Manchester United

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

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Barcelona boss Hansi Flick admits Marcus Rashford's exit will leave a void at the Camp Nou.

The La Liga champions did not trigger the £26m clause to turn his loan spell into a permanent move from Manchester United.

The England forward scored 14 goals in 49 games last season to help Barcelona lift the La Liga title, but he has now returned to Old Trafford.

"You don't know what happens with players who are on loan - our situation is not easy for that," Flick said after Barcelona drew 2-2 with Birmingham City, but lost the friendly 3-2 on penalties, on Friday night.

"I appreciate working with him [Rashford]. He is a fantastic player and a fantastic person. The team miss him, I will miss him, but it is life.

"This is what we have to accept."

Rashford is contracted to Manchester United until 2028 and he posted a goodbye message to Barcelona on his Instagram account this week.

"I'm very grateful to everyone at the club for making my time here such a positive and memorable experience," he wrote. "I have enjoyed every moment and I will take many special memories with me.

"I wish the club and all of its supporters the very best of luck and every success in the season ahead. Visca el Barca."

Former Manchester United forward Fraizer Campbell believes the Red Devils "have not seen the best" from Mason Mount yet.

Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester, Campbell said: "He has never really got going at United through bad luck and injuries. He is a bit more mature now, but he definitely has got a role to play."

Since joining United in 2023, Mount has featured in 54 Premier League games out of a possible 114.

The 27-year-old has missed 69 games due to injury, which is an increase from the 17 games he missed through injury during his Chelsea career.

"He is a top player and an England international, and he did really well at Chelsea," added Campbell.

Although Mount has 36 England caps, he has not represented the Three Lions since joining the Red Devils.

"Every manager when he has been available has picked him. He is one of those players that managers can trust.

"If he can keep fit, he will be one that the manager has a problem with – Michael Carrick will have to try and find a way to get him in the team."

Listen to the full discussion on BBC Sounds here or by pressing play above

Manchester United are preparing a bid for Newcastle and England defender Lewis Hall, 21, with 19-year-old Spaniard Jorge Salinas of Racing Santander a possible alternative. (Teamtalk), external

Meanwhile, United have held talks with San Lorenzo and Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill, according to the 26-year-old's agent. (DSports, via Metro), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

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Marcus Rashford has taken to Instagram to post a farewell message, external to Barcelona alongside a picture of the back of the number 14 shirt he wore last season.

Rashford scored 14 goals and recorded 14 assists in all competitions last season while on loan from Manchester United as the Catalan side won La Liga.

In June, the deadline Barcelona agreed with United to trigger a £26m clause to turn Rashford's loan into a permanent deal passed without it being activated.

He featured in six out of eight games as Thomas Tuchel's England side delivered the country's best World Cup performance since 1966.

The 28-year-old's future is still uncertain but he is contracted at Old Trafford until 2028.

He wrote on Instagram: "I'm very grateful to everyone at the club for making my time here such a positive and memorable experience.

"I've enjoyed every moment and will take many special memories with me.

"I wish the club and all its supporters the very best of luck and every success in the season ahead. Visca el Barca."

Simon Stone
Manchester United reporter

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Manchester United defender Tyler Fredricson has joined Swiss Super League outfit Lausanne Sports on a three-year deal.

Fredricson had been close to joining Celtic in January but suffered an ill-timed injury.

He returned to first-team training at United earlier this month but sat out their opening two pre-season games because of the pending move.

It is understood United have included a high-percentage sell-on and buyback clauses into the deal.

The 21-year-old made four first-team appearances for United, but didn't start a game after the shock EFL Cup second-round defeat at League Two Grimsby Town last season.

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Former Manchester United forward Fraizer Campbell says Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was an "absolutely unbelievable" player and doesn't get enough credit from the wider football community.

Wednesday marked 30 years since Sir Alex Ferguson signed the then virtually unknown Norwegian from Molde for £1.5m.

Some 12 pieces of major silverware and 126 goals later, Solskjaer is now widely considered as one of the most important signings in United's history.

"Obviously, Manchester United fans appreciate Solskjaer massively," Campbell told BBC Radio Manchester. "But outside of Manchester, I don't think he was on people's radar and he was absolutely unbelievable.

"He scored so many goals and never kicked up a fuss. He would sit and study the opponents' back four and where the weaknesses were so that when he came on he knew what he needed to do.

"It was unbelievable for me as a youngster to be around someone like that. It was incredible and I don't think he gets the credit he deserves.

"He was methodical in everything that he did."

Hit play below to hear the full clip or listen on BBC Sounds here

Simon Stone
Manchester United reporter

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Trafford Council held the first of four open days on Wednesday to allow local residents to assess the proposed Wharfside Strategic Masterplan, which will have Manchester United's new stadium as its centrepiece.

There are going to be four open days before the consultation period closes on 22 September and for the 90 minutes I attended, there were a steady stream of interested observers, keen to assess what the multi-billion pound development will look like and where the stadium will sit within it.

Club, project and council officials were also present, with all noting a general sense of positivity around the plans, which were given the green light by the council last week.

Subtle tweaks can be made, and United officials are keen to stress nothing should be read into the fact the distinctive circus tent aspect of the previous stadium design is not evident in this one.

Not everyone was wholly upbeat. One long-standing local United fan - 73-year-old Phil Sharp, who was keen to tell me he saw Duncan Edwards play - is unhappy the club have moved from the initial site, close to the current Old Trafford, to another location 350 yards away.

"There was more attachment to the current stadium at the previous site," he said. "It was within the current footprint. It now feels more detached. Also, I quite liked the canopy.

"I am not sure why the club didn't try to buy the Freightliner land before they first announced where they were hoping to build."

Sharp might need some winning round but there will be a chance for the club to outline their own vision later this year as United are committed to running fan engagement around stadium design within that timescale.

Josef Rindl
BBC Sport Journalist

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Last season, Manchester United played just 40 matches in all competitions, their fewest in a single campaign since 1914-15, and finished third.

Chelsea played 59 matches in all competitions and finished 10th.

Tottenham played 52 matches in all competitions and avoided relegation on the final day, finishing 17th.

Playing more matches does not always correlate with a lower league finish. Arsenal, for instance, won the Premier League title last season while reaching both the Champions League and Carabao Cup finals.

But fewer matches in other competitions does mean a team can rotate less, often have a full week of preparation between games and be less susceptible to injuries.

Spurs had a staggering 27 different players sidelined at some point last season.

Next season Chelsea and Tottenham are not playing European football whereas Manchester United and eight other Premier League clubs are.

United have responded by targeting midfielders in the transfer market, having bought Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans from Chelsea and Aston Villa respectfully.

But will those two additions be enough to cover the club's increased workload?

• Read more on Premier League title challengers

Manchester United are open to selling 22-year-old Czech goalkeeper Radek Vitek and English defender Harry Amass, 19, while English midfielders Toby Collyer, 22, and Dan Gore, 21, are also surplus to requirements. (Mail – subscription required), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

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BBC Radio Manchester's Gaz Drinkwater and Joe McGrath discussed restrictions on season tickets in the latest episode of The Devils' Advocate.

Manchester United has restricted the accounts of "thousands" of fans, in an operation aimed at identifying potential ticket touts.

Drinkwater said he has "full sympathy" for fans who have fallen under the restrictions despite not being involved as touts.

"It's pretty obvious that these were fans that were not touting tickets," Drinkwater said.

"I love that Manchester United fans have made such a massive, loud deal about this and football fans have got behind it as well because hopefully that means that these appeals will be listened to."

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire joined the podcast and gave his thoughts on why United might be taking this course of action.

Maguire said: "There's the theoretical one which is perfectly understandable. There's an awful lot of touting at Manchester United as with other big clubs - Liverpool are similar, Arsenal are similar, Chelsea and so on. There's a lot of people making a lot of money through the resale of tickets.

"The other issue is that season ticket holders, to a certain extent, have passed their sell-by date as far as the senior people at the club are concerned. If you're a local Red and you're going 19 times a season to Old Trafford, you're not going to the merchandise 19 times a season.

"You're paying high but not excessive prices for your ticket and those tickets could be repackaged by the club and they could send you to a warehouse in Trafford Park and give you a pie and a pint before the match and get a former player to tell a few anecdotes and they could sell those tickets for £200-£300 a pop. That's what the club wants."

On how the club can manage the situation without upsetting the loyal fans, Maguire said: "There's no easy way around this. Nobody is denying that touting isn't a problem at the club but the way that they have taken [to deal with it] has been quite unpleasant."

Listen below or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

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Everton will demand around £70m for Senegal winger Iliman Ndiaye, 26, amid interest from Manchester United and Al-Hilal. (Mirror), external

United are willing to let Dutch striker Joshua Zirkzee leave and are in talks with Juventus about a deal for the 25-year-old. (Gazzetta dello Sport - in Italian), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

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Video assistant referees should only be used to change "blatantly incorrect" decisions and clear missed incidents, say European refereeing officials.

Chief refereeing officers from all 55 European national football associations met last week with Uefa refereeing officials and a representative from the International Football Association Board (Ifab) to address recent changes to the game's laws.

Attendees said "lengthy, microscoping reviews" indicate VAR has gone beyond its original scope.

When VAR was added to the laws of the game in 2018 by football's rulemakers Ifab, its "philosophy" was "minimum interference - maximum benefit", with the intention of reducing "unfairness caused by clear and obvious errors or serious missed incidents" relating to goals, penalties, direct red cards and mistaken identity.

Uefa said that at its recent meeting that refereeing bosses agreed a return to those original aims is needed.

"It was reiterated that, in accordance with protocol, VAR must only intervene in situations of 'clear and obvious' error, ie. when a referee decision is blatantly incorrect or when the referee has missed a clear incident," Uefa said in a statement.

"VAR is not meant to re-referee the game, it is an essential support to the referees, who must remain at the centre of all decision-making.

"Lengthy, microscoping reviews are often a symptom revealing that the decision on the field was not clearly and obviously incorrect, and should therefore be limited."

George Booth
BBC Sport journalist

So far, Manchester United have signed a back-up goalkeeper, two midfielders and a young forward this summer, but former Red Devils defender Danny Simpson says they need fresh blood in another position.

"Lisandro Martinez is injured, Matthijs de Ligt gets injured a lot and Harry Maguire is 33 now, so I think we could do with a centre-back," Simpson told BBC Radio Manchester.

United currently have a wealth of experience in the centre-back department with Martinez, De Ligt and Maguire, but injuries halted their playing time together last season.

It is not yet known if Martinez will be ruled out of the start of the domestic campaign with the injury he picked up during Argentina's World Cup final defeat by Spain.

De Ligt last featured for United in November 2025 under Ruben Amorim.

The 26-year-old had "successful surgery to address a back injury" in May and the club expect him back in the early stages of 2026-27 season.

Although Maguire has featured in both United's pre-season friendlies, De Ligt is still based back at Carrington completing rehabilitation for his back injury.

Hit play below to hear more from Simpson or listen on BBC Sounds here

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Manchester United midfielder Mason Mount reflected on his side's 5-0 win in pre-season over Rosenborg last Friday and how he "loved" wearing the captain's armband.

On whether he has grown into a leadership role, Mount told BBC Radio Manchester: "You have different types of leaders, you have ones that are very vocal. I always want to see myself as one that leads by example and never stops working on the pitch.

"I've been captain previously years ago. I love the role especially with a lot of younger players on the pitch being able to speak to them and make them feel comfortable in the game and off the pitch as well. It's a role that I really like and loved having it [the captain's armband] in the second half."

Mount added he "feels brilliant" ahead of the new season.

He added: "It's been a good break but I was ready and raring to get back and get training again and get back into the flow of it. As players that's what you want. I feel strong and ready to go. I know we've got a few weeks more games left and a few more weeks to really work at stuff but I feel good."

• Listen to Mount on BBC Sounds

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Co-hosts Gaz Drinkwater and Joe McGrath discussed which players impressed them in Manchester United's comfortable pre-season win over Rosenborg in the latest episode of BBC Radio Manchester's The Devils' Advocate podcast.

Drinkwater was full of praise for Joshua Zirkzee, who scored a "Puskas award nominee" goal in the friendly, slaloming his way past defenders and goalkeeper before tapping into an empty net.

"It was a great goal and really nice to watch," he said.

"It did kind of look like United were playing on Fifa with the difficulty [level] set on amateur. It was so slow the way it happened and there's no way a goal like that would be scored in the Premier League, but I'm not saying that to discount Joshua Zirkzee or take anything away from him. It was a lovely goal."

On Zirkzee being linked with a move away from Old Trafford, Drinkwater added: "At times, he comes on and is the exact type of player you need in a game. I like a lot of his attributes and you can tell by the way he plays that he would do very well in the Italian league.

"He plays just a little bit slower but he is really, really good on the ball. He is so slick but he needs to play in a slower league.

"He's one of those players who is too good for the role we want him to play, which is very occasionally coming on and making an impact, and very rarely starting games. I wouldn't mind if we let him go."

Listen to the full episode of The Devils' Advocate on BBC Sounds

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English football is set to implement a trial to try to eradicate the goalkeeper tactical timeout this season, BBC Sport can reveal.

The Football Association, Premier League, English Football League, National League and Women's Super League have agreed on the measure, pending permission from the International Football Association Board (Ifab).

Earlier this year, Ifab decided against changing the law and invited leagues to volunteer for trials.

Pro Ref, led by chief refereeing officer Howard Webb, has been in discussions with the leagues to determine how to tackle the issue. It settled on a team having to remove an outfield player from the field.

If a referee signals that the physio can come on to treat a goalkeeper, the coach will have 10 seconds to nominate another player to leave the pitch for one minute, telling the fourth official of their choice.

If no player has been selected within 10 seconds, the captain must leave the field.

Read more on the trial

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We asked for your views on Mason Mount's role at Manchester United and how important he might be for Michael Carrick this season.

Here are some of your comments:

Mark: The ownership are hoping Mount's pre-season form and fitness continue to give them the excuse not to buy another midfielder. It's not like he is unknown but can he be trusted after all his injuries and can he continue in this role as one of two in a pivot? With Kobbie Mainoo and Youri Tielemans to come in, it may work with squad rotation.

Adam: No-one questions Mount's ability - but no manager would go into a season trusting him to remain fit.

Christine: The perfect partner for Andrey Santos is DEFINITELY NOT Mason Mount. As soon as he sees a blade of green grass he will be sitting on it injured. Mount has been injured for three years so why would anyone think he will play regularly, never mind play in a robust midfield? People must be deluded.

Mags: Keep him whatever. He'll be brilliant in that role.

Simon Stone
Manchester United reporter

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Although he is not a veteran in any sense, Mason Mount has taken his responsibilities as a senior professional in this summer's opening pre-season games extremely seriously.

The 27-year-old midfielder has spent time with the younger players. It was noticeable before the Rosenborg match that he sought out Shea Lacey, whose fine opener in a 5-0 win must have nudged him closer to a permanent place in Michael Carrick's squad.

Speaking in April, Mount, whose contract runs to 2028, looked ahead to a campaign that would include a return to the Champions League and what contribution he could make.

"Next season we have a lot more games, which is what you want at a big club," he said at the time.

"Having the pressure of performing and winning games is what we love as players. If it's a start or coming off the bench, I'm ready.

"You have different types of leaders. You have ones that are very vocal, but I see myself as one who leads by example and never stops working.

"I've been captain previously, years ago, so I love the role.

"Especially with a lot of younger players on the pitch, and off it as well, being able to speak to them and make them feel comfortable, it's something I really like."

It is the kind of attitude managers adore.

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The Devils' Advocate podcast touches on action on and off the field this week.

Co-hosts Joe McGrath and Gaz Drinkwater discuss Manchester United's pre-season win over Rosenborg and season-ticket restrictions.

There's chat on Joshua Zirkzee's display, while football finance expert Kieran Maguire offers insight on the season-ticket debate.

Listen below or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

Explore all Manchester United content on BBC Sounds