Manchester United 'offered' chance to sign free agent along with Aston Villa and West Ham

Manchester United are back in action after the international break with an away trip down south to Southampton. They will be eager to return to winning ways following back-to-back losses to Brighton and Hove Albion and Liverpool.

Pressure is starting to mount on their manager Erik ten Hag. Here is a look at some of the latest news and rumours coming out of the club...

Free agent offered

United have been ‘offered’ the chance to sign Yusuf Yazici on a free transfer, according to HITC Sport. They have been approached by the player’s representatives along with Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Fulham, West Ham and Wolves, whilst AC Milan, Galatasaray and Lazio are also in the mix for his signature.

Yazici, who is 27-years-old, is a free agent following his exit from Lille at the end of last season. His contract in France expired in late June and he remains available for nothing.

The Turkey international started his career at Trabzonspor and rose up through their academy ranks. He went on to make 100 appearances for the Super Lig side as a youngster and scored 22 goals.

Lille subsequently lured him over to Ligue 1 in 2019 and he went on to fire 29 goals in 134 outings, as well as having loan spells away at Trabzonspor and CSKA Moscow. It remains to be seen where he will end up next.

He would give United more competition and depth if they were to lodge an offer. However, they don’t really need him and it is unlikely he would get into their team.

Midfielder wanted

According to ESPN, Galatasaray are ‘considering’ a move for Casemiro at United. The Brazilian had a tough afternoon against Liverpool last time out and made two costly mistakes in the first-half that led to goals for their opponents.

He has been with the Red Devils since 2022 but his long-term future is up in the air. He still has two years left on his contract but the English transfer window has now shut for business until January which means he will only be able to leave now to a country who can still sign players.

Casemiro has recently been defended by Rio Ferdinand amid criticism from elsewhere. Speaking on his podcast, Ferdinand said: "I heard Jamie (Carragher) say ‘leave the football before the football leaves you’ – I just think that’s highly disrespectful. I think it’s really disrespectful, especially given what my man’s won – they don’t have a trophy cabinet big enough for what he’s won.

“There’s more to it than the fact he’s made a couple of mistakes. I think if you look at the two games before this season, he’s arguably been Man United’s best player. It’s easier to say that he’s gone, he’s finished. He’s almost 32, but when I look at him, I just feel that he’s being asked to do a lot of things like play 30-yard balls and dictate the pace of the game etc.

"These are things that Man United would never have recruited him for because he’d never been asked to do this at Real Madrid. He was clearing up, like security in front – slide-tackling, covering all the gaps and then giving it to other people to play football. But now he’s being asked to do things that he’s never done before, so he’s going to make mistakes because it’s not his natural game.”