Mail Sport are answering your questions this week, having put out the call for the topics you most want to know about.
You responded in your droves so thank you for all the questions, and this will become a regular feature so don’t worry if your question wasn’t answered this time!
This week we’re covering everything from new strikers to new stadiums, and transfers to takeovers.
Our experts have the answers for everything you need to know – so what are they?
In terms of a plan for the summer, what do United want, one striker, X midfielders…? Am curious. Johnc_9 / @9Johnc
Will there will be a surprise United signing that fans could potentially keep an eye on? Dhruv Pujari / @dhruv_pujari33
United know what they want to do but finances will dictate what they are able to do. It will depend largely on winning the Europa League and hitting a £100million jackpot by qualifying automatically for next season’s Champions League.
United hope to raise money by selling a number of high earners like Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Antony, while Christian Eriksen, Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans will leave as free agents.
Manchester United hope to raise money by selling high earners such as Marcus Rashford
Antony is also heading for the exit after a hugely successful loan at Real Betis
The two main targets will be a striker and a No 10, but United could also sign a box-to-box midfielder and possibly another centre back to replace Lindelof and Evans.
Jonathan Tah, who is out of contract at Bayern Leverkusen, could be an option in central defence, and don’t rule out United looking at other free transfers or cheaper deals if they don’t land the Champions League windfall.
In terms of surprises, it’s quite possible United will catch us out with a left-field deal before the transfer window closes.
Who is Manchester United’s first-choice No 9 in the summer transfer window?
It looks like Liam Delap is the No 1 target but United are facing plenty of competition from clubs in the Premier League and around Europe. Ipswich’s relegation means the 22-year-old striker is available for a knockdown price of £30m.
United have a list of alternatives if they lose out in the race for Delap, so keep an eye on the likes of Victor Osimhen, Benjamin Sesko and Viktor Gyokeres. There will be plenty of others.
One of United’s biggest problems has been in front of goal, with Rasmus Hojlund struggling and summer signing Joshua Zirkzee having an up-and-down season that has been ended by injury.
It looks like Liam Delap is the No 1 target but United are facing plenty of competition from clubs in the Premier League and around Europe
Who do you believe is currently favourite for Delap? Ayrton Hamilton-Smith / @AyrtonHS96
Very hard to say at this stage, given that practically every Premier League club wants the Ipswich striker and a number of foreign ones besides. The situation remains fluid but right now it would appear that the main threat to United signing Delap is coming from Chelsea.
Aside from the contract offer, Delap wants to play regularly and be in European competition, ideally the Champions League. The race for places at the top of the Premier League looks like going to the wire, and both United and Tottenham hope to qualify for the Champions League via the Europa League, so everything is still up in the air.
There is no great hurry from Delap’s point of view. He will leave Ipswich this summer and even the first, shorter transfer window doesn’t open until June 1. He can sit back and weigh up his options.
United have made him one of their top targets and would like to get a deal done as soon as possible, both to fend off competition from other clubs and to get their rebuild underway as soon as possible.
Is Bryan Mbeumo a genuine target this coming window. Who is the top striker target? T.SMapisaOfficial / @Pisazburg
Yes, United have inquired about Mbeumo and won’t have been put off after coming up against the Cameroon international in a 4-3 defeat at Brentford on Sunday. He had a hand in two of the goals and afterwards manager Thomas Frank admitted that Mbeumo can go for the ‘right price’, which is believed to be about £75m.
While it’s fair to say Liam Delap is the top striker target, United see Mbeumo as an option in one of the two No 10 roles in Ruben Amorim’s 4-3-3 system. They have also looked at Eberechi Eze, of Crystal Palace, and RB Leipzig’s Xavi Simons.
Whether one of them would be in addition to Matheus Cunha, or as a back-up if the Cunha deal falls through, remains to be seen. Presumably it would also be dependent on the extra transfer funds from Champions League qualification.
United have inquired about Mbeumo and won’t have been put off after coming up against the Cameroon international in a 4-3 defeat at Brentford last Sunday
Matheus Cunha wants to play for United and has a £62.5m release clause
What’s happening with the Cunha deal?! Leon Scaife / @leon_scaife
Progress on the Cunha deal? Tammy Vick / @Arch_Vick74
It has gone quiet over the last week or so about a deal that seemed to be well advanced, but there’s no need to worry just yet.
As far as we know, United want Matheus Cunha and he wants to play for United. The release clause is set at £62.5m so there is no issue over the fee, and Wolves accept the Brazilian will leave Molineux this summer.
The player’s camp are said to be relaxed over the situation but there are bound to be questions while so many other clubs are still in the mix. Newcastle, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Tottenham and Liverpool are just a few of the rivals who have been linked with Cunha, but United remain favourites to land him.
I feel worried about Bruno’s news. I know United don’t want to sell but at last it has to be a decision from Bruno himself, am I right? Do you think he will clarify his future asap? If United won’t sell why his agents has been contacted with Saudis? NatFootball Thailand / @dooballwithnat
Fernandes is under contract until June 30, 2027, with the option of another year on the club’s side, so United definitely have a say in what happens next. Even so, it is always difficult to keep a player against his will.
United will hope it doesn’t come to that. Fernandes is their captain and talisman, a player who has contributed 19 goals and 18 assists this season, and who has embraced his role as the leader of this group of players. He signed a new deal last August after seeking assurances from United that the club’s ambition matches his own, and there is no evidence that he wants to leave.
Still, £200m in wages over three years is a huge amount of money and his representatives are bound to listen to an offer of that magnitude from Al Hilal. United, too, would find it hard to turn down a British-record transfer fee well in excess of £100m.
It seems likely at this stage that Fernandes will stay to be part of the rebuild under Ruben Amorim, in the knowledge that he is at his peak at the age of 30 and will no doubt have more offers from Saudi when his contract comes up for renewal in a couple of years’ time.
Bruno Fernandes signed a new deal last August after seeking assurances from United that the club’s ambition matches his own, and there is no evidence that he wants to leave
Can we have an update on Mainoo’s contract situation? @_jnq_
What is Garnacho’s situation this summer? Confused United @ConfusedGGMU
All we can say at the moment is that more talks have taken place recently and there seems to be a little more positivity around Kobbie Mainoo’s situation and future at United.
The contract issue has dragged on for some time with no resolution. It isn’t just a financial matter, Mainoo wants to know where he fits into Ruben Amorim’s system. He has played as a defensive midfielder and in the No 10 role, with neither position a natural fit for the 20-year-old.
He is the lowest-paid senior player in the United squad and wants parity with some of his team-mates befitting a full England international.
It’s understood that he is looking for around £180,000 a week, which doesn’t seem unreasonable given that one of his midfield partners, Casemiro, is on £375,000 a week.
The situation has been complicated by United’s fragile financial state and the fact that homegrown players like Mainoo are worth 100 per cent profit on the balance sheet if sold. Confidential revealed in January that Chelsea would be at the front of the queue for Mainoo, and there would be many other clubs willing to meet his pay demands.
There is no guarantee how this one plays out, but the signs are that United and Mainoo’s representatives will reach a compromise.
There seems to be more uncertainty over Alejandro Garnacho, another academy product who could be sold for maximum profit and has been linked with Chelsea and Napoli after United rejected an offer from the Italians in January.
Garnacho was asked about his future when he spoke to the media on Wednesday before the Europa League semi-final second leg against Athletic Bilbao and his response of ‘I’m under contract so I’m happy here’ will not put an end to the questions.
Mainoo is the lowest-paid senior player in the United squad and wants parity with some of his team-mates, befitting a full England international
Mainoo wants around £180,000 a week, which is still less than half of his midfield partner Casemiro’s salary
Is Elyh Harrison likely to stay at United next season, or could he be subject to another loan move, potentially in League One or Two? Callum Foy / @Callum_Foy7
Harrison is a really interesting case and one that is a cause of much debate internally at the club. Firstly, he is very highly rated by both coaches in the academy but also coaches around the first team, having worked more and more with goalkeeping coach Jorge Vital in recent months.
There is great uncertainty in the goalkeeper position generally at Manchester United heading into next season and as a result Harrison may be retained, rather than sent on loan. As previously reported here, Tom Heaton may yet sign a new one-year deal and should Altay Bayindir leave – there is interest in him – a new No 2 goalkeeper to challenge Andre Onana would be essential.
Hubert Graczyk is a familiar face in training pictures but he is merely a training goalkeeper with little to no prospect of playing in the first team, while Radek Vitek, who spent the past season on loan in Austria, could be sold as part of a fundraising mission to refresh Ruben Amorim’s side.
We spoke to a United staffer earlier this week and their gut feel at this very moment is that Harrison is more likely to stick around as cover than head out on loan. That being said, if he is allowed to leave, don’t rule out a split loan where he spends the first few months in League Two before finishing the season at a League One club. Dean Henderson is the goalkeeper he has been likened to and multiple loans certainly didn’t hurt his development.
Three academy players that will break through next season? Izaan7 / @Izaan__7
Good question, Izaan. You can often get surprises that appear from nowhere – like Tyler Fredricson – but the three I will go with are Bendito Mantato, Shea Lacey and Jayce Fitzgerald.
You might be surprised that Sekou Kone isn’t among those names, nor Jack Moorhouse, a player we rate highly. The feeling on those two is that loan moves beckon. The indications are that a loan move in Europe is in the offing for Kone next season, while multiple League One and League Two teams are desperate to take Moorhouse for the 2025-26 campaign.
Mantato signed his professional contract on Wednesday afternoon at Carrington and there are great hopes that he can be a diamond for United. He has trained on numerous occasions with Amorim and the first team and the 17-year-old was selected to travel to Bilbao for the first leg of the Europa League semi-final.
Bendito Mantato signed his professional contract on Wednesday afternoon at Carrington and there are great hopes that he can be a diamond for United
Jayce Fitzgerald (left) has trained with the first team this season but has also had a long spell out with injury
While he was an unused substitute that day, he is getting closer to his first- team debut. Plus, his versatility to play at wing-back or as one of the No 10s vastly increases his potential opportunities.
Lacey and Fitzgerald have had long spells out with injury this season but both are technically gifted and are the types of talent you don’t come across every week at academy level. They have fallen behind some peers in terms of being exposed to Amorim and first-team training sessions. But with the likes of Kone and Moorhouse set for loan moves, they should get greater attention.
They face plenty of competition – the two Fletcher brothers, Jack and Tyler, narrowly missed out here – but I could see a cup game where Lacey or Fitzgerald break in.
Is there any update on the takeover from Ineos? Are they willing to buy more of United because the time frame was 18 months and the 18 months are over in July? Navin Mirpuri / @navinmirpuri
As far as we know, nothing has changed on that front. It is public record that Ratcliffe initially offered to fully buy out the Glazers in May 2023, first by purchasing 60 per cent of the family’s Class B shares and then the remaining 40 per cent over the following three to five years.
Of course, he ended with a lot less than that and now owns 28.94 per cent of the club.
Under the terms of the deal, the Glazers were not able to solicit any new offers for the club within 12 months from completion. Once 18 months has passed, the American owners can sell United outright, effectively creating an 18-month exclusivity agreement between the Glazers and Ratcliffe.
There is another 18-month timeframe, too. Under corporate law, the Glazers will have a period when they can force Ratcliffe to sell his stake to another buyer, should an offer to fully purchase the club be made.
This begins 18 months after the February 2024 completion of his minority purchase, so in August of this year. It is known as ‘drag-along rights’, and effectively prevents minority shareholders from blocking a full takeover.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe now owns 28.94 per cent of his boyhood club
There are clauses in the deal which give Ineos and Ratcliffe the chance to make the first offer if the Glazers do decide to sell up but they are not obliged to accept it and can still sell to the highest bidder once the 18 months have elapsed.
Would Ineos really want to push ahead with a new stadium whilst the Glazers are still involved at the club? DazTheVegan / @DarrenLong71
Any more concrete ideas on the new 100,000 seating stadium? Jamie Crichton / @jamiecrichton22
What is the latest on the plans for a new stadium? @Dawgu_
After all the excitement around the big unveil at the London HQ of Foster + Partners in March, it has all gone a bit quiet.
After all the excitement around the big unveil of United’s new stadium at the London HQ of Foster + Partners in March, it has all gone a bit quiet
That’s because United have entered the rather boring phase of acquiring additional land next to Old Trafford and waiting for the government and local authority agreeing to fund a wider regeneration of the surrounding area.
Talks are advancing with Freightliner to buy the land currently used as a freight rail terminal to build the new stadium. Any issues seem to revolve around the company getting government help to move to a new location at Port Salford or Parkside. It’s hoped that work can start this year or early in 2026.
It’s worth bearing in mind that the tent design we saw in London is only ‘conceptual’ but Sir Jim Ratcliffe seems very keen on it.
In terms of Ineos building a new stadium while the Glazer family are still the majority owners, we can only assume that a businessman of Ratcliffe’s experience would have plenty of safeguards in place before he embarks on a project that could cost well in excess of £2billion.