Manchester United have made a surprise enquiry to Bologna over a deal to sign forward Jonathan Rowe this summer, according to TEAMtalk.

The Red Devils have made the midfield rebuild a priority and have secured deals to sign Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans, while they have also completed moved for veteran goalkeeper Karl Darlow and young winger Tynan Thompson.

But Michael Carrick is keen to bring in another forward to add more firepower to the squad, and a surprise new target has emerged as a potential option.

Rowe, who has been compared to Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele, made the move to Serie A from Marseille last summer, having previously been at Norwich, and quickly became a key player.

His performances, scoring eight goals and registering five assists in 44 appearances in all competitions, have caught the eye of a number of Premier League clubs who are keen to bring him back to England, including Man Utd.

It’s understood that the Reds have made a surprise enquiry to Bologna to find out the terms of any potential deal, as they assess their options to bolster the forward line.

Any deal is unlikely to happen unless Man Utd move Marcus Rashford on, after he returned to the club following his loan at Barcelona last season, where he scored 14 goals and registered 14 assists.

As it stands, the England international is expected to return to pre-season training and be reintegrated to the squad, but all parties are open to a transfer away should they receive an acceptable offer. Crysencio Summerville had been earmarked as a replacement, but he has now joined Saudi side Al Hilal in a shock £68m move.

Man Utd Better Off Keeping Rashford

via Reuters

While there are clearly behind-the-scenes issues that need to be fixed between Man Utd and Rashford, there’s no doubting the talent and quality that he has as a footballer.

With the club set to return to the Champions League next season, having a player of his ability would be a huge boost to the forward line, and he would easily be able to compete for a starting spot alongside the likes of Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo, and Amad.

Rowe has talent and some fine attributes, but he is a tier or two below Rashford at this stage in his career, and he has hardly been ripping up trees while playing abroad. Rather than splashing the cash on a lesser talent, United would be smarter to find a way to make it work with Rashford and save that money.

FIFA’s stance over replaying Argentina and Spain’s World Cup final has been revealed after a petition reached nearly 100,000 signatures.

Lionel Messi and La Albiceleste suffered a 1-0 defeat to La Roja at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 19th. Ferran Torres’ extra-time winner meant the reigning European champions became two-time world champions.

Controversy ensued throughout a tense battle as Enzo Fernandez received a red card for two reckless bookings. Several refereeing decisions upset Argentine players and supporters.

So much so, a post-match brawl unfolded when Argentine midfielder Leandro Paredes threw punches at Spain’s Gavi. Other incidents also took place as the South American nation reacted furiously to their loss.

How FIFA Will Respond to World Cup Final Petition

REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli

An Argentine fan, Gisela Sanchez, has since created a petition on Change.org asking FIFA to replay the World Cup final. As of Friday morning, it sits at 95,710 signatures, with those signing in agreement with Sanchez’s issues about Slovakian referee Slavko Vincic.

Sanchez claimed that several decisions Vincic and his officiating team made impacted the outcome of the final. She wants FIFA to review incidents and irregularities, claiming ‘this isn’t just a matter of justice for Argentina, but for the future of world football.”

The chances of FIFA deciding to replay the final are all but certainly ruled out because petitions on platforms such as Change.org have no legal or regulatory authority over FIFA competitions. Despite the tens of thousands who took issue with Vincic and his team, a World Cup result can’t be overturned because fans are unhappy with refereeing decisions.

Only under “extraordinary circumstances” would a replay be required, and football governing bodies usually only consider replays in rare cases involving specific rule violations. Even if the petition reaches hundreds of thousands of signatures, it will have no legal or binding effect on the result.

Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni refused to blame Vincic for his team’s defeat and insisted that Spain were the better team on the day. His and Messi’s futures are in doubt and Nicolas Otamendi has announced his international retirement.

‘Argentina Out’ Petition Makes History

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Mark J Rebilas

This isn’t the only petition to have been created in the aftermath of a controversial World Cup and final. Another one has demanded that Spain be permanently banned from future global tournaments and this has been much more popular.

A website called ‘Argentina Out‘ included said petition and has been signed by over 23 million people from 170 countries in under a week. The creator wrote: “FIFA ignored us but Spain delivered. Thank you Spain.”

While it has now been closed, it nearly achieved the Guinness World Record for the most signed petition in history. The current record of 24,319,181 signatures from 166 countries is held by ‘Jubilee 200 ‘, which was a campaign launched in 1997 calling for unbearable debts to be cancelled in the poorest countries.

Argentina were villainised during the World Cup campaign with rival fans believing they were handed preferential treatment. The actions of some of their players upset other nations, including England’s Jude Bellingham, who took issue with Valentin Barco after a semi-final defeat.