John Murtough missing Man Utd’s pre-season tour to wrap up four summer signings

Man Utd's pre-season schedule as Red Devils head for Australia

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John Murtough is absent from Manchester United’s pre-season tour because he’s attempting to get four signings over the line, according to reports. The Red Devils have only landed Tyrell Malacia so far, with the left-back moving from Feyenoord. And they’re hopeful of adding to their squad as the new campaign creeps closer.

Manchester United are currently in Thailand as they step up their preparations for the new season.

And The Telegraph claim Murtough is absent because, back in England, he’s trying to get four deals over the line.

United appear to be on the verge of signing Christian Eriksen, with the Denmark international poised to join on a free transfer following the expiry of his Brentford contract.

The 30-year-old has also attracted interest from Everton and Leicester, among others, but has verbally agreed to head to Old Trafford.

United remain hopeful of landing Frenkie de Jong, too.

The latest noises from Catalonia are that the midfielder doesn’t want to leave Barcelona, instead preferring to remain at the Nou Camp.

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But United are trying to convince De Jong that reuniting with Erik ten Hag, who he previously played under at Ajax, is in his best interests.

They’ve agreed a fee with Barcelona yet, still, that saga rumbles on and on.

United are also aiming to conduct a double raid on Ajax, too, with Lisandro Martinez and Antony both targets.

Martinez has also attracted interest from Arsenal, with Mikel Arteta eager to bolster his options at centre-back.

But he would prefer to play under Ten Hag again and there’s a sense that an agreement could be struck in the near future.

Signing Antony won’t be easy, though, with Ajax making it clear they want a fee in the region of £70million for the Brazil international.

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That would eat into most of United’s budget for the summer.

And whether they’re able to land all four of their top transfer targets remains to be seen.

Regarding United’s recruitment, John O’Shea urged his old side to get their transfer business right this summer to give Ten Hag the best possible chance of achieving success.

“Everyone knows it’s going to be a huge challenge,” he said.

“You need results too. It’s going to be a case of what players he can get in. That will ultimately be the key.

“He looks like he has got that hunger and appetite to really compete at the top from his first press conference, which I thought was quite impressive.”

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United have wasted nearly £1billion since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson nine years ago.

But Richard Arnold, who replaced Ed Woodward as Red Devils supremo earlier in the year, believes the club are now better-placed when it comes to acquiring the right players.

Arnold recently criticised the club’s poor use of funds by saying: “We spent a billion pounds on players. We have spent more than anyone in Europe.

“I’m not thrilled where we are. It doesn’t sit easy with me and I worry how we get this sorted for the future.

“What’s happened is we have [expletive] burned through cash. You can’t go to our training ground and say ‘show me where the £1billion is’ because we haven’t spent money well historically.

“I’m not here to defend (chairman) Joel (Glazer). He must speak for himself.

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“But you have taken the time to come here and make your views known – and I respect that.

“We’ve blown through an enormous amount of money. For this summer, the money the manager and the director of football (John Murtough) wants is there.

“For the future, for investing in a new stadium and a latest-and-greatest training ground we’ve got to do something. We’ve got to get investors in. I need that to do what I want for the club. I’ve got to have more cash now because no club in the world has the money to build a new stadium.

“You either borrow it or invest it. The money has got to come from somewhere. You might not like our current owners – I can’t help that.

“But if you want someone else to come in they will see that the fans love the team and that is positive. But last year was a [expletive] nightmare. There was hate at every game.”

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