Ten Hag forced into transfer U-turn as Fernandes' pleas ignored

08 August 2023 , 02:00

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Manchester United are just six days away from their Premier League opener at Wolves following a busy weekend for Erik ten Hag.

New £72million signing Rasmus Hojlund was officially unveiled at Old Trafford on Saturday before the 3-1 friendly win over Lens. And the following day, the Red Devils drew 1-1 with Athletic Bilbao in Dublin - in a game that could well prove to be Harry Maguire's last in club colours.

The former captain made an error that led to the opening goal, amid speculation he will soon be heading to West Ham. Ten Hag needs player sales if he is to add further to his squad, with Fiorentina midfielder Sofyan Amrabat his main target.

Here are the latest transfer rumours involving United that have emerged in the last 24 hours.

Ten Hag forced into transfer U-turn

United agreed a fee with Urawa Red Diamonds to sign Zion Suzuki – but the Japanese goalkeeper has rejected a move to Old Trafford.

Marcel Sabitzer completes Man Utd transfer after last-minute deadline day dash

United have held an interest in signing Japan international shot-stopper Suzuki all summer and agreed a fee with the J-League club. However, the US-born goalkeeper is said to have held reservations over not being guaranteed regular first-team football.

The 20-year-old will instead join the Japanese-owned Belgian club STVV, where he will be first-choice goalkeeper. United had evaluated that Suzuki could be one of two backup goalkeepers to summer signing Andre Onana, but there was a belief that he was still several years away from having first-team status in the Premier League.

Fernandes sees his public plea ignored

Ten Hag forced into transfer U-turn as Fernandes' pleas ignored

Bruno Fernandes has lavished praise on PSG's new signing (Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)

Benfica striker Goncalo Ramos is set to complete a big-money transfer to Paris Saint-Germain – despite Bruno Fernandes urging Manchester United to sign his Portugal international team-mate.

PSG are believed to have agreed a €65million (£56m) fee for the 22-year-old in a deal which will also include €15m in add-ons. Ramos enjoyed somewhat of a breakthrough season for the Lisbon giants last campaign, bagging 27 goals as the de facto replacement for Darwin Nunez.

Fernandes had previously said: "Here (United), the best players will always be valued, be it Goncalo or someone else. I think he has all the qualities to play in the Premier League, and when I say in the Premier League, I also mean Manchester United."

Neville outlines "shocking" issue to address

Gary Neville has slammed United's "shocking" away form this season (Visionhaus/Getty Images)

United legend Gary Neville has pinpointed one "absolutely shocking" problem Erik ten Hag needs to fix this season.

"Their away record, particularly against the big teams in the top half of the league, was absolutely shocking," Neville told FourFourTwo magazine, after being asked about the side struggling on their travels.

"Obviously, the hardest games in the season are the away games against the top teams, so it's a big fix, but it was basically a disaster for us against teams like Brentford, Brighton, Liverpool [and] City. All of those games were an absolute shambles."