Manchester United are focusing on deals for two Premier League midfielders following the news that Manchester City’s £120m bid for Nottingham Forest star Elliot Anderson has been rejected, according to David Ornstein.

Man United had identified Anderson as their number one midfield target earlier this summer, as they looked to bolster a position that will be short of depth ahead of the expected summer exits of both Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte.

Kobbie Mainoo, and new signing Ederson, are the only specialist senior central midfielders in the squad should Ugarte leave, even though Mason Mount and Bruno Fernandes have been used in deeper midfield roles in recent months.

Some reports have suggested that the Red Devils could look to add three new midfielders to Michael Carrick’s squad during the close season, which would mean there are two more arrivals after Ederson.

While United have had a focus on Premier League midfield targets, the issue is that they come at a premium price, whether it is Carlos Baleba of Brighton and Hove Albion or Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali.

Anderson appears to be a step above even that after Forest decided to reject a bid worth a total of £120m for the England international from City, instead wanting more than that fee upfront if they are to even consider a sale.

Man United Focusing on Alex Scott and Mateus Fernandes

via Reuters

Posting on X on Wednesday night, Ornstein confirmed that City’s bid worth £106m, plus £14m in add-ons, had been rejected by Forest.

Ornstein claims that the Midlands outfit want more than the British transfer record fee of £125m that Liverpool paid to sign Alexander Isak last summer.

Despite United’s great admiration for the player, the journalist claims that the fee demanded for the England star means that they are currently out of the race for the 23-year-old.

Instead, the Red Devils are focusing on players who want to join them, including West Ham United’s Mateus Fernandes and Alex Scott of Bournemouth.

Fabrizio Romano has claimed that the Hammers value Fernandes at £85m, while Bournemouth are reported to want £80m to consider selling Scott.

Which Other Midfielders Are On United’s List?

via Reuters

As mentioned previously, two Premier League-based midfielders in Baleba and Tonali continue to be linked, with the former fitting into the category of players who want to make the switch to Old Trafford.

An agreement on personal terms dating back to last summer is already in place for Baleba to join United, and now it is up to the Red Devils whether they reignite their interest from 2025 in the Seagulls star.

United are still considering midfielders playing abroad too after the Ederson deal, with Romano revealing previously that Real Madrid star Aurelien Tchouameni is the club’s ‘dream’ Casemiro replacement.

The France international’s future at the Bernabeu looked to be in doubt following his huge bust-up with Federico Valverde in training last month, but the latest suggestions are that Real want to keep him at the club.

As Liverpool prepare for a busy summer transfer window, there is a growing expectation that some key stars could leave the club in favour of new signings.

The squad shake-up has already begun, with Andy Robetson and Mohamed Salah among the important players who have already left, while Ibrahima Konate turned down a contract extension and looks set to join Real Madrid as a free agent.

There could be others within the Liverpool ranks who could fetch a decent fee, which will help the Reds reinvest them in several areas across the team for new boss Andoni Iraola.

Harvey Elliott and Federico Chiesa are among the potential exits, alongside Curtis Jones who could leave as he enters the final year of his contract.

Recent reports have stated that Liverpool are in talks with Inter Milan over a move, but it’s a switch that could prove to be a mistake from the Merseyside club.

Curtis Jones Transfer Mistake

Jones appears to be nearing a potential exit from Liverpool, which makes sense when you consider the fact that he is entering the final year of his deal and the club may wish to reinvest any funds raised into the squad elsewhere.

However, it could prove to be a mistake for several reasons, the main one being the current state of the midfield market in comparison to offering a new deal.

Current target Alex Scott is said to be valued at £80 million if he is to leave Bournemouth this summer, while that remains on the lower end of the current scale.

Other options, such as Adam Wharton, Sandro Tonali and Elliot Anderson, have been quoted in the £100 million range, a fee that is at the extreme ends of the transfer landscape.

However, it goes to show how difficult it would be to invest wisely in a replacement, as well as how valuable these players are currently viewed as in the market.

Jones is a very capable player in his own right, finding it easy to evade pressure when building up from the back and capable of circulating play when needed.

At 25 years old, the academy graduate is still not at his peak, even though he has already been described as “incredible” during his time playing for the England national team.

He also has the potential to improve and become better, while he knows exactly what it means to be a Liverpool player having grown up around the club.

A mixture of those market factors and the quality of Jones shows that it would be a no-brainer to offer a new contract to the star, even if that comes with the promise of more game time.

However, as it appears, things seem to be moving towards a potential sale, which would be a mistake for all the reasons listed above.

Liverpool Contract Problems

The contract situation that could lead to an exit for Jones underlines an ongoing issue Liverpool have faced in recent seasons surrounding the management of the squad.

The Reds have consistently failed to be proactive when it comes to the deals players are on, partially due to some of the chaos off the pitch that has come with the changing of sporting directors and managers.

Key stars in the peak of their career have moved on for free in the form of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ibrahima Konate, while the likes of Virgil van Djik and Mohamed Salah have been allowed to run their own deals into the final year in the last 12 months or so.

The latest challenge will be to think ahead beyond 2027, when contracts for Jones, Alisson Becker, and Van Dijk are set to expire, to get on top of the issues that are present.

Liverpool have already lost out because of those contract problems, and they could miss out again if Jones is forced to leave.

This Sunday’s UFC Freedom 250 at the White House is set to be the most controversial in company history.

Not only has the landmark show, timed to celebrate President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday, been threatened with a lawsuit, but there is also the possibility that adverse weather could affect the card.

The seven-fight event will take place on the South Lawn of the Washington DC property, with the UFC Octagon completely open to the elements.

The UFC White House Fight Card Explored

UFC Freedom 250 is the promotion’s most stacked show of the year to date. In the evening’s main event, Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje will meet for the undisputed UFC Lightweight Championship.

There’s even more gold on the line in the co-main event as Alex Pereira takes on Ciryl Gane for the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship. Elsewhere on the card, much-loved UFC veterans Sean O’Malley, Derrick Lewis and Michael Chandler will also be in action.

Earlier this week, it was reported that the show could be called off, with an initial weather forecast projecting a 39% chance of thunderstorms in Washington on the day of the show. That forecast, though, has since improved.

Dana White’s Plan to Deal With Bad Weather at UFC Freedom 250

UFC CEO Dana White had previously gone on record to state that the only thing that would stop the historic show would be lightning. However, the veteran matchmaker has now revealed that he even has a plan for that eventuality.

During an appearance on Adin Ross’ live stream, Dana dismissed any suggestion that the fights would be cancelled.

He insisted:

“We’re fighting [through bad weather]. If it f****** snows, we’re fighting. We’re fighting. Nothing will stop this show going that night. It could be f****** rain, lightning.”

Going back on his prior comments, White revealed that, in the event of lightning, the promotion would simply temporarily suspend the show until any storm had passed.

During a podcast appearance for MainEvent, the UFC’s Head of Production, Craig Borsari, confirmed the existence of the contingency plans mentioned by Dana.

Both men insist that rain in itself won’t cause the card to be interrupted.

“I would say, light to maybe moderate rain, we will try to continue to move forward and conclude the event,” stated Borsari.

However, in the event of anything more extreme, the production guru admitted:

“Anything beyond that, whether it’s, like I said, increased winds, high winds, lightning, we clearly need to shut down. If lightning is within eight miles of the Octagon. So, those plans are a different set of contingency planning than light to moderate rain.”

The UFC’s controversial event at the White House is nearly upon us. Despite a number of potential hurdles, the controversial show looks set to become a reality on Sunday night.