Manchester United facing tough competition from PL rivals for Ligue1 duo - Reports
Manchester United will reportedly face tough competition for Lille duo Angel Gomes and Jonathan David from West Ham United. Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa are also monitoring the duo, who'll become free agents in the summer.
West Ham recently sacked Julen Lopetegui and appointed Graham Potter as their new manager. As per TBR Football, the Englishman wants the club to sign Gomes and David. Both players will become free agents in the summer and have already informed Lille that they will be leaving the club.
Manchester United are highly interested in both players and Gomes, incidentally, also came through their academy. He made 10 senior appearances for them before joining Lille in 2020. He's made 130 appearances for the French side, contributing nine goals and 19 assists.
David also joined Lille in 2020 from KAA Gent and has registered 101 goals and 24 assists in 212 games for them. His performances have seen numerous clubs interested in signing him, including Tottenham, Aston Villa, Manchester United, West Ham, and Newcastle.
Both players are open to signing a pre-contract with foreign clubs for a potential summer Bosman move.
Ruben Amorim explains if Manchester United's current squad is more suited to transitional football
The Red Devils ended a run of six games without a win in regulation time as they beat Southampton 3-1 at Old Trafford in the Premier League on January 16. They had managed a draw against Liverpool in the league and a penalty shootout win over Arsenal in the FA Cup Third Round before Thursday's clash.
However, Manchester United struggled against Southampton, who are at the bottom of the league standings with just six points. They were 1-0 down until the 82nd minute before Amad Diallo's hat-trick sealed the win for the hosts.
In a press conference on Friday, Ruben Amorim was asked if his team struggle against lesser opposition as they're more suited for transitional football. He answered (via manutd.com):
“I think this is something that you can see from the past and we were, in the past, a team of transition. And we still are. You can feel it – to create chances in the final third, we struggle. We struggle a lot but, for that, I think it’s the most difficult. I say that, before the game, it’s the most difficult moment to train, it’s that, against low blocks, trying to create situations.
"So I think, yeah, I think it is a team that feels more joy to play waiting for the play and then, in transition, creating problems. So it’s something that we have to change. To change, we need training. So to have time to change, we also need to win games and we have tried to do that.”
Manchester United will next host Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on Sunday.
