Man Utd face ‘fresh rival’ in Cody Gakpo race as transfer ‘battle’ over World Cup star begins

Manchester United’s season remains on pause due to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but their stars are still grabbing the headlines.

Marcus Rashford continued his excellent season on Tuesday night as he put neighbours Wales to the sword with a brace to secure top spot for England in Group B. United will be delighted to see Rashford continuing to gain confidence, joining Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes in finding the net this week, and it will only help ahead of the return of club football in late December. In the meantime, the Red Devils will be searching for potential targets ahead of the January transfer window.

And with that in mind, we have rounded up all the latest transfer news and rumours surrounding Old Trafford.

Gakpo rivals

United could face fresh competition from Liverpool over PSV Eindhoven and Netherlands star Cody Gakpo.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano told CaughtOffside: “Liverpool have sent their scouts to PSV games to monitor Gakpo, they did the same with Kudus for example; it’s a normal kind of interest but there is still no meeting scheduled between agents and Liverpool as of today. For sure, with this kind of super performances, interest is growing.”

United held talks with Gakpo over a transfer in the summer, but they are being tipped to make a fresh move in the summer.

Williams race

United are said to be interested in signing Athletic Club star Nico Williams, who is currently representing Spain at the World Cup.

The younger brother of Inaki Williams, Nico looks set to become a big star, only 20 years of age and already catching the eye. According to Fichajes, United are one of five clubs interested in the winger, along with Liverpool, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Juventus.

Williams is said to have a release clause of £43million, but Athletic Club could move to increase that amount with a new deal given the developments.