Manchester United are preparing for the start of the new Premier League season
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Manchester United are gearing up for the start of the new Premier League season. They drew 0-0 with Leeds United in their latest pre-season friendly outing. The Red Devils weren’t able to find a winner against the Whites in Stockholm, Sweden, and were forced to settle for a stalemate.
Ruben Amorim’s side finished 15th in the table in the last campaign. They have the chance to bring in some more signings over the coming weeks. The North West outfit also have the opportunity to let some players head out the exit door as well if needed to free up space and funds.
Manchester United transfer update regarding Morten Hjulmand
According to CaughtOffside, United remain in the ‘race’ to sign midfielder Morten Hjulmand from Sporting Lisbon. He is also said to be on the radar of Serie A giants Juventus, Inter Milan, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal in this window. The report adds that he has a release clause of £69million but could leave for around £43million in this window.
Hjulmand, 26, joined his current club in 2023 and has since become one of their most prized assets. They could now face a battle to keep hold of him amid attention from elsewhere. He has made 96 appearances in all competitions and has chipped in with seven goals, three of which came last term.
The Denmark international, who has 19 caps under his belt so far in his career, started out at FC Copenhagen before joining Admira Wacker as a youngster. He broke into the first-team of the latter before moving over to Italy to sign for Lecce. The Kastrup-born man went on to play 95 matches during his time Stadio Via del mare.
What now for Manchester United?
United could see Hjulmand as someone to boost their midfield ranks. If he joined, he would give them more competition and depth in the middle of the park. Time will tell whether they end up lodging an offer for him amid links to Juventus, Inter, Spurs and Arsenal.
Speaking after their draw with Leeds, Amorim suggested they need more pace in midfield: “We have a lack of pace. Especially in the middle of the park, you can feel it's hard to bring the ball. We created chances. We have a lot to do but it was a first test against a Premier League team with two different teams, a good test.
"Matheus Cunha showed what we need, a player in between the lines who is really aggressive. We watched that during last season for a different team. We expect the same thing. You can see the connection with him and Bruno Fernandes is still not there. But it will be a good connection, because you can put a player like Kobbie Mainoo or Mason Mountthere. We need to increase our quality in the final third."
He added: "The environment is really good, of course sometimes we are going to struggle, but what I felt in the first moment is that if we are going to struggle, we will struggle together. That is the beginning of everything, then we have to put the quality. This club is not just about the effort, it's about the quality -- we have to win games."