in the past for players that are not worth it, in my opinion, I mean, I thought we overpaid for Maguire, he's come good eventually, and he's actually had a pretty decent United career overall, but multiple players we have overpaid for, whereas City, yes they are prepared to walk away if they don't see the value, but for players they really want, they will go and pay the money, for Erling Haaland, they will go and pay massive fees and a massive wage, and they pay for the right players, like Elliot Anderson, the price, the wage, it's massive, but is he going to be the cornerstone of the Man City midfield for the next decade and take them to Premier League titles? I think there's a really good chance, and then you've got to work out whether it's worth it, so I think that's where United have potentially fallen down. It'll be interesting with Mateus Fernandes, because he's clearly well thought of, I mean, multiple clubs interested in him, and there is a transfer battle going on, but if you did end up going overpaying, it would be a risky one, considering his age and the amount of experience he's got so far. Absolutely, I mean, as you just said there, if you sign Anderson, you pretty much know what you're getting, you know, there's probably no doubt of how good he's going to be. Fernandes, a little more of an unknown quantity, 21 years old, a season at West Ham, not gone to the World Cup. I'm not saying, therefore, he's not worth the money, I'm not sure that he is, but I'm just saying it's less of a home banker than an Anderson where, like you say, you know what you're getting from day one. He's a plug-and-play, you're bringing him in, he's used to the highest level for club and country. Fernandes, you know, I'm just saying, would all the fans be heartbroken if the club decided that it was just too much, and they have these other players we just talked about, could they go and look elsewhere and maybe get a better deal done? Well, I think a question that a lot of fans have is, I mean, I just want to preface this question by saying that we wish all the best to Manuel Ugarte, a horrible injury that he has suffered, unfortunately, in the World Cup, but it does beg the question, Manuel Ugarte was set to leave Manchester United, with Manchester United exploring a sale for him and sort of banking on that sale to bring in a third midfielder. Do you think that the Ugarte injury will affect the funds allocated to the midfield? I mean, there is this question going around, will it be two midfield signers, will it be three midfield signers, do you think it could affect it? I think it has to, and yeah, it's a really good point, Beth, that he's their player, they have a duty of care for the player, and I'm sure it's heartfelt, you know, he's obviously had a horrible injury playing for his country at the World Cup, it's looking like a bad one, looking like a long, long layoff, and I'm sure the well wishes are heartfelt and genuine, but you're absolutely right, the kind of awkwardness around this is something everybody knows, or knew, that Ugarte, in an ideal world, would have been moved on this summer, they'd try to have got back as much of the 50 that they paid PSG for him, to invest in their midfield. Now, it kind of works both ways, doesn't it, because on the one hand, you're not only not selling Ugarte, you can't play him either now, he's going to be out for the best part of this season, you know, but you're also not getting the money back for him either, so do you need another body in to fill his shoes, and how do you do that when the money that you were going to use to get that person in was going to come from his sales, so I think it will definitely lead to a kind of rethink in terms of what they do, but yeah, I mean my information this summer was they would do a midfielder of about 80 million at about 40, and of course they've already got Ederson in, or as good as done, and there would be one at a lower level, and I think Shay Charles got mentioned, he'll go to Leeds now, so already they were looking at three, but that third one was based on selling Ugarte, now losing Ugarte for a long period to injury, where does that leave them, I'm not sure, but there will obviously have to now be a rethink based on that. See, the way I look at it, 80 million for one, 40 for the second, 20 for the third, I understand, you know, there's not an unlimited budget there, but this midfield rebuild has been needed for a pretty long time, Man United could see it coming, I feel as if there should have been better preparation going into this, I mean, you already see Spurs, who weren't even touted as a midfield rebuild, going for Tonali and Fernandes straight off the bat, City have signed Anderson, now they're looking at Buada, who looks like an exceptional young talent, United, it's sort of a little bit all over the place at the minute, I would say, Ederson, don't get me wrong, I know we've already wrapped that up, pretty risky sign, I hope he does really well, but I think a lot of United fans would have seen him as maybe the cheaper player, because if you're looking at the likes of Shea Charles going for 30 million, Hayden Hackney, you know, around that price as well, I mean, if United are saying 20, it's hard to go and find them players, of course you've got, you know, the Senegal Armands of the world, and you can scout a really good player on the cheaper side of things, but, you know, we're talking about replacing Casemiro here, and probably another midfielder we needed anyway, Amrien played with two, now I know Fernandes is going to be in that number 10, but you're looking around and you're thinking, in today's market, what can you actually get for 20 million? Yeah, and also I think, Beth, that you'd like to think that the best clubs, or the best run clubs, wouldn't be having to sign two big midfielders in one summer, you tweak it as you go along, I think the fact that you're looking for two and possibly three, but let's accept that third player would be a kind of squad player, if you're looking, you know, that besides Kovemanu, you are looking at bringing in two big midfielders, that feels like, you know, not the best forward thinking, you know, and so you're absolutely right, it doesn't feel right now that they've, that in the ideal world they wouldn't have planned for this, but the way it was said to me was, you know, last summer was very much revamping the forward line and we saw that with the players that came in, Sesko, Mbumo and Kunja, this summer it's very much about the midfield and I think purely because we've had a contractor falling next summer, I think the back four is going to be the main kind of focus because you've got several players, you've got Maguire, you know, you've got Shaw and Martinez, in theory, all coming out of contract next summer. If you think of it like that, last summer we spent the best part of 70 million on Sesko, around 65 on Mbumo, 65 on Kunja, I mean, that's not cheap and I think if you allocate the same budget to the midfield, you could get some decent players there, I mean, it's just, I mean, that budget way of thinking in the midfield, I know it's the, you know, the information you have and you've not decided that yourself, but I'm just thinking it's such an important part of the pitch that ideally when you see the likes of Spurs going for 90 million, Tenali 80 million, Fernandes City going for 116 to 130, we don't, still don't know the price, Elliot Anderson and then now Buada, who's being quoted at around 100 million euros, it's like, how do you expect Carrick to compete? I know that price doesn't always equal quality and it can differ, but it's going to be interesting to see, you know, how Carrick sort of navigates that. What's nagging away at the back of my head is you usually find most summers Man Utd sort of will, not plead poverty, but they'll set the bar low, they'll say, all right, here's our budget, here's what we're going to try and do. Invariably, they do actually pull one out of the bag right at the end. Yes. I mean, like last summer, SESCO, you know, there was talk about Watkin, the kind of 40 mark and then suddenly Wallop right at the end, 70 gets you SESCO and that was a surprise because we felt until the end that SESCO wasn't really doable. We were speaking about it in Chicago, weren't we? We were, yeah, exactly. And it's a bit of a pinch of salt thing where the clubs say what they say and they tell agents what they say and obviously, I guess it makes sense in the business world to not show all your cards. You get players in, you hold a little bit back, then right at the end, in you go. So, it doesn't necessarily mean, what's been said doesn't always play out the way that you think it's going to. So, maybe, maybe, maybe, you know, Edison comes in, hopefully Fernandez comes in and particularly with what's happened to Agaté and his injury, does it mean potentially, you know, later in the window, they can come back and maybe deliver something at a slightly higher level? Well, I was speaking about this yesterday and I said, for me, I am a little bit cautious right now and a little bit worried. However, I just have a sneaky feeling. You don't go out to the world, especially United, and say, while you're trying to negotiate for Fernandez, oh, yeah, we actually are thinking of also going for Chiwimini after this, by the way, so we do have that money there. But if United could pull out Fernandez for, I mean, if you have to pay the £80 million, it is really pricey. If you get maybe slightly under, they can pull that off and then I feel like with Chiwimini, it is one that would happen later in the window anyway because of the Real Madrid situation, the World Cup, Willy, won't you go? But it's always been a player that Man United have liked to have been linked to. I mean, do you think there could be anything in the Chiwimini? Absolutely. I mean, he's definitely one that is on their radar. He's been talking quite frequently. He's come out with comments showing that he'd be open to it. I think a lot of it now is waiting to see what his situation is at Madrid. You've got Jose has gone back in there. I think they're waiting to see how that filters down in terms of his squad, what his plans are. But, yeah, I mean, absolutely. If they can do a deal for Fernandez, would they go and get Chiwimini? That's a lot of money, that, to go and do them both on the back of Edison. If they don't get Fernandez, is he one on the list? Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, definitely. I look at it and I think I would personally rather go just all in on the midfield. I know there's talks of maybe a backup striker, maybe a left winger, maybe a left back. Like you said, you know, there's only so much you can do. I mean, it's interesting actually. We had a question in from the comment section that I wanted to bring to you and it was about PSR and how strict do you think United are on this? You know, in terms of financial year, we are transitioning now. We're on the 30th of June. Do you think that will free up United a little bit more? And financially, how much are we constrained? And sort of a follow-up question from me is, do you think the amount of work that's been put into the stadium has any influence on this at all? The first question. I think there's a feeling that Man United now are moving out of the kind of doomsday scenario that Jim gave us last year about could be bust by Christmas. I'm not sure how true that was, but you know, clearly they had to, they went in there and they felt they had to completely overhaul the club. They've done that. They feel that the kind of painful days are past now and they've managed to put the club in a much better position. On the back of that, of course, last season got into the Champions League, huge hundred million, you know, plus from that. So clearly the club are in a better position now than they were when Jim took over. And that's fair play to me and the Arsenal to him, you know, as much as it's been a painful, painful time. So that's, I think it's fair to say that they are through the worst of it and heading in the right direction now. The stadium, well, clearly, I mean, you only got to look at Arsenal and how much of that Emirates sort of hanging around their neck for years and years. You cannot pay two billion pounds. It's going to be a lot more than that, by the way, for a new stadium and it not to affect the finances, you know, and there's obviously always talking about Andy Burnham and the whole North South thing. And listen, I, you know, I'm quite sure they'll get the public funding for the wider regeneration of Old Trafford. The stadium itself, have they completely ruled out getting the public funding for the new stadium? I don't know, but I just can't see it happening. So it's going to have to come from the club and the private sector. It depends. So it's going to depend on how much money they can raise through the private sector. We just don't know. If they can do that, you know, it's going to be billions of pounds. If they can raise that money entirely or mainly through the private sector and leave their own finances purely for the football operation, then happy days, you know, but the club will be paying for the new stadium, whether it's through the private backing or from their own pockets, Jim and the Glazers, you know, so how much of it comes out of their pockets will obviously dictate how much is left over for other things. But I can't imagine that a new stadium of that magnitude and that price is not going to be a factor going forward, certainly. Thank you for that. I mean, just a few more questions about the midfield before I move on to Marcus Rashford, which I really do want to talk about. I mean, a lot of talk, if Manchester United don't end up getting the Fernandes deal over the line, that Alex Scott could be on line. Few murmurs about Carlos Blaber as well. Have you heard much about them names and how possible they might be? Blaber's been knocking around for a while, of course, for a good year or so now. Scott's a more recent one. There's clearly interest in them. Well, I think Scott right now, you know, I mean, what I was told fairly recently was was Fernandes is the deal. The kind of the talks are hot. Scott is warm, you know, when everything else at the moment is very much on sort of back burner. So it felt like if they can't get Fernandes done, probably Scott will be the next will be the next point of contact. So I have to wait and see, you know, but clearly, like you said before, they have laid their hand out, made it pretty obvious what they need and what they want, what the money is. And yeah, I think that, you know, that they'll be aware of the feeling out there amongst the fans that the fans are, you know, that you've gone from a quick move for Edison and that was met with, I'd say, mixed reaction for Edison. I think people weren't too sure about that one. Nobody else apart from, I think, Atletico were in for him. They felt the price was too high. We agreed that we're going to pay it. He comes in and that was a bit kind of people. Some people weren't convinced. And then we've gone from that to this and it's really dragged on now. And OK, it's only June just about still. It's still early days, but I think, you know, it's like fans are getting restless and the club will be aware of that, you know, and will that influence A, them going in with a much bigger bid and get it done or B, said, right, we need to walk away from this and look somewhere else. I think it's when the fans see the likes of, you know, the neighbours, Man City, just go in there, get in Anderson, get it sorted while he's at the World Cup. Fernandes isn't even at the World Cup. It's like even, I know he's not on Manchester United's radar anymore, even though he was at one point earlier on in the year. Like, Ghandi Amande's set his preference as PSG over Liverpool. That's set now and I know Manchester United are probably really wanting Fernandes to come out and say, I only want Manchester United, but for some reason or other, whether it's him, his entourage or whatever, that's not happening. So it will be interesting to see how long this plays out for and whether United will need him to come out and say, I only want Manchester United. I don't believe a player doesn't have a preference, by the way. I think there's got to be a preference somewhere in there. Like you say, it would be great for him to kind of do an umbrella and turn around and say, sorry, but I'm going to go there, you know. And to answer your question from earlier, Beth, he did a phenomenal job after he came in in January, but you cannot expect him to keep pulling rabbits out of the hat. You have to give him the tools, particularly now we're back in the Champions League and everything ramps up now. And so he needs the tools to do the job that he's got to do and you've got to pay the money for that. And I do think to myself as well, you could have been paying way more for a manager. And if you had have brought in maybe a bigger name, would you have been backing him further? That's a really good point, yeah. Do you know what I mean? If you get a Van Gaal in, if you get a Jose in, suddenly because of the sort of the profile of that head coach, that head coach, well yeah, you're seeing obviously that didn't happen by chance. They are backing him. That would have been part of the discussions when he came in, is look, if I can keep you up, you've got to back me this summer to make sure this doesn't happen again in 12 months' time. And I think that's the problem, isn't it? I think when it's somebody who's a little bit more homegrown, as it were, maybe take them for granted a little bit and maybe, you know, he's not the kind of character to rattle cages and jump around. But certainly I think if you're bringing in a kind of high profile or a more high profile coach, there's maybe either a deal already in place or more pressure for the club to step up and back in more heavily. Well, Kyle Boyce has put in a Super Chat saying, how big of an impact do you think not having a top-tier manager is affecting the window? And I think it's a little bit harsh on Carrick. I know he's not had massive amounts of experience, but he's done a very, very good job at the back end of last season. I mean, it depends how much a player is influenced by the manager, isn't it? And how also much of United's pitch is women United. Exactly. Why aren't you just jumping at the chance? Do you know what I mean? Because we've heard that pitch before. So it depends on multiple factors. A manager can be sacked within a year, so it shouldn't always be listened to in regards of just the manager's pitch. You've got to look at the whole club and your development at the club as well. Yeah, and it's like just now, we've just compared Fernandes and Bruno. One of them wanted to come and made it quite clear he was going to come hell or high water. The other one is happy, it seems, to sit back and say, right, well, I'll go wherever. Everyone's different. Players are different, agents are different, and I think it's certainly a fair question. Carrick and his profile, is that a plus or a minus in the chance window? Again, some players will like it, some players won't. It's just a card back to life. I hear stories about Deserve being his personality and the way that he's speaking to players and heard some things about him going and convincing Fernandes, and I just think has Carrick got that in his locker? I mean, I'd like to think so. It depends. You only hear snippets, you don't know the full story, so we'll have to wait and see. I'm sure more will come out towards the back end of the transfer window about what's happened during the transfer. Yeah, and certainly in terms of the season, what we were seeing in press conferences and what the outside perception was of Michael Carrick wasn't what we were hearing internally. He almost did that on purpose, but behind the scenes they saw a very different person. Oh really? Oh yeah, and we've known for a long time that he can be a bit of a party animal, which is that he's the last person in the world, you'd think of it. I'm not saying now, I'm not saying he's out there right now doing it, but I think the perception of Michael Carrick as a player and as a coach and now as a manager, as being slightly dour and dry, I think is maybe not the full story. Interesting. I mean, he's clearly got the best out of the players that are there in terms of the back end last season, because I actually do think, despite some people complaining a little bit about the way we got them results, he had to do what he had to do with the squad that he had to get them results, and he got his Champions League football, and I think now he's the permanent manager, that decision has been made, he deserves the backing. I mean, interesting stories coming out about Marcus Rashford, which I wanted to ask you about, because United clearly holding firm on that £26 million, no loans, even though Barcelona have tried their luck, and then reports this morning about reintegration, Rashford being open to returning, him not wanting to go to any other Premier League clubs, Manchester United open for a return and reintegration, some stories about Carrick wanting to use him, I mean, what's your opinion on the Marcus Rashford situation and could you see a world in which he is playing again for Man United under Michael Carrick next season in the Premier League? Okay, he is a Man United player, he is under contract I think for the next two years, the club want a left-sided forward next season to come back in, you know, and he plays in that position, so as a matter of fact, is there a chance that he plays for Man United? Of course there is, you know, he's their player, they need someone to play in his position, he's currently doing very, very well at the World Cup playing that position, ahead of the guy by the way, who's been signed by Barcelona that might replace him, so I completely get all that, and so it would be completely wrong of me to sit here now and say no, he will not play for Man United again, it's all done. That has to be an option, that has to be an option, because it's right in front of you, and we're now, what, end of June, the window closes in two months time, a lot can happen and I think may well happen before then by the way, but is the prospect of him playing for the club again a genuine one? 100% it is, yeah, yeah absolutely. On the other hand, I think both the club and the player would probably rather it didn't come to that. Okay. I think, you know, that it's becoming a marriage of inconvenience now, you know, of right, we're kind of moving through the summer, he's at the World Cup, in theory he's due back at Carrington, you know, in a few weeks time, so this thing is getting real now, you know, and the more they're looking at the market, he's looking at the market, and they're thinking well, this might have to be something that we go and look at. I think though that the club would rather obviously move him on because of his wages, that's the main thing, he would probably rather be somewhere else and not come back, but as you say Barcelona didn't take up the 26 million pound option, that's now kind of gone as it were, it's now 40 million to other clubs apart from Liverpool and City. By the way, that's not a contractual thing, by the way, there was some talk about that's been written into his contract. He just did? Yeah, it's almost like a verbal thing. His contract, when he signed it, was it 2023, he was a hundred million pound player then, you know, so had there been a clause and I reckon there was a clause, it would have been a lot higher. The 40 million being quoted now is basically the 40 million that was open to Villa last summer. But really it's 26, because no club's going to pay 40 when they've offered him to Barca for 26, right? So it's 26 to Barcelona, they didn't take it up, but I think also Man United would argue that was a sort of a deal, if you want to call it that, because they've paid his wages for that 12 months, but listen, I think there's still talk of Barcelona. I think the fact Barcelona want a second loan shows that they still value him, they still would like to have him, which is promising, and could they return with that offer later in the window? And if they did, I think United would be more receptive to it later in the window, but as you say, for now they've kind of kept it at the 26. Hard to wait and see, but yeah, I mean it's a little bit messy and it all comes back to the big contract they gave him, the parting of ways, you know, last summer and prior to that in the January with Aston Villa. I think also, Beth, it's worth noting that the fact that he's not kind of immediately coming back is evidence and proof that the problem wasn't just with Amarim, Amarim's long gone, and Rashford still isn't kind of running back to Manchester, so I think there's probably some leftover issues with him and the club anyway that were separate to Amarim that, you know, probably still cloud the water slightly. So yeah, my feeling is that probably he doesn't particularly want to come back, they don't really want him back, something might well still get done, but is there a chance that he comes back and he's back into the squad? Absolutely, and you know, that's how it should be, you know, and there definitely won't be a kind of bomb squad situation, one because there's not enough of them, like last summer there was five, there's him and well, it would have been maybe coming back in but he's not going to stay in Turkey, it's only Marcus anyway, Carrick's very unlike Amarim, he's not the kind of coach that would have a bomb squad anyway, he knows Marcus as a young player, as a teammate, he's coached him and now, you know. I was going to say that, I wonder if Carrick's got any say in anything behind the scenes regarding wanting him back? He would have to have a say, he absolutely has to have a say. Maguire said he'd have him, not that it's Maguire's choice, but he's been talking about the fact that he'd welcome him back. And Carrick doesn't strike me as a coach that would be, dare I say, it's kind of vindictive to go and have a kind of bomb squad and on top of that, there's also been moves with FIFPro recently that the whole issue of bomb squads is now pretty much done, you legally can't have them anyway, you know, so if he did come back it's in everyone's interests, he gets reintegrated to the squad, he trains again and there's a potential that he stays at the club and plays again and that would be great, but I don't think we should, you know, get too carried away with it yet because I think it's more a case of, as I say, it's a marriage of inconvenience that they're looking at this and thinking, we're going to have to start making moves here to make this workable if it happens. Well, like Ron McCormack has just come into the comment section with a super shot, this is to get Barca to pay up. I mean, you can look at it from a PR point of view and it would be the right thing to do, for example, I mean, he's not identical to the Jane Sancho situation, but when he came back, played in pre-season, everyone was saying, oh, is he going to be back in the squad of Eriksen Haag? He did end up leaving. I know with Rashford it's slightly different because I think he will be quite particular over where he goes, I think he'd want to go to a Champions League club, I think he wants to go to a club with prestige, I think that's definitely something in his thinking, but this could be to any club that is interested, Barcelona or not, although with Barca I think you've gone and got Antigone in his position, you've tried for Harry Kane, you're looking at Alvarez, I'm like, how much do you really want Rashford? And you've got no money either, by the way. Yeah, and apparently you've got no money. It's like me saying, Chris, you know what, you're selling your car, I'm really sort of interested, but I've got no money, can you do it on a loan, I'll pay you back, and then tomorrow going buying a Lamborghini. I'll have five more cars while I'm at it. Sorry, I've got no money though. It's like, come on. Yeah, I mean certainly the feeling is from the Rashford camp is that clearly he wants to play with a club in the Champions League, and because of that and the situation with Liverpool and Man City, you know, he probably wouldn't want to play for another Premier League club apart from Man United, then Arsenal I guess would be the other option. So that's sort of been their stance, is that if he comes back to England it would be to his old club. The other thing I think worth bearing in mind is, that sort of confuses all of this, is if they do want to sign, which they do apparently, a left-sided forward, and again you've got this weird thing where he's right there, but they're not having him back yet, can they sign someone else? Could they go and sign Somerville for instance, 50 million pounds, wages not obviously near close to how Marcus is, but still wages, when they've got Marcus on the books? Do you think Somerville's high up in their thinking? I think he's one of the players in their thinking, yeah definitely, but the problem is with Marcus, you know, back at the club and still back in the squad and potentially here for the season, you can't commit, you can't commit, it's bad enough having his wages back on your books anyway, to go out and sign somebody else, pay their wages and commit to a three, four, five year deal for them, and then suddenly have to keep Marcus and his 3.25, whatever. So it's a little bit like one more wait until they get an actual deal to go through. Yeah, exactly, so it's completely understandable that clubs, you know, can't commit to a deal for another left wing, if you want to call it that, when they've got Marcus Rashford there, so it really would be in their interests to get him off the books as soon as possible to move on with their plans. If they can't do that, that's one more reason why they could be sort of stuck with him, because they can't get anybody else until he's gone. I mean there's an interesting comment from Jack coming in, do you think Carrick has any say, or do you think it's the club that's like, Rashford's going, Rashford's staying, do you think Carrick has any say on whether, you know, if he wanted him back, or do you think it's Fano saying we don't want the wage, we're going to try and move him on? Have a say, definitely, you know, you're going to have to look at how Amarim had a say in him going, to show that the coach can have a say in him coming back, you know, so that's where the coach can have influence. But yeah, I mean, the wages cannot be underestimated, at a time when the club have obviously been through a period of churn and trying to reposition and refinance and everything, you know, his wages are a massive factor in where it's kind of gone wrong for him, in terms of it just keeping him wasn't really an option, or certainly in terms of what they wanted him to go and do, you know, it would be better to try and move him on. They've done that, you know, with Villa, they've done it with Barcelona, here we are again, he's got two years left still, and we're back here again, and so, yeah, you know, I think Carrick will have a say, in terms of the football side of it, but there's a business side too, and I think if they can move him on, and they'll do that, as I keep saying, if they can't, then it's absolutely on the cards that he could come back, yeah. Speaking of the left wing situation, there's also been talks about a left back, and whether it's more of a left wing that's a priority, linked to Somerville, or whether a left back is a priority, have been linked to Lewis Hall loosely, it was really hot in one moment, then United sort of poured cold water on it a little bit, I mean, where are we at on the left side of the pitch, and what do you think United's priorities will be, do you think left backs on the agenda, anything on Lewis Hall? Well, several questions there, I mean, first of all, left back, they got away one last year, because Luke Shaw, who'd have thought he was going to start 38 league games, I mean, that was, I mean, no one, no one thought of that, did they? So, fair play to Luke, that's what he did, he won't do it again, you know, so they know they need cover there, they've lost, obviously they've now lost Malasia, not that that really matters too much, but, you know, they've got people, I think the plan is that Amas comes back in again for pre-season, obviously he had a tough time, got an injury, over New Year's, he didn't play much, second half of last season, I think Amas will go back out on loan again, Diego Leon, you know, just hasn't kicked on to the point where you can think of him as being a kind of first team squad player, so on that basis, you've actually lost a left back from the squad from last season, you can't have Shaw doing what he did again, it's just not going to happen, so you do need to get cover in. Now, the other option, of course, is Dorgan, you know, who was signed for that, signed as a left wing back rather than left back, but obviously last season had a lot more joy playing further forward, both left and right, so do they see him as a left back cover? I guess they have to, but I think common sense says that you need to get a left back in. The second question is, Lia, I think with the business they're doing this season and you can see how much they're haggling over the Fernandes deal, I think Hall would be that and then some. I just don't see us getting a deal over the line with Newcastle for a price that United would consider fair value. I think in a summer when the midfield is the kind of main thing, I don't think the figures being talked about for Lewis Hall, they could go and do that, so Hall, I don't see it happening, no. It's interesting, isn't it, because we've heard like nothing on left back targets in regarding profiles, yet it's so obvious we need a left back, so I don't know if they'll revisit that. They have to, they have to, there's no, as I say, you've lost a left back from the squad even though it was one that didn't play very much, but Shaw isn't going to go 38 games against starting every single one and staying injury free, so it would be absolute folly to think to go into the season without getting somebody in. And have you heard anything, any noise around United regarding left backs? Not really, it's like you say, that slightly kind of weird situation, we want a left-sided attacker but a left back, I mean you can really think, you know, with Konya there, I guess Mount can play on the left if he had to, you know, Dorgo of course can play there, you have to think, and of course the whole Rashford thing, we're better off at left forward than we are at left back, you know, there's more options there, there's more potential there in what we can do. Left back feels very, very sparse right now, it would feel like going into the new season with what we've got right now would feel, sort of, wide open there. A couple of people in the comment section have talked about Madhraoui playing left back for Morocco in the World Cup, look he's done a really good job so far, playing really well, I actually stayed up and watched that game last night, however, I mean, Karik had all season to sort of, well all season, half a season to do that last year and he didn't, and you've got to think as to why, like, I think Madhraoui can absolutely be an option, and I think he's a great squad player to have, but if you're looking at, you know, kicking on in the Champions League and competing in the Premier League, you really want to be going and getting that out and out, top left back in, in my opinion. There's no reason to, kind of, stumble into the season with things, kind of, half, a bit half-baked like that, you know, you can play Madhraoui there, you can play Martinez there if you had to, you know, of course, Dawg, who's shown, well, was brought in partly for that role, but none of them are what you'd call a, kind of, out and out left back, and given that Luke Shaw, you know, at his age and with his injury record, is the only other option, as I said, I think it would be absolute folly not to go and bring somebody in. And in terms of any other positions United are looking at and backup striker was considered, I mean, Xerxe, where are we on him? It's gone really quiet, don't know if he's staying or going, have you heard anything around that situation? Quite, I mean, don't forget, it's only June, so, you know, much can happen. Yeah, I think, you know, just much with the same as with, kind of, Agaté in the midfield, I think moves will be dependent on what happens elsewhere, so if you could have moved Agaté on, you know, yes, that would have helped get in a third midfielder. If you move Xerxe on, again, that creates a gap where you would hope to bring in another forward, Bayern Dierer, a goalkeeper, you know, a backup goalkeeper, I think he's expected to go, so I think you will see a backup keeper coming in, I know Dalot's been mentioned, Sam Johnson. So, you know, I think things, yes, will happen, but based on who goes out, so I think Xerxe and a forward, Bayern Dierer and a keeper, yeah, and centre-back, the club's saying nothing moving, nothing doing, again, I'm a bit sceptical there. Carrick played it down, didn't he, as well, in the back of last season, but I do think to myself, as much as I get we play about four now, you've got Dalot who's injured and we don't know when he's coming back, early next year, maybe back end of the year, who knows. Sancho Martinez doing excellent for Argentina, but, I mean, he's been injured more than he's been fit for United. Maguire's not a spring chicken anymore. Again, a little bit, yeah, I mean, he was injured up until Amorim was sacked, wasn't he, and then he kind of came back into things last season, yeah, it's, you know, you've got some miles on the clock there with, you know, all of those, not all the players, but with some of those players, and as I mentioned before, with the whole contract thing coming out of contract next summer, you know, there's some issues there, which might well get sorted out during the season. I mean, Shaw's coming out of contract and he's sorting out, I think Maguire and Martinez have got options on their deals. De Ligt, like you say, is an interesting one, you know. I mean, it's early days, but do you think United have the appetite to extend Shaw? Yes, on less money. I think yes, you know, I'm not saying that they will, but I mean, maybe a little bit like the whole Maguire thing, they'll just let the season start, get towards the end of the year and then see where it's at, and see, you know, what they'll do and for how long, whether it's one plus one again. I mean, certainly if he's playing as well as he's playing right now, or has been playing, and he's staying fit is the key thing, why would you not, you know, if he's still doing some good, and as we mentioned before, it's not as though they're with a lot of left backs either. A lot of experience in the squad as well. Yes, so I think that's entirely possible. We've got Bram9632 who sent a United Stadium membership in, thank you very much. Denise has said, hi Beth and Chris, do the club genuinely believe they can achieve Project 150 with their targets whilst others are spending more and going for the best players? I mean, more of a question for Chris than me. Well, listen, I mean, last season was, well, the second half last season was definitely a step in the right direction. You know, you'd like to think Man United are now genuine contenders, you know, having finished third, I think the next step forward is to be challenging for the title. Can they do it in time for this? I lose track of the different, there was Project 150 and then there was something else which Dave Railsworth came up with, I forgot what that one was called, all of these feel a little bit kind of, I don't know, it's like PR speak isn't it, Project 150. I just, I'm just happy that they're back in the conversation, you know, and when... How long are you back in the conversation for though? Because the business has to be good. Yeah, yeah, and I get that, but after some pretty lean years, you know, I'm just, you know, the fact that, you know, to beat Arsenal, Liverpool, City last season, you know, Chelsea was a big, big move forward, you know, so I go into this season, I'm not sure about you Beth, but I go into this season looking at Man United as genuine contenders, you know. After the season finished, I did, I know it's early days, I don't want to be too reactionary, but I always said we'd be genuine contenders if we followed it up by good business. We've got to see what business we do, it's early days, I'm not judging you, of course I'm not, but when I see other clubs around us looking at some serious deals, it does worry me a little bit. Let's see where at the end of the window, if we back Carrick in the right way, then I do think United should be genuine contenders, but it's still a big if, I think. Yeah, and I think the fear is that City and Liverpool will be a lot stronger than they were last season, I think that was a big factor, you know. Absolutely, you've got to foresee that as well. City did very well, I mean given, I hate saying it, but given where they were at and that people knew Pep was going and stuff, but to win the two cups they did and get so close in the league, in a season when they probably by their standards were dropping somewhere below, of course Arsenal did fantastically well sadly, and Liverpool I don't think will be anywhere near as bad again, so that's the fear I think, is that the other clubs, I think Man United are still in good shape and hopefully will be in better shape, but I think they're going to face more competition than they did last season, and to answer the question about winning the title in 28, I mean, yeah I mean. It's hard to predict. I think we're going to, you know, be contenders next couple of years, to the point of winning it, maybe not. Jack Devlin, last Superchat in, I mean we touched on this a little bit, but he put you out on the spot, he said Chris do you think United will get Chiomini? I mean, it's a question you can't answer right now, because I think, while they remain so heavily in for Fernandes, and as I mentioned before, if it's not Fernandes, I think Scott could be the next one they maybe move to. Would Chiomini even come into it then? You know, would they, would to get Edison and Fernandes or Scott and Chiomini feels like a hell of a stretch. I pushed them to make that stretch. Yeah, but we talked before didn't we, about, you know, sometimes there's more money in the coffers than they go and make out. Well, I don't forget the Semenya money and the Bolivar money from last summer. Yes, yes, exactly. All that money that we had, you know, burning a hole in our pocket to go and buy players. Yeah, I mean, you never quite know, do you? I mean, the whole Semenya thing, the whole Elliot Anderson thing, how heavily were we in, how realistic was it? It doesn't feel like it was very realistic, but you know, we should in theory have some money to spend, but we'll see. Well, let's see, Chris, I'm so excited to speak to you more throughout the summer, hopefully catch up again. Are you going on tour? Yes, I'll be on some of the games. I think that we're doing most of it in Dublin, is that right? In fact, I think my colleague Nathan Salt will be in Dublin actually, so I shall be on holiday at that time, but yes. We'll catch up, we'll catch up at some point for sure and hopefully, you know, they've maybe got another signing through the door. I'm sure they will, keep the faith, fingers crossed and all that. I get the whole thing at the moment, that everyone's a little bit antsy and a little bit nervous about what's going on. It's only June, let's wait and see. Let's wait and see, and we've always known if Chiomini was going to happen, it would be one later in the window, not saying it is going to, but there's certain openings at different times of the window and when you can make that jump. I mean, Fernandes probably should have been done a little bit earlier with the whole situation with the West Ham ownership and everything that's going on within the board there, but let's see what United can do. And also guys, you know, don't forget that not only have we had a fantastic chat with Chris this afternoon, you have got Goldbridge as well back later on, on that football for some World Cup coverage. His evening is kicking off with Ivory Coast versus Norway at 6pm. Come on, Ahmad, versus Haaland. I think that'll be a You've also got the 8pm show on The United Stand covering all the latest Manchester United news and transfer news. Then you've got France versus Sweden at 10pm on that football. You reckon France are winning that one? I do. And then, because every single game is being covered at this point, we've got Mexico versus Ecuador at 2am. Don't care. I think that'll be a banger, yeah. I mean, have you been watching much of the World Cup? Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, it's great. I mean, it's... United players are doing decently. They have, yeah. I mean, the first round obviously is bigger, not enough jeopardy for me, you know. It was a little bit woolly. It felt like we were sort of weeding out, you know, the teams have to be weeded out, but now it's getting going, it feels a lot more special. Absolutely, Chris. We'll hopefully catch over with the window and United have a good transfer window and Carrick can compete next season. I'm sure he will. Thank you everyone for watching. We'll see you on the next one.