Manchester United interested in Marko Arnautovic and Gareth Bale

Manchester United are interested in Marko Arnautovic, according to this report in The Guardian. Jose Mourinho had previously managed Arnautovic at Inter Milan, where they had a combative if productive relationship. This story has come from Mourinho watching Arnautovic play in a friendly between Austria and Russia, but it’s not clear if this is just a punt from the press or something more serious. His supposed asking price is £50m, and West Ham aren’t willing sellers, so any fee could go a lot higher. Quite how Arnautovic and Anthony Martial are considered in the same price bracket is a bizarre thing, but football doesn’t make sense.

According to this story in The Independent, United are preparing to announce the signing of Porto’s young right-back Diogo Dalot. He should cost around £20m, but there’s a chance he will be secured without having to activate his release clause, because if memory serves, that can be a right old faff.

In The Telegraph, there’s an interview with Paddy Crerand and his memories of United’s triumph in the 1968 European Cup. Most of us here are too young to remember any of this, but Crerand has an excellent reputation as a sound and decent man, so is worth a read.

Jesse Lingard has said that he is, ‘more comfortable,’ in the England squad than he is at Old Trafford. He has responded to say that any negative connotations of the phrase there are a case of people looking too much into the story. Which means that not only can I use the first bit of the story for padding, I can whack in his denial too.

And lastly, there are a growing number of stories that Manchester United are interested in Real Madrid’s forward and Champions League winner, Gareth Bale, who seems increasingly likely to leave.