‘Desperate’ Man Utd ‘call’ Barcelona to ‘get rid’ of two stars as Ten Hag demands ‘dream’ signing

According to reports, Manchester United have made contact with La Liga giants FC Barcelona as they look to ‘get rid’ of two unwanted players.

The Red Devils offloaded several players in the summer as co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his recruitment team attempted to raise funds for signings.

The Premier League giants invested around £185m to sign Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Manuel Ugarte.

This appeared to set Man Utd up for a positive season, but Erik ten Hag ‘s side have endured a miserable start to the 2024/25 campaign as they have won just two of their first seven Premier League games.

United’s start to the season could leave underperforming players at risk of being sold/loaned elsewhere in January or next summer.

A report from The Daily Mail claims Man Utd are ‘open’ to letting Antony ‘go out on loan’ in January, before selling him in the summer.

The £86m flop is yet to start in the Premier League this season. Injuries have dogged Tyrell Malacia over the past couple of years and he also has not started in the league this term.

READ: Man Utd narrowly avoid bottom spot in all-important Premier League mood rankings

A report in Spain claims Man Utd have ‘called’ Barcelona to ‘get rid of’ the two players, but this ‘offer’ has been ‘rejected’ by the Spanish giants.

Regarding the reasoning for Barcelona’s decision to turn down Antony and Malacia, the report claims.

‘Barcelona do not think Antony would be an upgrade on Ferran Torres or Ansu Fati, and therefore they do not want to know anything about this option. And the same can be said of Malacia.

‘Malacia has not yet been able to make his debut this season, and at the age of 25, United want to get rid of the Dutch international to recover the 15 euros he cost, or a significant part of them.

‘But despite the fact that Barça wants to release Gerard Martín, something that would leave Alejandro Balde without a possible replacement in the squad, Malacia is not a signing that is in the plans of Deco or Laporta. So Ratcliffe will have to try his luck with another team.’

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While Man Utd may fail to sell a couple of players to Barcelona, another report in Spain says they could raid Hansi Flick’s side.

This comes as Man Utd are once again being linked with Frenkie de Jong as Ten Hag has demanded his ‘dream’ signing after they missed out on the Dutch international during the 2022 summer transfer window.

‘Despite the constant rejections, United want to get back into the game in this winter transfer market. Ten Hag believes that he is the piece that could give a new boost to his team.

‘For now, United have been patient with Ten Hag, who could play the last bullet in this winter market. If they do not get a reaction with new signings, among which De Jong could be included, they would be looking to get out, despite the high cost of his termination as he still has a contract until 2026.

‘For his part, the footballer has stressed on numerous occasions that he is happy at Barça. His contract also runs until 2026 and he has no intention of changing teams.

‘However, if the Blaugrana club pushes him to leave in order to improve its finances, perhaps a solution could be considered.’