Ruben Amorim has confirmed that Manchester United striker Joshua Zirkzee will be out for the rest of “this season” after picking up an injury of late.

United striker Zirkzee has had a poor first season at Old Trafford. The 23-year-old has scored just three times in the Premier League, and things are going from bad to worse.

He played 55 minutes against Newcastle at the weekend, before he limped off the field. United boss Amorim has now confirmed the severity of the injury he sustained.

“Joshua is out for the season. So he’s not going to play more this season. Let’s prepare him for the next one.” he told United media.

“It’s tough, especially in this moment. I think he’s improving in all aspects of the game, so it’s hard for any player to stop, but this is football and he has to be ready now to recover.”

Zirkzee assisted United’s second goal in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final against Lyon, taking the score to 2-1. Coming in the 88th minute, the Red Devils probably thought that was the winner, before an Andre Onana mistake in stoppage time allowed the French side to equalise.

Zirkzee will have the benefit of knowing he is going to be playing at United next season, after reports during this term have suggested he could be moved on.

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Amorim has essentially confirmed he wants him for next season, after a report suggested the same of late.

It was stated the boss had ‘re-evaluated’ the attack, and decided Zirkzee was good to remain, as there’s ‘faith that he will continue improving’.

Team-mate Rasmus Hojlund was not so lucky in that re-evaluation, as the report stated he’s not been able to give ‘indications that he is developing his game’, and will therefore be sold.

Bit without Zirkzee in the crucial Europa League tie, it is likely that Hojlund will be given more minutes, and given it’s United’s only route to European football for next season, they’ll be hopeful he and his team-mates can perform.

If the Red Devils do bow out of the Europa League at this stage, given they’re 14th in the Premier League, the season will have been a huge disappointment.

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Aston Villa are looking to trigger their option for Man Utd loanee Marcus Rashford in the summer transfer window, according to reports.

After Rashford was frozen out by Ruben Amorim shortly after the Portuguese head coach joined the Red Devils.

Amorim hinted that he wasn’t happy at Rashford’s attitude and professionalism with the Man Utd forward playing for the final time in a win over Viktoria Plzen on December 12.

And Rashford left Man Utd towards the end of the January transfer window for Aston Villa on loan with a reported £40m permanent transfer option in the agreement.

Rashford has been in good form since moving to Villa Park and starred in their 3-2 win over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night, which was not enough to keep them in the Champions League as they lost 5-4 on aggregate.

However, it did raise questions of whether Aston Villa will attempt to buy Rashford from Man Utd in the summer transfer window after his renaissance under Unai Emery.’

Emery said: “It is difficult to plan it now. He [Rashford] is feeling better and he played a fantastic match.

“We are very happy. If he is happy, we are happy. It depends on the circumstances for now and the next weeks.”

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And now Spanish website Fichajes insists that Aston Villa ‘plans to buy’ Rashford from Man Utd in the summer with the England international ‘experiencing a footballing rebirth’.

The report adds:

‘Aston Villa’s sporting management believes the €40 million stipulated in the purchase option represents a suitable investment, considering Rashford’s current performance and his potential for appreciation.

‘Furthermore, the player himself feels comfortable with the project, away from the constant media spotlight at Old Trafford and with the full confidence of his manager. Everything indicates that the club will exercise the clause once the season concludes.

‘In Manchester, they’re already accepting that Rashford’s time at the club could be over. His departure, once considered surprising, is beginning to be seen as a success for all parties.

‘Meanwhile, at Villa Park, they’re already dreaming of continuing to count on one of the most in-form figures in the English league, whose adaptation to the dressing room has been impeccable from day one.’

On being knocked out on the Champions League at the quarter-final stage, Aston Villa boss Emery added: “It is now most important to get Europe again. The most important competition is the Champions League.

“The challenge we have for the last six matches is to try and get Europe and the Champions League.

“I am very proud of everything. Getting to this level is the next step forward and I want to try to win with Aston Villa.

“We played two legs, we competed well and it wasn’t even. Today we competed better and we were close to the result. I want to try to work for my next process at Aston Villa. The crowd was fantastic, they gave us energy. Even at 2-0. Still, a little bit more to do better to try to get it.”

Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has delivered a damning verdict of a ‘disappointing’ season so far by citing ‘inconsistent’ performances from the players.

United’s failure to score goals or string wins together has left them languishing in 14th place in the Premier League table.

The club also suffered disappointing cup exits at the hands of Tottenham, who eliminated them at the quarter-final stage of the Carabao Cup, and Fulham, who beat them on penalties in an FA Cup 3rd round match at Old Trafford.

“It’s been a disappointing season, there’s no doubt about it,” said Maguire.

“From the start of the season, we’ve been far too inconsistent. I think the performances have picked up of late.

“However, I think there are key aspects in games where us players have got to take more responsibility and change them in our favour. There have been a lot of games that have been 50-50, and we’ve ended up on the bad end of a result, and that’s something we do need to work on as a team, as a group of players.

Despite a poor season, Maguire was keen to focus on the possibility of redemption by winning the Europa League and qualifying for the Champions League.

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“But this game is an important night for us in the competition, a big game at Old Trafford, a European night and one we’re looking forward to. It’s so important, there is no doubt about it.

“If we do win the Europa League, it’s still going to be a disappointing season for us players, but winning that would be a big bonus. Playing for this club demands trophies, and winning the Europa League would be a special one to win, of course.

“It gives us access to the Champions League next season, something we obviously can’t gain through the Premier League, because our results haven’t been good enough. It’s important we win trophies at this club.

“Every competition we play in, we’ve got to try and win, and this is the only competition we’re left in, so of course it’s a big game for us.”

The importance of qualifying for the Champions League wasn’t lost on Ruben Amorim either, as he touched on the possibility of a bigger budget to overhaul Utd’s squad.

“That is important when you’re planning the next season. The Champions League can change everything. I don’t think we’re ready to cope with being competitive in the Premier League and in the Champions League,” Amorim said.

“But if you’re in this competition, you should fight to get into the Champions League. If you have the Champions League, you have a different budget to try to put a better team together for next season.

Man Utd will welcome Lyon to Old Trafford for the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday night.

Rio Ferdinand has stated if he was advising Alejandro Garnacho, he’d be telling him “to go” from Manchester United, if they’re “not going to play him in a position where he’s best”.

Garnacho has been directly involved in 45 Manchester United goals in 135 games. He has made a good fist of it in the first team since coming through the academy.

Of that tally, 18 direct goal contributions have come this season. Garnacho’s role has changed since Ruben Amorim walked through the door at the back end of 2024, though.

He was playing fairly consistently under Erik ten Hag, but has sat on the bench for a few games under Amorim, and rather than being an out-and-out winger, in his system, Garnacho plays more as an advanced No.10.

On Rio Ferdinand Presents, United legend Ferdinand suggested the winger should be looking to the exit, given that is not the position in which he can best impact the game.

“If I was Garnacho’s advisors, I’d be off. I’d advise him to go because they’re not going to play him in a position where he’s best.”

And it might soon be easier for Garnacho to leave the club than it might previously have been. A recent report suggested United could lower their asking price for him down to around £34million.

The significant reduction in his price is reportedly due to the club’s desire to sell him.

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They had a couple of sides – Napoli and Chelsea – interested in the Argentine in the January window, but they were asking for too much, so Garnacho was not sold.

At the lower price, it seems likely that they will get bids, especially with both of those sides still said to be in the mix.

Chelsea play with genuine wingers in their side, but there is seemingly a route into the side, with none of their current crop standing out massively, and Napoli also play with more advanced wide men.

As such, Garnacho could have more joy in those systems than he has in Amorim’s at United.

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Arsenal and Man Utd could reignite their transfer pursuit of record-breaking Borussia Dortmund striker Serhou Guirassy this summer.

That’s according to Mirror Sport, who say “Both English clubs were and still are looking.”

The French-Guinean tore up the record books on Tuesday night as he achieved several impressive feats with a Champions League hat-trick against Barcelona.

He was the subject of intense transfer speculation last summer, with Arsenal and Man Utd, both of whom made official enquiries, reportedly facing competition from Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea for his signature.

Available for the seemingly reasonable fee of £12.5 million last summer, the Premier League clubs opted to look elsewhere, allowing the 29-year-old to sign a contract which runs until 2028.

The former Stuttgart forward opted to remain in the Bundesliga as he made an £15.4 million move to Signal Iduna Park, but the chances that his exorbitant release clause will be met this summer are increasing by the day.

According to SPORT BILD, Dortmund broke their structure when agreeing to include a £60 million release clause in his contract.

The clause applies exclusively to “half a dozen clubs” such as “top European clubs, including Chelsea,” and formed part of their agreement at the request of Guirassy‘s agents.

All three clubs are widely tipped to buy a forward in the coming transfer window, though the clause isn’t active until after the Club World Cup has concluded in July, with the club eyeing up the £100 million prize on offer in the United States.

Despite losing 5-3 on aggregate, the Dortmund forward leapfrogged Barcelona’s Ballon d’Or favourite Raphinha to become the competition’s top goalscorer with 13 goals.

In addition to that, Guirassy became the highest-scoring African player in a single Champions League season, eclipsing Sebastien Haller’s record of 11 goals. Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane have only managed 10.

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To put his achievements into perspective, Dortmund’s free-scoring number nine has more goals than Erling Haaland and Robert Lewandowski, both of whom netted 10, managed in their best European season at the club.

Tuesday night’s haul took his goalscoring record for the current season to 28 goals and five assists through 40 matches, keeping him on course to eclipse last season’s total of 31 goals and four assists, and taking his total goals scored to 72 since the start of last season.

Speaking after the match, Guirassy said: “I’m proud because we played a great game and I think the fans were very satisfied.

“The 4-0 scoreline in Barcelona was slightly too much to come back from. It’s a shame that we were too far behind in the match of the year. That will serve us as a lesson for future matches. But we fought until the end. Barcelona have a brilliant team, we’re also a brilliant team.

“It’s lovely to be the top goalscorer in the Champions League. There are very good players. Being first means that I’m a good striker. But I can’t do it alone, without the team. It’s a shame that the competition ends today.”

The defeat means Dortmund, who are currently eighth in the Bundesliga table and six points behind fourth-placed RB Leipzig, may not be able to offer Guirassy Champions League football next season.

The offer of playing at the top level was part of the agreement that lured him to Dortmund in the first place and is thought to mean his agents will be actively pursuing one of Europe’s top clubs to trigger his release clause this summer.