Manchester United Empire

🚨 Manchester United are weighing up a January move for Antoine Semenyo amid doubts over Patrick Dorgu. United have identified Semenyo as the prime target to strengthen their left-hand side. [samuel luckhurst]

🗣️ Ruben Amorim on Kobbie Mainoo: "It's not Kobbie who wore the t-shirt. He's going to play if he's the right guy. I'm not doing something [different] with Kobbie because someone in his family is doing something."

🗣️ A source on INEOS trying to find a new manager to replace Erik Ten Hag: "They were running around like headless chickens trying to find a new manager. It was a big mistake. They should have gone for Amorim then but Dan Ashworth was against that one."

🗣️ Ian Wright on Bruno Fernandes' comments on Manchester United wanting to sell him last summer: "When you look at Bruno’s quotes, it comes back to Man United being indecisive." "They gave him the option and said, 'if you want to go, you can go'. What is that saying to him? I would take him tomorrow."

🗣️ Andy Mitten on summer signings: "There’s three or four more players that United are looking at in those positions [besides Anderson, Wharton, Baleba]. United will get one of the players. I stand by what I said about Elliot Anderson, but Manchester City want him and could probably offer him more money than United and Champions League football. So whoever United sign, there needs to be a repeat of what happened with Cunha and Mbeumo who actively wanted to join Manchester United because they’re miles, miles bigger than someone like Manchester City. All the clubs are going to be going for the same players because the number six is a key role and theres not many players proven in the Premier League in doing it. United would be a suitor, but these players have other options. There are other names that haven’t got out there who Manchester United are looking at."

🚨 Ruben Neves has emerged as an option for Manchester United in the January transfer window. Neves is keen on a return to the Premier League and Al Hilal are prepared to let him go for around £20m next month. [Chris Wheeler]

🗣️ Andy Mitten on Bruno: "Bruno Fernandes didn’t ask Man United to leave and equally, Manchester United said you’ve got a contract here and we want to honour that contract. Bruno asked, but do you really want me to stay? It’s just how much they wanted him to stay. Manchester United wanted him, Ruben Amorim definitely wanted him, the fans wanted him. Had he gone to the club, which he didn’t do, and say, I want to leave, United have would’ve let him and not kept him against his will, but they’re going to pay a fortune for you to leave the club."

🚨 Manchester is one of the hosts for Euro 2028, but at City’s Etihad Stadium. Old Trafford was NOT fit for the job. ‘Why would you wish to hold a major international here?’ says one current United employee. ‘I walk around the place every day. It’s out of date. Bits of it are falling down. The roof has had leaks. There are mice. It needs money spent on it and has done for ages. I am a United fan and I used to be proud to work here. Now I just feel embarrassed.’ [Mail Sport]

🚨 On taking the big job, Woodward had been led to believe that he would have at least a year to work with Ferguson. The Scot put him straight on that issue a few minutes into a lunch at Scott’s in Mayfair. ‘It was a horrific start,’ a source close to Woodward says now. ‘Ed may not even have taken the job had he known that was coming. Two hours into that lunch, Fergie told him he was off and he was floored by it.’ United insiders report that as United tried to steer a steady course post-Ferguson, that Woodward and Joel would speak ‘four or five times a day’, and it wasn’t always about the football. [Mail Sport]

🗣️ An inside source on the Glazers: "The family are obsessed with money. So they would penny-pinch like you wouldn’t believe. We know about the Ineos redundancies and all the rest. But nobody cuts corners like the Glazers, and Ed couldn’t do a thing without them wanting to know about it. We used to joke that he would call Joel in Florida every time a toilet roll needed replacing, to check it was OK to do so. At least we think it was a joke."

🚨 Ed Woodward was ridiculed for citing a 12-fold increase in Google searches for Angel Di Maria on his arrival in 2014 and ‘a 10-times increase’ in Radamel Falcao searches on the day he signed that September, Woodward never learned. He referenced a 72 per cent increase in Daley Blind’s Twitter following as evidence that United were on the up. All three players failed at Old Trafford. United, meanwhile, tried to sign Gareth Bale four times, including the summers of 2013 and 2015, but the sheer state of uncertainty at Old Trafford put him off on at least one occasion. In terms of managers, Mauricio Pochettino was available three times during the Woodward years, but United never pressed the button. [Mail Sport]

🚨 Joel Glazer – despite having no background in football – has often expressed firm ideas on the kind of player United should sign. Often the profile would be linked to the spread of social media engagement it would farm. Jose Mourinho’s expressed desire to get rid of the dismal Anthony Martial, meanwhile, lost all momentum once the message reached Florida. ‘Joel likes him,’ Mourinho was told. [Mail Sport]

🗣️ Fabrizio Romano on Bruno: "For the summer, I would keep an eye on the interest from Saudi. Saudi can return for Bruno Fernandes. It’ll be up to Bruno and Manchester United again, but let’s see what happens after the World Cup. Bruno has always been a top target for the Saudi deal makers — they will be back. It’s not a topic for January, the intention is not to part ways in January."

🚨 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: Manchester United have raised an appeal with FIFA after Morocco refused to allow Noussair Mazraoui to play against Bournemouth. They made the refusal just hours before the deadline - United believed that the defender should have been eligible under the Africa Cup of Nations release arrangements.

🚨 BREAKING: The Antoine Semenyo saga is heating up! Manchester United and Manchester City have contacted Bournemouth in the last 48 hours to understand the situation of Antoine Semenyo. Tottenham and Liverpool also remain interested. [Fabrizio Romano]

🚨🎙 | Bruno Fernandes: "I've always said I want to stay somewhere until I feel that I am no longer wanted. "The moment I feel 100%that I am no longer wanted, I'll speak to the club and say that I want to leave. "I'd like to experience the Spanish league because I've never played in Spain and I'd like to play for one of the clubs that fights for big titles in Italy. "I really enjoyed living in Italy. I still have many links to the country - my daughter was born there and she is always saying that she wants to speak Italian. "If I could give her that, and play in a club in Italy with big objectives of winning trophies, it's an idea that would interest me." [Source: Canal 11]

🔴📰 Joshua Zirkzee is AS Roma's No. 1 target in January, and they are willing to wait until after AFCON to strike a deal with #mufc. Their preference is a loan with an option to buy that becomes an obligation with certain conditions. [Source: DiMarzio]

🚨 Mufc are set to welcome Harry Maguire back to training this month. [Source: Samuel Luckhurst]

🚨 Mufc are set to welcome Harry Maguire back to training this month. [Source: Samuel Luckhurst]

🚨🎙 | Rio Ferdinand: "I think it's HARDER for players [now]. I don't know about you, but I WOULDN'T want to play under this scrutiny to get notes. If we had social media in our time, we WOULDN'T be deemed as good a player as we are now. Trust me, because we all made mistakes. "Do you know what I mean? The cameras weren't on us as much."