United linked with move for Renato Sanches

Manchester United could make a move for Bayern Munich’s young midfielder Renato Sanches — at least according to the Guardian’s rumour mill. However, as far as we can see, there’s no actual evidence of any interest, and given José Mourinho seems generally content with his midfield at present, we’d be surprised if there was any substance to the claim. Plus, is signing an unproven and expensive teenager really a Mourinho sort of move? Probably not.

Over on ESPN FC, Mark Ogden has some analysis of last night’s friendly victory over Manchester City. Though most of it focuses on City’s shortcomings (not that that makes for bad reading, of course), he has some interesting thoughts on the possibility of Marcus Rashford and Romelu Lukaku forming a partnership up top in the coming season — something which Mourinho apparently believes to be possible. It’d be a surprise, given Mourinho has always been wedded to one-striker systems, but it’s food for thought. We hope you’re hungry.

On the subject of Mourinho, the gaffer has been dropping some not-so-subtle hints in the media that he wants more from Ed Woodward. In the aftermath of the win over City, he declared that though happy with the work done in the transfer market so far, he’s still “waiting for a bit more.” We read these quotes in the Sun, but would rather not link to them, if that’s alright.

According to the Independent’s Miguel Delaney, United are turning to Serge Aurier because they’ve tried and failed to sign Monaco’s young right-back Fabinho. The report claims that Fabinho “has been United's top target for the right-back position but [...] Monaco have proven exceptionally tough negotiators”. Good for them. Aurier, who has had a turbulent relationship with PSG’s management, is said to be available for around £25 million.

Finally, United have unveiled their fan-designed third kit for the upcoming season. According to the marketing spiel: “The light grey shirt is designed with a graphic showing the silhouette of the famous 'Holy Trinity' statue outside Old Trafford. The statue of club icons Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best and Denis Law represents a golden era for the club and this unique history was the inspiration for the new third kit.” Great.