Trafford

MANCHESTER UNITED appear to be ditching the controversial canopy from their new Old Trafford stadium plans — after huge land-buying problems left the club stuck.

The giant “umbrella” roof, which caused a storm when it was revealed in March, looks set to be scrapped, according to a report on the Athletic.

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The canopy, designed by Sir Norman Foster and championed by club co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, was supposed to cover fans from the weather and create a stadium like no other.

But talks to buy the land needed to build the massive canopy have hit a brick wall.

The freight company Freightliner owns much of the land United wanted west of Old Trafford — space needed for the new stadium and thousands of homes.

Freightliner are demanding a whopping £400million, way above United’s £50million estimate, according to the report.

The company could move its freight terminal — but only if it gets a big payday.

Because of this, United are scrambling to rethink the whole project.

New drawings are being drawn up without the “vast umbrella,” which Foster once called a stunning feature.

But others loved how the three giant prongs holding the canopy looked like the devil’s trident on the club badge.

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Ratcliffe said back in March the stadium would be a “world icon” — a building everyone would recognise as Manchester United’s home.

He said: “When anybody in the world sees that stadium, they’ll know it’s Manchester United.”

But with the canopy off the table, the new designs will look more traditional — less flashy, but more practical.

United want to keep the project moving fast and avoid costly delays from the land fight.

The club has asked the government for help with funding for infrastructure around the new stadium.

But six months on, no cash has been confirmed.

Local mayor Andy Burnham said talks with Freightliner were “far from being concluded,” but the city can use compulsory purchase powers if needed.

Freightliner’s UK rail and road operations are about to be bought by French shipping giant CMA CGM — and what that means for United’s land talks is unclear.

United have yet to hire a final stadium architect, with a tender underway.

Foster + Partners, who designed the original canopy, are busy with the new San Siro stadium in Milan but remain favourites.

The stadium was originally budgeted to cost around £2billion — but United’s finances remain tight.

United told fans the stadium designs so far are just “concepts” — with more detailed plans and fan input still to come.

They promised the new stadium will be the “heart of the masterplan” to regenerate the area around Old Trafford.

The saga continues — but for now, the giant canopy that captured imaginations looks set to be just a memory.

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Amorim could be excused for thinking someone is having a cruel joke at his expense when he assesses an opening that starts with Arsenal at Old Trafford, includes a trip to Manchester City and home game with Chelsea in United’s first five games, and then Liverpool at Anfield in match eight on 18 October.

By that point, it will almost be 12 months since the dismissal of Ten Hag and assessments will be being made about what has changed.

And that is the rub.

United, led by chief executive Omar Berrada, went for an imaginative choice rather than the safe options – which included Marco Silva, Thomas Frank and Graham Potter – suggested by then sporting director Dan Ashworth as Ten Hag’s replacement.

Amorim came to prominence at Sporting by delivering outstanding results with a specific formation. Three central defenders, wing-backs and two inside forwards behind a number nine. The immediate collateral damage in shaping a United squad to fit that system was the discarding of five players – four of whom are senior internationals who prefer to play wide.

The full extent of the additional impact Amorim has made by bringing in Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko, at a combined cost in the region of £200m, to fill the attacking roles remains to be seen.

However, the intention is for skipper Fernandes to play deeper in one of the two midfield slots. How much meaningful time on the pitch is afforded to England duo Mason Mount and Kobbie Mainoo, whose contract stand-off remains unresolved, is open to question.

At the back, team selections in five unbeaten games in three countries across pre-season, suggest Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt are battling for a single slot as the middle defender, while Luke Shaw and Lisandro Martinez, when fit, are vying to be first choice on the left of the three.

De Ligt has proved adept at moving into midfield when United’s keeper has the ball. This, Amorim reasons, clears the space for his side to get possession into the areas of the field where they can cause more damage. Fernandes’ task, in Amorim’s ideal world, is to get on the ball as often as possible, and then make the right decisions.

It’s all very technical. In theory, it also provides support in midfield, which tended to be completely overrun during Ten Hag’s time because the Dutchman wanted to stretch the space in that area of the field, something Casemiro was not able to do, while none of those asked to partner him made a particular success of either.

Casemiro’s game intelligence, his ability to read situations and the Brazilian’s calmness under pressure brought him back into favour under Amorim towards the end of last season.

The 33-year-old does not have limitless energy but he was preferred to Christian Eriksen, who was about to leave the club, and, more significantly, Manuel Ugarte, who cost £50.8m to sign from PSG less than 12 months ago, for the Europa League final against Tottenham in May, which United lost.

It seems Amorim regards finding an upgrade in this area of the pitch to be more of a priority than replacing goalkeeper Andre Onana.

That Amorim talks a good game is not in question. Now his team have to deliver.

The target is clear. Amorim has said European qualification is the aim. His players have said the same. More importantly, a financial outlook provided for the club by an external agency spoke about delivering a place in the Europa League at the end of this season as a stepping stone to a return to the Champions League in 2027-28.

It would be unfair to judge United’s season on one game, or even eight looking at that fixture list. But, as Amorim has previously said, he used up a lot of goodwill from the stands last season.

He promised this season will be better. It has to be.

SIR JIM RATCLIFFE’S minority takeover at Manchester United was announced on Christmas Eve in 2023 – and a lot has happened at Old Trafford since…

December 2023 – Man Utd confirm Ratcliffe’s takeover on Christmas Eve, vowing to invest £245m into Old Trafford

January 2024 – Ratcliffe and right-hand man Sir Dave Brailsford photographed meeting Erik ten Hag during tour of Carrington 

January 2024 – Omar Berrada poached from Man City as new CEO 

February 2024 – Ratcliffe’s £1billion, 27.7 per cent takeover officially completed 

February 2024 – Former CEO Richard Arnold quits board as Ineos pair John Rees and Rob Nevin added

March 2024 – Ratcliffe bans words “awesome” and “lukewarm cappuccino” in bizarre move

March 2024 – Matt Johnson appointed head of women’s football

March 2024 – Ratcliffe announces plans to build “Wembley of the North” to replace Old Trafford

March 2024 – Man Utd NYSE share price drops to $13.73 on March 21 – down from $20.52 immediately after Ratcliffe takeover in December

April 2024 – Senior staff club credit cards and private cars cancelled 

April 2024 – John Murtough quits as football director 

April 2024 – Jason Wilcox appointed technical director after compensation package agreed with Southampton 

May 2024 – Ratcliffe turns Carrington “toxic” after sending email to employees slamming “disgraceful” lack of cleanliness

May 2024 – Work finally starts on leaking Old Trafford roof

May 2024 – Man Utd finish eighth in Premier League, worst-ever finish 

May 2024 – Ratcliffe gives employees just one week to decide if they want to accept redundancy 

May 2024 – Staff forced to pay for own transport to FA Cup final and only given one ticket

May 2024 – Pre-match party and hotel for senior staff before FA Cup final axed

May 2024 – Man Utd shock rivals Man City to win FA Cup despite suggestions Erik ten Hag will be sacked regardless of result

June 2024 – Man Utd announce £50m plans to upgrade Carrington training ground 

June 2024 – Ratcliffe introduces strict “back to work” policy forcing staff to come into office

June 2024 – Ratcliffe scores own goal with comments about women’s team

July 2024 – Man Utd finally agree deal to bring in Dan Ashworth as sporting director after four months of gardening leave at Newcastle, who received £3m in compensation

July 2024 – Erik ten Hag signs shock new contract extension until 2026

July 2024 – Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rene Hake appointed assistant managers, Andreas Georgson first-team coach and Jelle ten Rouwelaar goalkeeper coach. Darren Fletcher’s role changes from technical director to first-team coach. Steve McClaren, Mitchell van der Gaag and Benni McCarthy depart.

July 2024 – Ex-Chelsea technical director Christopher Vivell joins on short-term basis as interim director of recruitment 

July 2024 – Jean-Claude Blanc added to Man Utd board  

July 2024 – Man Utd cut down number of staff on US pre-season tour to 125

July 2024 – Ratcliffe makes 250 redundancies including popular media man John Allen, historian Cliff Butler and kitman Alex Wylie

August 2024 – Man Utd splash out £199m in the summer transfer window 

August 2024 – Matchday staff lunchboxes scrapped and some forced to eat beside toilet

October 2024 – Man Utd stop paying £2m-a-year ambassador salary to Sir Alex Ferguson

October 2024 – Staff Christmas party cancelled 

October 2024 – “Back to work” policy costing Utd fortune to convert hospitality suites into temporary offices between home matches

October 2024 – Erik ten Hag sacked with club 14th in Premier League table, costing club £15m

November 2024 – Ruben Amorim appointed new Man Utd manager on deal until 2027 after stumping up £10m release clause 

November 2024 – Coach Ruud van Nistelrooy axed by new manager Ruben Amorim 

November 2024 – Man Utd chiefs locked in blame game over summer shambles including Erik ten Hag situation and transfer signings 

November 2024 – Ratcliffe reportedly set to half £40,000 budget paid to Manchester United Disabled Supporters Association

December 2024 – Ratcliffe admits “mediocre” Man Utd “still in last century” 

December 2024 – Fans protest after OAP and children concessions tickets ditched and minimum home ticket cost up to £66

December 2024 – Dan Ashworth sacked after five months as sporting director

December 2024 – £100 staff Christmas bonus ditched for £40 M&S voucher

December 2024 – Ceiling starts leaking during Ruben Amorim’s press conference after 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth

December 2024 – Reports of a mice infestation at Old Trafford as rodent droppings found in food kiosks and plush suites as food hygiene ratings drops to just two stars

December 2024 – SunSport reveals Ratcliffe cuts £40,000 funding donation to Association of Former Manchester United Players charity

Manchester United are considering a move for Aston Villa’s Emi Martinez, Luis Diaz is determined to leave Liverpool and Newcastle may lose out to Manchester City in race to sign James Trafford.

Manchester United are considering a move for Emi Martinez but may be put off by Aston Villa’s £40m valuation of the 32-year-old Argentina goalkeeper. (Mail), external

Colombia winger Luis Diaz, 28, remains determined to leave Liverpool during the summer transfer window and is hoping Bayern Munich will make a new offer in the coming days to try to convince the English club. (ESPN) , external

Newcastle are in danger of losing out to Manchester City in their attempt to buy 22-year-old Burnley and England goalkeeper James Trafford. (Telegraph – subscription required), external

Trafford is “very keen” to return to City this summer after they hijacked his Newcastle deal. (Football Insider), external

Newcastle will offer Tino Livramento a new contract to try and ward off interest from Manchester City, who are prepared to pay £65m for the England full-back, 22. (Times – subscription required), external

Tottenham are considering rivalling Liverpool for the signing of Crystal Palace’s 25-year-old England centre-back Marc Guehi. (Telegraph – subscription required), external

Manchester United’s hopes of signing Nicolas Jackson have received a boost after the Chelsea and Senegal striker, 24, rejected AC Milan and Napoli because he wants to stay in the Premier League. (Sun), external

AC Milan are close to reaching an agreement with Brighton for 27-year-old Ecuador full-back Pervis Estupinan. (Athletic – subscription required), external

Juventus will step up their efforts to sign England winger Jadon Sancho, 25, from Manchester United when Belgium winger Samuel Mbangula, 21, and 25-year-old USA striker Timothy Weah leave the club. (Tuttosport – in Italian), external

Manchester United are set to compete with Manchester City for the signature of 26-year-old Sporting and Denmark midfielder Morten Hjulmand. (A Bola – in Portuguese) , external

Chelsea are interested in RB Leipzig midfielder Xavi Simons, 22, but may need to sell some players first to make room for the Netherlands international in their squad. (Telegraph – subscription required), external

West Ham are interested in Leicester City goalkeeper Mads Hermansen, with a formal approach expected soon for the 25-year-old Dane. (Sky Sports), external

Nottingham Forest are working on a deal to sign Bologna’s 22-year-old Switzerland winger Dan Ndoye. (Guardian), external

Liverpool and England Under-20s midfielder James McConnell, 20, is close to signing a new long-term deal with the club and going out on loan for the season. (Mail), external

Sunderland and Fenerbahce remain interested in Granit Xhaka despite Bayer Leverkusen rejecting both their bids for the 32-year-old Switzerland midfielder. (Florian Plettenberg), external

Napoli, AC Milan, Roma, Juventus and Inter Milan are interested in Liverpool’s 27-year-old Italy winger Federico Chiesa. (Calciomercato – in Italian), external

Everton have spoken to Real Sociedad over a deal for 24-year-old Japan winger Takefusa Kubo. (Teamtalk), external

Fulham are expected to complete the signing of Montpellier’s 34-year-old French goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte in the next few days. (L’Equipe – in French), external

India all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy will miss the remainder of their Test series against England due to a knee injury.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement that the 22-year-old will now fly home to begin his rehabilitation.

India are also without seamer Arshdeep Singh for this week’s fourth Test after he was ruled out with a thumb injury.

“He [Arshdeep] sustained an impact injury to his left thumb while bowling in the nets at a training session in Beckenham,” said the BBCI.

“The BCCI medical team is monitoring his progress.”

India have added uncapped all-rounder Anshul Kamboj to their squad for the fourth Test at Old Trafford, which starts on Wednesday.

Reddy barely made an impact in India’s emphatic victory over England at Edgbaston, going wicketless and scoring one run in each innings.

He took three wickets for 82 and contributed 43 runs across both innings in their defeat at Lord’s last week as England went 2-1 up in the five-match series.

Left-arm quick Arshdeep has not featured in any of the three Tests so far.

India will also have to consider whether fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah will play in Manchester as they manage his workload.

Bumrah is earmarked to play three matches in the series and featured in the first and third Tests.

Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant could be in line to play as a specialist batter if he does not recover from the finger injury he suffered at Lord’s with Dhruv Jurel poised to step up if required.

India squad for fourth Test: Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav, Anshul Kamboj

Arsenal are interested in signing Bradley Barcola, Tottenham will focus on signing Eberechi Eze after Manchester United submit an improved offer for Bryan Mbeumo, Ibrahima Konate has turned down a new contract offer from Liverpool.

Arsenal have expressed an interest in Paris St–Germain’s 22-year-old France forward Bradley Barcola, who is also wanted by Bayern Munich and Liverpool. (L’Equipe – in French, subscription required), external

Tottenham will target Crystal Palace’s 26-year-old England winger Eberechi Eze after losing ground in the race to sign Brentford’s Cameroon forward Bryan Mbeumo following Manchester United’s improved offer worth more than £60m for the 25-year-old. (Talksport), external

Liverpool’s 26-year-old France defender Ibrahima Konate, who is out of contract next summer, has rejected the club’s latest offer of a new deal. (Guardian), external

Newcastle are in talks with Burnley over a deal for 22-year-old England goalkeeper James Trafford. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Borussia Dortmund’s English winger Jamie Gittens remains a target for Bayern Munich despite the 20-year-old having a verbal agreement with Chelsea. (Sky Germany), external

Juventus are prepared to offer Serbia striker Dusan Vlahovic, 25, and Brazil midfielder Douglas Luiz, 27, as part of a deal with Manchester United for 25-year-old English winger Jadon Sancho. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian), external

Barcelona are close to signing FC Copenhagen’s 19-year-old Swedish winger Roony Bardghji in a deal worth about £2m. (Sky Sports), external

Monaco are yet to agree a deal with free agent and former France midfielder Paul Pogba, 32, despite reports elsewhere saying they have. (Sky Sports), external

Hungary left-back Milos Kerkez, 21, is set to complete his medical on Tuesday before joining Liverpool from Bournemouth. (Athletic – subscription required), external

Aston Villa show Jadon Sancho interest, Newcastle make Burnley’s James Trafford their top target and Liverpool consider Anthony Gordon move.

Aston Villa have become the latest club to show an interest in signing England winger Jadon Sancho, 25, from Manchester United following his loan at Chelsea. (Teamtalk), external

Newcastle United have made Burnley and England goalkeeper James Trafford, 22, their top target this summer. (Times – subscription required), external

Liverpool are not looking to sell Colombia winger Luis Diaz, 28, and have received no offers, despite reported interest from Barcelona and Saudi side Al-Nassr. (Times – subscription required), external

But should Diaz leave, Newcastle’s £80m-rated England winger Anthony Gordon, 24, is being seriously considered by Liverpool as a replacement. (Teamtalk), external

Arne Slot’s Liverpool could also compete with Arsenal to sign Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig, with the 22-year-old Slovenia striker the subject of a £67m bid from the Gunners. (TBR Football), external

Harvey Elliott is most likely to join a Serie A club if the English midfielder, 22, leaves Liverpool this summer. (Football Insider), external

Everton would have to match Thierno Barry’s release clause of 40m euros (£33.7m) to sign the French striker from Villarreal. (Teamtalk), external

Chelsea are unwilling to pay the £25m AC Milan want for their 29-year-old France goalkeeper Mike Maignan. (Standard), external

Brentford will look to appoint Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna if current manager Thomas Frank leaves to replace Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham. (Football Insider), external

West Ham have contacted Club Brugge about signing 24-year-old Nigeria midfielder Raphael Onyedika, but face competition from AC Milan. (TBR Football), external

Manchester City and Barcelona have expressed an interest in Arsenal’s 15-year-old English midfield prospect Max Dowman. (FootballTransfers), external

Aston Villa will complain to the Premier League after a “big mistake” by referee Thomas Bramall contributed to them losing 2-0 at Manchester United and missing out on the Champions League.

With the match goalless and Villa down to 10 men after goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was correctly sent off, the visitors thought they had scored when Morgan Rogers nudged the ball away from United goalkeeper Altay Bayindir and slotted home.

However, Bramall blew for a foul, thinking Bayindir had two hands on the ball, though television footage showed otherwise.

Because Bramall stopped play before the ball entered the net, the video assistant referee (VAR) could not intervene.

Moments later, Amad Diallo headed United in front – and Christian Eriksen’s late penalty condemned Villa to a defeat that meant they finished sixth and missed out on Champions League football on goal difference.

In Villa’s post-match news conference, director of football operations Damian Vidagany said the club were unhappy 35-year-old Bramall had been given such an important game.

“We are going to send a complaint,” said Vidagany. “The complaint is not about the decision, it is about the selection of the referee – one of the most inexperienced referees in the Premier League.

“It’s not about the decision, clearly it was a mistake. The complaint is about the referee. The problem is why the international referees were not here today.”

Bramall first refereed in the Premier League in August 2022 and his games this season have largely been in either the top flight or the second tier, with 11 in the Premier League and 12 in the Championship.

Villa boss Unai Emery was visibly furious with the decision to disallow Rogers’ goal – and award United their late penalty.

Speaking after the game, he said: “The TV is clear but, of course, we have to accept it. It was a mistake. A big mistake.”

The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) – the body responsible for refereeing games in English professional football – declined to comment.