BARCELONA IDENTIFY LISANDRO MARTINEZ AS PRIMARY DEFENSIVE TARGET FOR SUMMER TRANSFER
Barcelona are circling Lisandro Martinez as Manchester United scouts monitor Brentford’s Michael Kayode for a summer defensive reshuffle.
Manchester United look set for some big changes at the back this summer. Barcelona are circling one of their centre-backs, and United scouts have started watching a standout Premier League right-back.
Up front, there’s talk United might go back in for a striker they missed out on last summer, hoping to add more firepower.
Let’s start with the Barcelona situation. The Spanish giants have their eyes on Lisandro Martinez, and with his contract running down at Old Trafford, things could get interesting. United can still trigger an option to keep him until 2028, but until that’s sorted, there’s a risk he could be lured away.
Barcelona seem to think they can pull off a deal for Martinez. They’ll need to meet United’s price—he only joined from Ajax in 2022, and the club has no plans to sell. Still, Barcelona and a few other clubs are watching him closely, ready to tempt him with a move.
Barcelona’s defenders are all right-footed, so Martinez would give them something they’re missing. With his contract situation up in the air, United have a real reason to worry—but also a chance to lock him down for the long haul. The transfer window is closed for now, so United have a few months to sort things out before the summer.
Martinez is 28, so whatever deal comes next probably covers his best years. Moving to LaLiga would be a brand new adventure for him. But if Barcelona want him, they’ll have to wait and see what happens.
There’s also a side story here with Marcus Rashford. Barcelona and United are expected to talk this summer about his future, since he’s currently on loan with Hansi Flick’s team.
Switching over to United’s own defensive plans, they’ve started keeping tabs on Brentford right-back Michael Kayode. City are already interested in him as an alternative to Newcastle’s Tino Livramento, but United are now in the mix, along with Newcastle themselves.
Graeme Bailey at TEAMtalk says United have recently scouted Kayode in case they decide to move on from Diogo Dalot this summer. Brentford don’t feel any pressure to sell—their asking price is at least £50 million, and Kayode just joined from Fiorentina last year. He’s not pushing for a move either.
If Kayode does go on the market, United would be up against heavyweights like Real Madrid, PSG, and Bayern Munich. Even so, he’s someone to watch if United decide to shake up their right-back options.
On the attacking front, United haven’t forgotten about Liam Delap. If Chelsea decides to cut ties with him at the end of the season, United could make their move. Delap’s future at Stamford Bridge is still up in the air—injuries have made his debut season tough, and while Chelsea say they’re backing him, patience won’t last forever.
United were interested in Delap before, and that hasn’t changed. If Chelsealetst him go, United won’t be the only ones interested. Newcastle, Everton, Brighton, and Sunderland are all keeping an eye on him, I'm too.
It might come down to which club needs him the most. Right now, Unitleansean has Benjamin Sesko as their main striker, with Joshua Zirkzee backing him up, after letting Rasmus Hojlund leave last summer.
WHY NO FINE? DISCOVER WHY THE GREEK COURT SCRAPPED MAGUIRE'S FINANCIAL PENALTY THIS WEEK
Harry Maguire’s retrial is over! Read about the 15-month suspended sentence, the Supreme Court appeal, and the Mykonos backstory.
Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has been found guilty of non-serious assault in Greece and given a 15-month suspended jail sentence, down from the original 21 months after a retrial. This all goes back to 2020, when police arrested him while he was on holiday in Mykonos with family and friends.
The legal process dragged on for years. Maguire’s retrial finally happened on Wednesday, after four delays. He’s still fighting accusations of aggravated assault, resisting arrest, and attempted bribery from that night. Greek law meant his conviction got quashed automatically on appeal, so that’s why there was a retrial. Maguire skipped the hearing; he was busy preparing for United’s game against Newcastle. On top of the shorter sentence, he doesn’t have to pay a fine anymore.
All this started in the summer break between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, just a year after Maguire joined United for a then-record £80 million. He was the club captain and a regular for England.
Right after his arrest, Maguire told the BBC how he thought he was getting kidnapped. He said plain-clothes police pulled over his group’s minibus, yanked him off, hit him on the legs, and shouted that his career was finished. “They hit me a lot on the legs. It wasn’t on my mind. I was in that much of a panic. Fear. Scared for my life,” he said. Maguire tried to run off with one handcuff still on, not knowing who these men were. He also said, “I don’t feel I owe an apology to anybody. An apology is something you do when you have done something wrong. I don’t wish it on anybody. Obviously, the situation has made it difficult for one of the biggest clubs in the world, so I regret putting the fans and the club through this, but I did nothing wrong. I found myself in a situation where it could have happened to anybody, anywhere.”
That first trial in 2020 caught him off guard. “It was horrible. It was such a quick turnaround; it was incredible. We got the pages for the transcript for the court the evening before. A big document, all in Greek. I hardly had any chance to speak to my lawyer. We were confident the case would be adjourned to give us more time to prepare and get the witnesses and the evidence that we have. For it all happened so quickly... we obviously didn’t expect the trial to go ahead,” he said.
Now, just ahead of his 33rd birthday, Maguire still refuses to settle the case with money. He wants to clear his name in court. He plans to appeal to the Supreme Court if he wins and the judgment gets thrown out.
CONTRACTUAL LIFELINE: UNEARTHING THE STRATEGY BEHIND ANDRE ONANA’S RETURN FROM TURKISH LOAN SPELL
Onana vs Lammens: Get the latest on the £44M keeper’s return from Turkey and why Michael Carrick values "reliability over chaos."
Andre Onana isn’t giving up on his Manchester United career, even with his replacement grabbing the spotlight while he’s away on loan. Right now, Onana’s spending the 2025/26 season with Trabzonspor in Turkey, while Senne Lammens has stepped up as United’s new first-choice keeper.
United signed Lammens from Royal Antwerp for £18 million on deadline day last September, and soon after, Onana was shipped out on loan. There’s no option for Trabzonspor to buy him, so Onana will be back at United this summer. He’s already played 72 games for the club.
Onana has turned out 20 times for Trabzonspor, but honestly, United probably aren’t paying much attention. Lammens has looked rock-solid in goal, holding down the spot for 21 straight matches, no matter if Amorim, Darren Fletcher, or Michael Carrick was in charge.
So far, Lammens has five clean sheets and is anchoring a defence that’s clearly improving under Carrick. Altay Bayindir is backing him up, and Tom Heaton is still kicking around in the goalkeeping group.
When United first bought Onana for £44 million from Inter Milan, he was reuniting with Erik ten Hag, his old Ajax boss. He’s still got two years left on his contract. According to Geremi Onana’s friend and a former Cameroon and Chelsea player, Onana hasn’t lost hope of turning things around.
“Listen, I know Andre very well, and there were a lot of issues at United during his time there,” Geremi told Telecom Asia. “It wasn’t all on him. But with Michael Carrick coming in, things are looking up for everyone, including Andre.
“He’s got real talent, and players like him don’t come around often. The next step is for him to go back and fight for his spot. Andre always rises to a challenge. Give him a fair shot, and he’ll show you what he can do.”
We’ll find out what’s next for Onana this summer. United are planning big changes, including a new permanent manager. Carrick is one of the names in the running.
If Carrick gets the job, Onana’s chances might take a hit, since the interim boss is thrilled with Lammens. After Lammens’ man-of-the-match showing in the 1-0 win over Everton, Carrick said, “For me, a keeper needs to be reliable, someone who calms things down, not adds to the chaos. Senne does exactly that.
“He’s quiet and maybe a bit unassuming, but he’s got real steel in him. Stepping in as United’s keeper is a big ask, and not everyone handles it. Sometimes it takes a while to settle, sometimes not. The way he’s handled it so far, he’s calm and composed, and that’s made a huge difference for the defence.”
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