Man Utd news LIVE: Lindelof LATEST, defender ‘had breathing problems’, Haaland SNUB, Pereira exit, Pogba update

RANGNICK ON LINDELOF

Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick said Victor Lindelof underwent some tests and “seems to be OK” after being taken off at Norwich.

Lindelof dropped down in discomfort and had his hand on his chest when United medics rushed onto the pitch before his substitution.

Rangnick said: “He was struggling to breathe and had pains on his chest.

“They did all the tests and he seems to be OK”

VICTOR FEAR

Manchester United ace Victor Lindelof was taken off during the win at Norwich after pointing to his chest in worrying scenes.

Lindelof dropped down in discomfort and had his hand on his chest when United medics rushed onto the pitch.

After a few minutes, the defender was taken off the pitch and replaced by Eric Bailly.

Speaking about his team-mate having to be substituted, United captain Harry Maguire said: “He’s in the changing room. He felt a bit of discomfort.

“I don’t really know too much detail. He seems fine and we all wish him well”

MORE FROM NEVILLE

Manchester United legend Gary Neville can’t pinpoint the exact reason behind the “lethargic” performance against Norwich.

Neville told Sky Sports: “Honestly, it was a really strange one to understand what happened out there today, on the ball and off the ball.

“Those players have had a free week to prepare so I was expecting a ferociously-frantic start to the game with loads of high pressing and quick play.

“It was lethargic from minute one. On the ball, they were so sloppy it was untrue. They gave it away so many times it was unbelievable.

“I think any other team in the league playing against Manchester United today would have at least got a point or even won the game”

RONALDO REACTS

Manchester United legend Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winner against Norwich from the penalty spot to seal three points at Carrow Road.

Ronaldo took to Twitter after the game and claimed the result marks “one more step in the right direction”.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner tweeted: “One more step in the right direction.

“We know what we want and what we have to do in order to get it. It’s up to us! Well done, lads! Let’s go, Devils!”

NEVILLE WARNING

Manchester United legend Gary Neville has warned his former club they will lose to Brentford on Tuesday if they play the same way they did at Norwich.

Neville told Sky Sports: “That performance, I think, against any other team in the league would have caused them real problems. They go to Brentford on Tuesday night and they are going to have to play better than that or they will get beat.

“But I do think they will be [better]. We were told before the first game, and all week, that Manchester United would be high energy and high press. That didn’t exist today and I am interested to understand why.

“But the most important thing for United was the three points and a clean sheet. I think he will take that all day long; two Premier League wins, two clean sheets and seeing plenty of players play in Europe in midweek.

“I think he will see it as a good week, but they will have to improve a lot from that type of performance to get anything in the next games”

MART HIS WORDS

Manchester United legend Gary Neville has admitted the “time has come” for the club to cash in on Anthony Martial.

Martial’s representative publicly stated that his client wants to leave United due to a lack of game time.

Neville told Sky Sports: “I think if they can get good money for him… I probably would have said if they could have got good money for him in the summer, players that they’ve got then yes I would.

“I think that now the time has come. I think Manchester United have always been wary of getting burnt.

“Of him leaving for £25million and then going on to become a £100m player because he is a special talent.

“I just don’t think he’ll ever work at Old Trafford to the extent they’ve got [Marcus] Rashford, [Mason] Greenwood, [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Edinson] Cavani, other players as well.

“I just think now is the time for him to leave and go and play regular football so I think it’s the right time”

PEREIRA EXIT PLAN

Manchester United ace Andreas Pereira revealed he wants to stay in Brazil after his temporary loan spell with Flamengo ends.

This comes after Anthony Martial’s agent publicly stated his client wishes to leave United due to the lack of game time.

Pereira told ESPN: “My wish was always to stay here at Flamengo. And now we’re going to do everything.

“We’ll talk to president Landim and Marcos Braz to make this possible”

NORWICH 0-1 MAN UTD

Manchester United beat Norwich 1-0 at Carrow Road thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo’s winner.

Ronaldo went down inside the area after a cross by Scott McTominay and looked to have been pulled to the ground by Max Aarons after 75 minutes.

It was harsh but VAR had a look and was happy enough to award a penalty for the visitors.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner took the spot-kick and beat Tim Krul to lead the Red Devils to victory

HAALAND SNUB

Borussia Dortmund superstar Erling Haaland’s agent Mino Raiola has sensationally hinted his client will join Manchester City over United next summer – as they’re the bigger club.

Raiola told SPORT1: “Man City has won the championship five times in recent years, significantly more than United.

“We have been thinking for two years.

“We have clear ideas of where Haaland should go. We are not influenced by the market.

“We can influence [things] with a player like Haaland.

“It’s really a second game parallel to football… two days of matches and five of rumours”

HAALAND UPDATE

Manchester United are still linked with Borussia Dortmund superstar Erling Haaland, who’ll reportedly be available for a bargain £64million this summer.

However, Haaland’s representative Mino Raiola has hinted there will be an intense bidding war for the star striker this summer.

Raiola told Gerard Romero: “I mentioned Barca as potential example of new club for Haaland… it doesn’t mean he’ll go to one of the clubs I mentioned yesterday

“I can mention many other clubs for Haaland: Real, Barca, Atletico, Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool…”

TOP POG

Paul Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola has stated Manchester United have issued a “contract extension proposal” for his client, who has “many offers” from other clubs.

Pogba’s deal with United runs out in June and he has yet to agree to fresh terms, which has led to reported interest from the likes of Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and former team Juventus.

Raiola wouldn’t go into detail about other suitors but insists Bayern Munich is the only major club that would find it “impossible” to land the star midfielder because Bundesliga clubs can’t match his salary demands.

Pogba’s representative told SPORT1: “We have many offers for Pogba, including a contract extension proposal [from United] We’ll see what’s best for him.

“Pogba to FC Bayern? Impossible – they’re not paying this kind of salary”

NO RISK

Ralf Rangnick has explained why Aaron Wan-Bissaka missed today’s game against Norwich.

Rangnick was pleased with Wan-Bissaka’s performance last week against Crystal Palace, but revealed the defender picked up a knock in United’s draw with Young Boys in the Champions League this week.

Speaking to Man United, the German said: “I think everybody did well, including the two full-backs, against Palace.

“Offensively, they put a lot of effort into it and they were always dangerous, putting crosses into the centre of the box. I was very pleased with both of them against Palace.

“Two of them [the squad] are ill and the other ones are injured – Aaron got two knocks against Young Boys and he didn’t feel well enough to be part of the team today.”

TIGHT DEFENCE

Ralf Rangnick wants his Man United team to defend well to secure a win over Norwich.

He thinks a solid defensive performance is imperative for United to build upon their win against Crystal Palace last week.

Rangnick told Sky Sports: “The major thing is we build on the performance against Palace when the other team is in possession.

“At the same time playing forward whenever possible. I’m convinced our team is always able to score goals.

“But it’s important we defend as a team like we did against Crystal Palace.”

DOUBLE SWOOP

Romelu Lukaku’s agent has revealed that the striker nearly joined Juventus instead of Inter Milan after leaving Manchester United.

The Belgian’s agent Federico Pastorello claimed that talks with Inter had hit the skids as they weren’t prepared to pay United’s asking fee for Lukaku.

However, Juve were willing to do business with the Red Devils and swap Paulo Dybala or Mario Mandzukic for Lukaku.

But the deal fell through as United couldn’t agree terms with Dybala, Pastorello alleges, and in the end Lukaku ended up at Inter.

Speaking to Tuttosport, Pastorello said: “Is it true that Lukaku was one step away from Juventus before moving to Milan? Yes.

“The deal with Inter had stalled because (Inter chairman Steven) Zhang seemed unwilling to meet Manchester United’s demands.

“Juventus had the agreement with the English club, who in exchange for Lukaku would have signed Dybala and Mandzukic.

“Romelu had already talked to [Maurizio] Sarri and Cristiano Ronaldo. However, Dybala and Manchester United, probably both not too convinced, did not reach an agreement.”

HAVE SOME OF VLAH

Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester City target Dusan Vlahovic has become just the third player in the last 60 years to have netted more than 30 Serie A goals in a calendar year.

The 21-year-old Serbian netted twice in the second half of his side’s 4-0 win over bottom team Salernitana – his 31st and 32nd league goals of 2021.

And in doing so he has joined Luca Toni and Cristiano Ronaldo as one of only three players to have netted more than 30 Serie A goals in a calendar year since 1961.

Toni scored 31 times in Italy’s top flight back in 2005 while playing for Palermo and then Fiorentina.

And Ronaldo helped himself to 33 goals in 2020 during his final full year with Juventus.

Vlahovic joins an elite trio of strikers following a breath-taking 12 months with Fiorentina.

CLEAR UP

Erling Haaland’s agent Mino Raiola has attempted to clear up the remarks he made about his client’s future this week.

Raiola ruffled a few feathers when he discussed possible transfer destinations for Haaland with a list that didn’t include Man United.

But Raiola took to social media to explain what he meant and made it clear that Haaland isn’t in talks with any clubs at the moment.

He said on Twitter: “I want to clarify the following about the Sport1 interview,” Rangnick wrote on social media.

“The four clubs I have mentioned about Haaland’s future were just an example to say that, when he leaves, he will go to one of the top 15 European clubs.

“Now Erling’s focus is solely on football, there are no negotiations with any club.”

SHEER LUCK

Tim Sherwood has urged Man United fans not to get carried away by Ralf Rangnick’s appointment.

Rangnick was given the United job after the club sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

But he wasn’t United’s first-choice so Sherwood thinks the German got lucky landing the role.

He said: “I just think Man United fans need to relax a little bit. If they play the way he wants them to play against the top teams, then you can give him credit.

“I think he’s earned the right to be where he is but I think he’s lucky to be a Man United manager. I really do.”

NO RETURN

Andreas Pereira has revealed that he plans to do everything in his power to secure a permanent move to Flamengo.

Pereira’s been on loan with the Brazilian side from man United since August and he has no plans on returning to Old Trafford.

He’s been welcomed with open arms by the Flamengo fans and plans to reward their loyalty with a title win.

Speaking to ESPN, Pereira said: “My desire has always been to stay here at Flamengo, and now we are going to do everything.

“We are going to talk to President Landim and Marcos Braz to make this possible. Of course, I have a feeling that I owe the fans a title.”

A NEW HOPE 

Atletico Madrid are interested in signing Chelsea star Cesar Azpilicueta, according to reports.

Atletico view the Spaniard as a replacement for Kieran Trippier, according to ESPN.

The England right-back is being targeted by Newcastle boss Eddie Howe in a potential £25million deal.

And he has also been a long-term target of Manchester United, who could sell Diogo Dalot to make way for Trippier.

NO GO ANTHO

Sweden boss Janne Andersson has dug out Manchester United for refusing to let Anthony Elanga join up with the national team in January.

The 19-year-old had only featured in the Carabao Cup prior to last weekend as game time under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer proved hard to come by.

And he followed that up by making his Champions League debut in the 1-1 draw with Young Boys on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, Sweden manager Andersson was hoping to include him in a 24-man squad to tour Portugal in January.

But Man Utd have now insisted they will not release Elanga for the trip, something Andersson is not best pleased about.

MUST WIN

Scott McTominay has demanded Man United win their next run of games.

United haven’t lost in their last five fixtures and McTominay has urged his team-mates to keep up the good work going into the New Year.

He told Sky Sports: “We need to be picking up maximum points from this next run of fixtures, in terms of the next six, seven games.

“For us it’s massive. A real chance to get back on track and push towards the top four. Still not where we want to be but, obviously, circumstances happen and that’s football.

We want to keep pushing now and keep chipping away.

“There are aims and ambitions for the end of the season which people talk about, [though] not players or coaches. [For us] it’s the next game, there has to always be focus on the next one.

“That’s how you keep improving and continuously win games of football.”

SHUT SHOP

Norwich boss Dean Smith reckons the only way his side can stop Man United ace Cristiano Ronaldo is to defend.

The Canaries take on United today in the Prem and Smith thinks they can get a result if they keep Ronaldo quiet.

He told Manchester Evening News: “A really good defensive performance and it has to be that to keep a player like Cristiano quiet.

“He can score all kinds of goals as we have seen, not just this season but over the last 12 to 15 seasons.

“Our players will certainly have to be at their best and it will have to be a good defensive performance.”

NO INTEREST

Barcelona ace Pedri has revealed he has no interest in leaving Spain despite interest from Manchester United, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.

Pedri recently signed a new deal with Barca until 2026 and he has no intention of going elsewhere until then.

And maybe when his contract expires he’ll consider a move abroad.

He told Tuttosport: “Man United, Man City or PSG interested in signing me? I’m happy to stay at Barca, it’s my dream.

“Let me play here until 2026 then we will see, please – I just signed a new contract with Barcelona”

RASH DECISION

Ralf Rangnick is reportedly considering letting Marcus Rashford leave the club.

Spanish outlet El Nacional reports that Rangnick is focusing on the development of Jadon Sancho and Mason Greenwood and could therefore be tempted to let Rashford go.

And according to the Daily Star, Barcelona are interested in snapping up the England international.

Barca are undergoing a squad revamp under new boss Xavi who the Star claim will make Rashford a main player in the club’s attack.

STAY HOME

Ralf Rangnick is unhappy that Paul Pogba isn’t recovering from his injury at the club’s facilities.

Pogba’s been in Dubai rehabilitating but Rangnick believes he should be in Manchester where the medical department is adequate.

And in future, Rangnick insists any injured star will have to recover at United – not abroad like Pogba.

He said, reported by Eurosport: “My former clubs were always trying to make sure the rehab should take place in the club itself.

“As far as I can tell the medical department is really good, very good, with many different approaches towards rehab.

“I would not want players to do their rehab abroad or anywhere else but the decision on Paul was taken before I came.

“In the future, I have already spoken to the medical department – to Steve [McNally] our doctor, to Robin Sadler – that in the future I want players with injuries, and hopefully we don’t get long-term injuries, but if we have them in the future I want them to stay here.”