Tottenham Hotspur are plotting a move for a third midfield transfer after Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali, according to the Mirror.

Tottenham wasted no time in transforming their defence and midfield in the early weeks of the summer transfer window, with Andy Robertson, Jan Paul van Hecke, Marcos Senesi and Martin Dubravka arriving to strengthen the team’s rearguard after they conceded 183 goals across the last three Premier League seasons.

Luka Vuskovic has already departed as Spurs focus on outgoings, with captain Cristian Romero, Guglielmo Vicario, Alfie Dorrington and Ashley Phillips among the other defensively-minded players who could be on their way out of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the coming weeks.

Fernandes and Tonali joined in two club-record transfers to significantly boost De Zerbi’s midfield options, with Lucas Bergvall another midfielder who could be on his way out as Premier League interest grows in the Sweden international.

Should he leave, it remains to be seen whether the north London outfit push ahead and bring in another body for the midfield engine room, but they certainly have some targets in mind if they are to do that.

In the meantime, their transfer priority is strengthening the attack with talks ongoing over a deal for Manchester City winger Savinho.

Tottenham Interested in Alex Scott

via Reuters

According to the Mirror, Tottenham are one of a number of top Premier League clubs looking at a summer move for Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott.

The Cherries had been hoping to keep hold of the England international for their maiden European campaign next term, but the 22-year-old has just rejected the club’s latest contract offer.

While Spurs, Manchester United and Arsenal all hold an interest in the midfielder, it is Chelsea who have recently had a £64m bid rejected for the Englishman, as Xabi Alonso looks to sign a new midfielder this summer.

The report claims that the Scott would like to move to Stamford Bridge, presumably seeing it as an opportunity for Alonso to make him an even better midfield player.

Scott is a Tottenham Fan

via Reuters

Interestingly, Scott has previously admitted that he is a Tottenham fan and supported the club as a kid.

If Spurs were to ramp up their interest in him, there would surely be a keenness from the player to complete a move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, if they could seal an agreement with Bournemouth.

You do have to wonder where there is a spot for Scott in De Zerbi’s starting XI right now though, given Fernandes and Tonali are likely to be the sitters in his preferred 4-2-3-1 system, with James Maddison ahead of them as he continues his comeback from injury.

Tottenham are also focusing their remaining budget on their attack as things stand, so an outlay of more than £64m would be big for a position in which they are already well covered.

Remember, beyond Fernandes and Tonali, the Italian manager also has Rodrigo Bentancur, Conor Gallagher, Archie Gray, Pape Matar Sarr and Bergvall to pick from in the position currently.

Manchester United‘s Marcus Rashford stance appears to have softened as they try to edge the forwards towards the exit door this summer. Michael Carrick is hoping to build a squad that can compete for one of the top two or three spots in the Premier League next season while also putting together a solid Champions League run.

The Red Devils have started building their squad, snapping up Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos so far, and work is ongoing to add another midfielder, a left-back and possibly a forward. Carrick will get money to spend this summer, but United are said to want to trim their wage bill, which they can do by selling just one player.

Rashford, who spent last season on loan with Barcelona, earns more than £300,000-per-week, and his wage actually increased this summer. The England forward has been heavily linked with an exit, but there has been little movement so far, leading to a softer stance.

Carrick offers olive branch to Rashford

Marty Jean-Louis/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

According to transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, Carrick will now welcome Rashford back for pre-season when the England forward has returned from his holidays following his World Cup participation.

“Rashford is going to restart the pre-season with Man United,” said Romano. “My understanding is that Michael Carrick is really looking forward to that moment. So Carrick wants to try to work with Marcus Rashford, wants to have the opportunity to reunite with Marcus Rashford. He knows the player, and wants to have a good connection at the beginning of the season. And then let’s see what happens if a good proposal arrives for United and for Rashford, he can still leave the club from now to the end of the season.

“Otherwise, he will have a chance to be part of the Carrick squad and be part of the Manchester United team for the upcoming season.”

Rashford’s may still have options this summer

Rashford doesn’t appear to have many options at the moment, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be come the end of the summer. The forward could yet receive an offer from Barcelona despite the fact the Catalan club passed up their option to buy on the back of last season’s impressive loan spell.

Barca did not activate the option due to concentrating on some of their other business, which included the signing of Karim Adeyemi, and they continue to pursue Atletico Madrid superstar Julian Alvarez. Should they fail in that pursuit, which seems more likely than not at this stage, Atletico could circle back for Rashford, as reported in Spain. Other clubs could also pop up before the summer is over.

Meanwhile, United have a wage problem with Rashford, and even if the ‘outstanding’ England forward does impress Carrick, it’s likely they will need to convince the forward to reduce his wage if they want to contemplate keeping him, especially with the spending we are likely to see at Old Trafford this summer.

Manchester United came out on top with a commanding 5-0 win in their second pre-season friendly of the summer, bouncing back from their opening summer defeat to Wrexham. Michael Carrick took his men to Trondheim, in central Norway, to take on Rosenborg, who are already in season-rhythm, albeit they did just have the World Cup break. Rosenborg are currently sat mid-table in the Norwegian top flight.

Carrick put out a strong starting team, but as ever during this early summer stage, made plenty of changes to his side along the way, beginning at half-time, with United having already established a lead.

Trondheim

Who played for Man Utd vs Rosenborg?

The starting lineup included wantaway goalkeeper Radek Vitek, who also played against Wrexham, and the defence featured Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire, Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven. In midfield were Mason Mount, new boy Andrey Santos, with Patrick Dorgu and Shea Lacey on the wings, while Bryan Mbeumo and Joshua Zirkzee led the attack.

The bench featured Tom Heaton, Dermot Mee, Harry Amass, Dan Armer, Jayden Kamason, Toby Collyer, Jacob Devaney, Jack Fletcher, Tyler Fletcher, Dan Gore, Jim Thwaites, JJ Gabriel, Chido Obi, Ethan Williams.

Shaw and Maguire were replaced by Amass and Kamason at half-time, and in the 62 minute, Armer, Devaney, T. Fletcher, Gore, J. Fletcher, Collyer, Williams, Obi all came on. replacing the remaining starters with the exception of Vitek in goal. Heaton, Gabriel and Thwaites were the only unused substitutes.

What happened during Rosenborg vs Man Utd?

Debuting their new blue away kit, United took the lead in the 31st minute with Shea Lacey latching onto a superb through ball before dummying inside and curling a short into the far left corner. The Red Devils almost made it two when Yoro rose highest to head a free-kick goalwards, but his header crashed off the bar and behind.

Joshua Zirkzee made it two in the 56th minute when he played a nice one-two with Amas before beating a couple of defenders and making easy work of the keeper, sitting him down with a neat stepover and rolling home.

United made is three seven minutes after the Zirkzee goal, when Devaney tucked away a short-range effort, blasting high into the net following a corner that dropped in front of the keeper. The fourth came when Kamason bolted to the byline and delivered a firm low cross to the back post, where Amas tucked home.

Ethan Williams made it five six minutes from time when Kamason beat his man to continue a fine performance with a second assist, crossing for Williams to tuck home from close range.

What will the Rosenborg win mean for Michael Carrick’s men this season?

Above all, this was a good chance for Carrick’s men to get more fitness in their legs, and the win is a cherry on top. It will be good for some of the young players to get some minutes in, too, and among more senior players. Some players will have impressed Carrick, and even if they know they are likely to return to the youth ranks when more senior players return from holidays, it is a great chance to put themselves in Carrick’s thoughts, be it for this season or the future.

That is what pre-season is all about, but it’s not just about the kids, and players like Zirkzee will be pleased to get on the scoresheet, with the forward likely hoping to put himself in the shop window ahead of a potential move this summer.

It will be interesting to see how the United squad evolves over the course of the summer, with more new signings expected to arrive, more players expected to leave and a large group still to return from holidays following the World Cup, albeit at different dates.

Next up for Carrick’s men is a date with Atletico Madrid on August 1, and then it’s on to a date with the Champions League winners PSG a week later.