Manchester United handed boost as West Ham’s talks with Noussair Mazraoui break down

Manchester United’s search for a right-back may have taken a positive turn following the breakdown of talks between West Ham United and Morocco defender Noussair Mazraoui.

West Ham had agreed a fee with Bayern Munich for Mazraoui but negotiations with the player have since collapsed, which could yet open the door for United, who retain an interest in the player.

Yet United’s pursuit of a right-back is tied up in the future of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who himself recently turned down the chance of a transfer to West Ham.

With Wan-Bissaka continuing to weigh up his options, United need clarity over the player’s position to be able to firmly advance any move for Mazraoui.

Wan Bissaka, a £50 million signing from Crystal Palace in 2019, was part of the United squad that travelled to Los Angeles for their pre-season tour of the US and is currently the only senior full-back available to manager Erik ten Hag with Tyrrell Malacia still injured and Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot on holiday after their Euro 2024 exploits.

But United are still prepared to sell Wan-Bissaka should the right offer come in and the 26-year-old has indicated he is willing to leave.

Galatasaray and Inter Milan are among a number of other clubs interested in Wan-Bissaka but he may prefer to run down the final year of his contract and leave as a free agent next summer when he could have more options.

It is thought Wan-Bissaka would be open to a move to Inter and intermediaries are believed to have discussed the possibility of some kind of swap deal involving the Italian champions’ Netherlands right back Denzel Dumfries but there is nothing advanced at this stage, and Mazraoui is another option on the table.

New shirt flies off shelves

United launched their new blue away kit on Thursday and sales have already hit record levels. The strip is due to get its first airing in the early hours of Sunday when United play Arsenal at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Sales of Rasmus Hojlund’s new No 9 shirt have proven most popular with fans and closely followed by Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho. Bruno Fernandes’s No 8 shirt is the fourth-fastest selling ahead of United’s No 15 Leny Yoro, a £58.8 million signing from Lille.

Bartlett joins celebrity line-up

Celebrity United fan Steven Bartlett, the British entrepreneur behind the hugely successful Diary of a CEO podcast and one of the investors on the BBC TV Series Dragons’ Den, was among a number of influencers and media personalities flown over to the US for a celebrity match at UCLA, where United are training in Los Angeles, on Thursday.

Club stay at cheaper hotel

Ineos are in the midst of a huge cost-cutting drive at Old Trafford in which around 250 people are likely to lose their jobs at the club in the weeks to come. Whether United have been deliberately looking to make savings around the delivery of the club’s pre-season tour of the US is unclear, but there is a notable difference in the cost of rooms at their SLS hotel base in Beverly Hills compared to previous hotels in which they have stayed near the Hollywood hills.

The cheapest room at the SLS on Friday evening will set you back £357 whereas its closest counterpart at the Beverly Wilshire, where United stayed under Louis van Gaal in 2014 and which featured in the film Pretty Woman starring United fan Julia Roberts, will relieve you of a whopping £870. Arsenal are staying at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills, where the cheapest rooms this weekend are going for £773.

Glazer joins club hierarchy at training

United’s sporting director Dan Ashworth, technical director Jason Wilcox, Ineos director of sport Sir Dave Brailsford and the club’s co-owner Avram Glazer were all at UCLA to watch Ten Hag put his players through their paces during a long training session on Thursday, their first of the tour after landing in LA the previous evening.

Players dash through airport

United’s entire touring party managed to clear customs and immigration, complete with their luggage, in just 29 minutes on Wednesday after flying into a private terminal at Los Angeles’ LAX airport, news that will have pleased Ten Hag and the players no end. By contrast, some of their Premier League rivals also out here in the US had been stuck at the airport for hours upon arrival from the UK.

Maguire gives Yoro a guiding hand

Harry Maguire was in good form as he chatted with the English media at United’s team hotel on Thursday night. The England defender has not had too many opportunities to train with the club’s new signing Leny Yoro but he is excited by the France Under-21 centre-half’s arrival from Lille. Maguire has also urged people to be mindful the £58.8 million signing is still only 18 and that some patience will be required as he makes the transition to United and English football.

“We must remind ourselves he is really young, there are going to be mistakes but he has every attribute of a centre-back in the modern game so I’m sure he’s gonna have a bright future,” Maguire said. “It’s our job as senior centre-backs, my job, to help him along, communicate well, let him know what to expect. There are going to be times where I’m sure he’ll feel the world is on top of him, there are also going to be times where he’s going to feel like the best player in the world. And that’s what this club brings.

“It’s really important us senior lads help the young boys at the club. You’re starting to see now there’s so much talent in this squad but they’re going to need to be guided in the right direction and that’s a role of mine and other lads as well.”

Sancho catches some zzzs

United have been taking every efforts to help their players’ combat jet lag in the US but one person who seems to have been untroubled by the disruption to sleep patterns caused by the eight-hour time difference is Jadon Sancho. The England forward, back in the squad after settling his rift with Ten Hag, managed to sleep for the majority of the 11-hour flight over to Los Angeles from Manchester and then got an uninterrupted night’s rest once in his room at the SLS in Beverly Hills. Now that’s the way to do it if you can!