🚨💣 BREAKING: Youri Tielemans to Manchester United, HERE WE GO! 🔴🇧🇪
United activate €41m release clause into Tielemans’ contract at Aston Villa, verbal agreement also with Belgian midfielder.
Andrey Santos done + Tielemans next after Éderson deal called off on Friday. 📈
🚨🎙️ Wayne Rooney on choosing between Andrey Santos and Mateus Fernandes:
🗣️ Presenter: “Between Manchester United signing Andrey Santos for £50 million and Tottenham signing Mateus Fernandes for £85 million, who do you think got the better deal?”
🗣️ Rooney: “Last season, Mateus Fernandes scored 3 goals and provided 4 assists in 36 Premier League games for West Ham, while Andrey Santos scored 10 goals and registered 3 assists in 32 Ligue 1 matches on loan at Strasbourg.
Mateus is more of a hardworking box-to-box midfielder. He suits managers who want intensity, brave passing, and someone who can carry the ball through midfield under pressure.
Santos is different. He’s a deep-lying playmaker who controls the tempo of the game, but he also has an excellent habit of arriving late in the box to score goals, which explains his numbers in France.
At £50 million, I actually think United may have done very good business.
Time will tell, but if Santos adapts well to the Premier League, people might look back and say United made the smarter investment.” 👀
🚨🎙️ Paul Gascoigne on Mateus Fernandes deal:
‘‘I joined Tottenham over Man United for the money like Mateus Fernandes – I still regret it.
"Sir Alex Ferguson called us and said, 'I want to sign you' and I went, 'OK, I'll sign' so I went on holiday and he said, 'When you come back from holiday will you be at Old Trafford' and I said, 'Yeah', so I told my dad, 'I'm going to Old Trafford' and he said, 'Brilliant' then two days later the phone went and it was Irving Scholar (former Tottenham chairman)."
"I said, 'Dad, it's Tottenham', and he said, 'Tell them to f**** off, you're singing for Man United', so I said, 'F**** off, I'm signing for Man United', so Irving says, 'Tell your dad I'll give him £120,000', so I said, 'Dad they're going to give you £120,000 if I sign for Tottenham' and he went, 'What are you waiting for then son?'"
In a shocking twist, Gascoigne then explained how it wasn't just financial incentive that sweetened the deal but the promise of gifts for his family - including a sunbed. He said: "I went, 'Oh yeah, I think I'm about to sign for Tottenham'. He (his dad) hadn't moved off the chair and he said, 'I want a BMW soft top with a private reg', so I rang Irving back and said, 'Can me dad have that?' and he said, 'Oh yeah, consider it done'.
"So I passed Old Trafford on the way (to Spurs), and I was worried but then as I got close I rang my sister and she said, 'Paul, if my mum is getting a house and dad's getting a car, then I want a sunbed', so the deal was done on the sunbed."
He said in 2015: "Sometimes I do look back and think what would have been if… would I have won all those trophies. When I signed for Spurs, Man United became great, and they started winning everything. I look at that, and it's probably one of the regrets I have."
#MUFC [via @MENnewsdesk]