Manchester United reportedly failed with an attempt to sign Douglas Luiz on loan from Juventus in the ‘final hours’ of the winter transfer window.

Luiz has struggled since joining Juventus from Aston Villa last summer.

His departure from Villa Park was ultimately down to the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR), with the Villans desperate to raise funds.

They signed Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea from Juventus in return and sent the former on loan to Bologna and the latter to Valencia.

Iling-Junior had his loan terminated in January and he has joined Middlesbrough for the rest of the 2024/25 campaign.

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Anyway, back to Luiz and it has not been a happy time for him since moving to Turin.

The 26-year-old has been unable to nail down a starting spot in Thiago Motta’s team and has zero goal contributions in 19 appearances across all competitions.

There is now a chance for him to impress after a difficult six months, with fellow midfielder Nicolo Fagioli joining Fiorentina on loan.

Fagioli might only have two more starts than the Brazilian in Serie A this season but there are more minutes up for grabs, and Motta appears to have faith in Luiz filling the void.

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That is because, despite being reportedly interested in selling Luiz in January, Juventus turned down an offer from Manchester United.

That is according to Italian transfer expert Nicolo Schira, who says the Red Devils ‘offered an expensive loan with the option to buy’.

However, Juve ‘turned down the bid’, which came ‘in the last hours of the winter transfer window’.

As touched on already, Luiz’s minutes should increase in the second half of the season.

A separate report from Goal Italia says Motta is expected to start the Brazilian midfielder more often and the player’s physical problems ‘seem to have been resolved’.

Man Utd only signed Lecce wing-back Patrick Dorgu in January, despite crying out for a new striker.

The funds were not there to be spent in Ruben Amorim’s first transfer window at the club due to the aforementioned PSR.

Amorim had hoped to sell Marcus Rashford but the England winger only earned a loan move in the winter window, joining Luiz’s former club Aston Villa.

Alejandro Garnacho was another Man Utd player who was strongly linked with an exit, with Chelsea believed to be keen.

A transfer failed to come to fruition after the Red Devils demanded at least £60million for the Argentine winger.

Man Utd’s next match is against Leicester City, who are now managed by Red Devils legend Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Van Nistelrooy took charge of four Man Utd games between Erik ten Hag’s sacking and Amorim’s appointment, defeating Leicester before going on to replace Steve Cooper as their head coach.

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Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has admitted that he’s “taken a risk” since joining the Premier League giants and he wants “more” from three players.

Amorim left Sporting Lisbon to replace Erik ten Hag at Man Utd towards the end of 2024 and has endured a rough start at Old Trafford.

Under the 39-year-old, the Red Devils have eight wins in their last 19 matches in all competitions as they are 14th in the Premier League form table. 

United’s head coach has faced difficulties while implementing his preferred 3-4-3 formation at Man Utd and their inactivity in the winter transfer window has added to his woes.

Man Utd only made one major signing as they bought left wing-back Patrick Dorgu from Serie A outfit for around £25m. They have also snatched 18-year-old Ayden Heaven from Arsenal.

Ahead of United’s FA Cup tie against Leicester City on Friday night, Amorim has claimed he decided to “take the risk” of not making loads of signings in January.

“We are taking a risk but we want a different thing in the team, different profiles. It was my decision to do that,” Amorim said.

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“I’m not naive, I said that many times, this is a sport of results and we are in a difficult situation.

“I know when I chose this profession that you have the risk of results and I knew when I came here I look at the schedule.

“I look at the team, my decision changing everything in the middle of the season without new signings is a danger for a coach, but I have a clear idea of what I want to do and I take these risks because in the end it’s going to pay off.”

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On his forward options, he added: “We have to find players to play in different positions, you can see the way we play it’s going to take time and not solve all the problems, we have many shots inside the box and catch one player.

“Amad [Diallo] can score more, Bruno [Fernandes] can score more, Kobbie Mainoo can score more playing in that position on the pitch. We have to improve as a team, we have a little bit of time.”

Amorim has also revealed whether Dorgu and/or Heaven will feature against Leicester City on Friday night.

“We’ll see [regarding Patrick Dorgu and/or Ayden Heaven playing against Leicester City], you guys have to wait until tomorrow but they are ready to play and are two more solutions in this moment,” Amorim continued.

When reflecting on United’s work during the January window, he said: “What I feel is that the club is taking its time.

“We know the urgency of the moment of the team, everybody here doesn’t want to make the same mistakes of the past, in the summer we will see but like I said we are being really careful with transfers because we made some mistakes in the past.”

Manchester United winger Antony has opened up on a potential permanent transfer away from the club after signing for Real Betis on loan.

The Brazilian, who signed for United in a deal worth £86million in 2022, completed a six-month loan deal to the Spanish club in the January transfer window.

Before that, he had started just one game in the Europa League and none in the Premier League, emphasising his position as a player on the fringes. His 12 goals and five assists in 96 games was a shocking return on an incredible investment.

With Ruben Amorim failing to utilise him, he was linked with an exit, both permanently and on loan, with Betis being able to complete a short-term deal – but it may become permanent in the future.

Especially after his flying start, which saw him awarded the Man of the Match award in Betis’ 2-2 draw with Athletic Bilbao.

Antony spoke to the Spanish media out AS in what was his first open interview after leaving United and he was seemingly overjoyed to have a change of scenery and a chance to start fresh.

He said: “I had other offers, but when Betis appeared I felt a certainty in my heart that made me stay calm. I am happy here and I want to achieve many goals.

“I am happy here for everyone, for the manager and the players. I feel calm and confident.”

He believes he has the platform now to start finding his form, commenting: “I want to find my best version and the first step is to be happy. Everything here is incredible, my family and I are happy. Now it is time to work to be in my best version and help the club.”

He said: “If I have to stay longer, I would have to talk to the president and everything. And for now I want to play and score goals and give assists.”

Underlining that he first needs to prove himself, he clarified: “I have to help the team, later we can talk about that.”

Man United’s reshuffle in attack

With Antony exiting alongside Marcus Rashford (both on loan) and with the club likely to lose Jadon Sancho after his loan ends at Chelsea, the club are somewhat lacking in the wider areas.

The emergence of Amad Diallo has been a rare positive for the club, but Alejandro Garnacho was linked with moves to multiple clubs across the January window, which insinuates a future move away could well be on the cards in the summer.

After that, they are struggling and need real investment in those areas. Amorim’s system requires a different profile of attacker than the typical winger and the next window will answer a lot of questions for the fans.

Plus, we’ve seen reports that Rasmus Holjund may be free to leave as well, opening up another spot in attack, which represents another transfer quandary that ensures the club have plenty of work to do in recruitment.

Manchester United are currently suffering a leadership crisis and Ruben Amorim is powerless to fix it, says Stan Collymore.

The former Liverpool striker has claimed that the United squad are missing that one true leader who can help lift the team.

In recent years, United have fallen prey to consistently poor performances in the Premier League and Europe, but they did manage to win the FA Cup in 2024 to add to their League Cup in 2023.

Nevertheless, they have finished eighth and sixth in two of the past three seasons and look set to struggle to grasp the top 10 at their current rate.

One key issue is a lack of leaders; other teams in the Premier League have a wealth of strong characters, with Liverpool boasting nine players who have worn the armband for their countries and the majority of those are in the first team.

United’s history boasts some incredible captains such as Roy Keane, Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Bryan Robson, Gary Neville and Eric Cantona, to name a few but the current crop pales in comparison to those strong, legendary figures.

Writing in his column for CaughtOffside, Collymore explored the idea that there are no real leaders in the United side, singling out Fernandes and Maguire as two players who have failed to step up.

‘I think that captaincy and leadership is the major issue that Amorim needs to get to grips with.

‘Obviously Harry Maguire was bought in as a leader but he’s had off-field issues and lots of injuries as well, so he hasn’t really been the consistent eight or nine out of 10 leader that you’d want.

‘I don’t think Bruno Fernandes is captain material either. I just don’t. I look at him and think if I’m in a dressing room with him I’m not going to hang on every word he says, and he isn’t going to go into the trenches in put in a shift.

‘I know a lot of people may think that the days of a Roy Keane-type captain are dead but I just don’t think Bruno Fernandes’ performances, his ability to lead and his ability to cajole that extra 5% out of players is proven.’

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Fixing their squad issues

With this summer transfer window likely to see a squad overhaul, it stands as the perfect time to add some key experience to the first team to help counter their problem.

However, attacking recruits are unlikely to help directly add leaders, which typically come from the central midfield and defensive positions, which means if they do strengthen in those areas, experienced figures are needed.

Their interest in Marc Guehi, Crystal Palace’s captain, would be a strong start given his proven experience in the top flight and with England.

Plus, Danish midfielder Morten Hjulmand, who thrived under Amorim at Sporting, is also a club captain who has been linked with a move.