^ ^ Man Utd hold talks over signing Argentine star from River Plate after new contract stalls

United and Inter are interested in the 21-year-old (Picture: Peretti/NurPhoto/Shutterstock)

Manchester United have enquires over a move for Argentina goalkeeper Santiago Beltrán.

Beltran, 21, made his senior debut for Albiceleste during the summer and is regarded as Emiliano Martinez’s long-term replacement in the Argentine national team.

His current contract at River Plate expires in December 2027 with his club eager to tie him down to a new deal. Talks are not progressing however with his representatives, the same agency that represents Martinez, hoping to secure him a move to Europe in the very near future.

ESPN Argentina report United are one of two major European clubs who are monitoring his progress  having discussed a move for Beltran. Inter Milan are the other interested party.

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Aston Villa were also credited with interest in the shot stopper before signing Zion Suzuki in the summer. Juventus and Real Betis have also been linked with a move.

United brought Senne Lammens in as their new no1 last summer with the Belgium international immediately taking to life in the Premier League.

Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir are still on the books, on loan at Trabzonspor and Celta Vigo respectively, with Karl Darlow brought in during the summer transfer window to serve as Lammens’ understudy.

Beltran has one cap for Argentina (Picture: Peretti/NurPhoto/Shutterstock)

The club also sold highly-rated Radek Vitek to Middlesbrough.

While Lammens has barely put a foot wrong since arriving at Old Trafford, some are still to be fully convinced with former coach Rene Meulensteen recently raising concerns after United’s draw with Everton.

‘Don’t get me wrong, he had a really good season, he made some remarkable saves and he helped United a lot,’ Meulensteen said.

Lammens became United’s new no1 last season (Picture: Catherine Ivill – AMA)

‘Would I name him in the same breath as Peter Schmeichel, Edwin van der Sar, David de Gea? No. Can he get there? Not sure.

‘I doubt it because I always do my due diligence on things and one of the things I felt with him, he’s still young, but obviously what happened with him at the World Cup is something I identified in him.

‘I think really critical people will probably look at him with the first goal against Everton, near post.

‘For me, if you talk about strengthening, you talk about the two most important people on the pitch: the goalkeeper and the striker. If one can sort goals out and the other can make sure he keeps clean sheets, you’ve got a good chance of winning.’

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^ ^ ‘I cannot accept this’ – Eric Cantona responds to Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s latest immigration comments

This is not a belated April Fools – Eric Cantona is launching a music career (Picture: Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)

Eric Cantona has blasted Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe for his latest immigration comments – insisting he would not have signed for the club had the INEOS billionaire been at Old Trafford when he joined.  

Ratcliffe, who was born in Failsworth, Greater Manchester, and now resides in Monaco, told the BBC in a recent interview the UK is ‘on the slide’ because of immigration – a problem he claimed ‘no one is tough enough to deal with’.

‘I think, ultimately, we need politicians… two things – we need politicians who are tough enough to deal with some very difficult problems, and we know what the problems are, and we need politicians who will make decisions which are good for the country, not good for themselves and their party. We haven’t had one of those for a long time.’ Ratcliffe said.

Ratcliffe has previously named Cantona as his favourite player of all time but the legendary Frenchman has been perhaps his staunchest critic – insisting last year the club is being ‘destroyed’ under the new co-ownership.

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Cantona’s arrival in Manchester in 1992 from Leeds United had a transformative effect on the club, serving as the catalyst for the rampant success they enjoyed at the start of the Premier League era under Sir Alex Ferguson.

Cantona is set to perform a live interview in Cork, Ireland this week and spoke to United fan Pete Boyle in Belfast ahead of that appearance.

Boyle asked the 60-year-old if he would have joined United 34 years ago when he left Leeds had Ratcliffe been co-owner at the club at the time, bluntly replying: ‘No.’

Ratcliffe said the UK is ‘on the slide’ (Picture: AFP via Getty Images) / Denmark OUT

He continued: ‘Of course not. You know what I think about all of this, with this kind of politics. And I cannot understand that someone like this can say something like this when he’s one of the owners of the club.’

@peteboyle70

It’s September 2026 in Belfast but I ask Eric ‘the king ‘ Cantona Would he have joined United in 1992 if Jim Ratcliffe was involved . As usual Eric pulls no punches & recalls his own family who were themselves once refugees. @Georgie @Bella @Sportsheim @Red Army Halden @Manchester United @Utd adoRED @ambo1993 @RedArmyKnut @helen.boyle7 he’llalwaydbeourking

♬ original sound – Georgie ,Bella & Pete B

Cantona added: ‘Football is a very popular sport. Football is made – all the greatest players come from different waves of immigration. Everywhere, in France, in England, everywhere.

‘In France for instance, the greatest players in France, they all come from different waves of immigration. I made a documentary on that, French Football: An Immigrant History. Raymond Kopa, in the fifties, was the son of Polish immigrants who came to France, worked in France, and worked hard in France.

Cantona arrived at United from Leeds in 1992 (Picture: Getty)

‘And then Spanish, like me, my mother came from Spanish refugees. I cannot accept this kind of thing.’

Earlier this year, Ratcliffe told Sky News the UK had been ‘colonised by immigrants’. The INEOS chief later said sorry that ‘his choice of language has offended some people in the UK and Europe’.

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^ ^ Injury setback? Why Arsenal star Jurrien Timber missed Netherlands training

Jurrien Timber sat out the Netherlands’ training session on Tuesday (Picture: Voetbal Nieuws)

Arsenal star Jurrien Timber sparked fears that he may have suffered another injury setback after missing the Netherlands’ group training session on Tuesday.

Timber has endured a deeply frustrating period over the last year, with a groin problem forcing him to miss two months of action in the back-end of Arsenal’s title-winning campaign.

It came after the 25-year-old defender returned from an ACL injury in his debut season at the Emirates to establish himself as arguably the finest right-back in the Premier League.

While Timber came on as a substitute in the Gunners’ Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in May, he was not deemed fit enough to be considered for the World Cup, which came as a devastating blow for the full-back.

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Determined to avoid a recurrence of the injury, Mikel Arteta has adopted a cautious approach with Timber’s fitness in the intervening months and the Dutchman did not feature in any of Arsenal’s pre-season fixtures.

Timber did travel with Arteta’s squad for the club’s pre-season camps in Spain and the Republic of Ireland, where he spent his his time doing individual rehabilitation, but returned to London for specialist check-ups in late July.

Arteta handed Timber his first appearance of the season in the champions’ victory over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, and the right-back was given a 60-minute run-out against Brighton last weekend.

Timber made his first start of the season against Brighton last weekend (Picture: Getty)

The Arsenal defender missed the World Cup through injury (Picture: AP)

Netherlands head coach Xavi had seen enough to call Timber up for the Oranje’s upcoming Nations League matches and the ex-Ajax man will no doubt be desperate to build up his playing time over the next two-and-a-half weeks.

On Tuesday, news of Timber’s absence from Dutch training had Arsenal fans fearing the worst, with the defender the only member of Xavi’s squad not to take part in the session.

But according to Voetbal International, this was nothing out of the ordinary given Timber is following an individual programme due to the aftereffects of his injury which cost him a place at the World Cup.

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He is therefore on a modified schedule, which had been pre-agreed with Arsenal, and like the Gunners, the Netherlands are making sure to handle his load management with extreme care.

The Netherlands open their Nations League campaign against Germany at Amsterdam’s Johan Cruijff Arena on Thursday.

Xavi’s men head to Belgrade to take on Serbia three days later, before travelling to Thessaloniki’s Toumba Stadium to lock horns with Greece.

Timber was absent for Arsenal’s title run-in due to a groin issue (Picture: Getty)

Virgil van Dijk and Co conclude the international break by returning to Amsterdam to host to Serbia on October 4.

Speaking exclusively to Metro, Stephen Smith, CEO and founder of Kitman Labs which specialises in injury welfare and performance analytics, explained why every precaution was being taken with Timber.

‘The smart thing for Arsenal to be doing at this time would be to manage his load,’ Smith said.

‘To try and create rotation opportunities for him to rest and recover and refuel the tank.

‘The output Arsenal try to deliver physically is huge so it makes total sense given the injury history and his importance to the team to ensure they don’t run into the same issues they had before.’

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^ ^ Michael Carrick warned Man Utd tactics are ‘killing’ £62m star as Wayne Rooney suggests drastic move

Carrick has a major dilemma to solve up front (Picture: Alan Martin/Shutterstock)

Michael Carrick has been warned he is ‘killing’ Manchester United star Matheus Cunha by playing him out of position this season.

United’s failure to bring in centre forward cover has seen the United boss turn to Cunha to lead his attack with Benjamin Sesko’s injury problems continuing.

Sesko missed the entire pre-season campaign with a shin injury with Cunha starting up top in each of United’s five Premier League matches this season. The Slovenia international has suffered a recurrence of that same issue, meaning Carrick may continue using the Brazil international in a more advanced role following the international break.

Cunha, a £62million signing from Wolves in 2025, has largely played off the left since arriving at Old Trafford, at his best driving at the opposition facing goal.

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Marcus Rashford has taken up his regular position on the left of attack but United legend Butt feels the change to the system is having a huge negative impact on Cunha’s game.

‘Paying Cunha as a nine kills him,’ Butt told The Good, The Bad and The Football. ‘He’s nowhere near the player he is off the side. We haven’t got a no9 other than Sesko other than Zirkzee, but he’s been going, staying, going, staying. And when he does come on, he doesn’t look anywhere near a Manchester United no9.’

Former United captain Wayne Rooney meanwhile is also eager for Cunha to move wide once again, suggesting Rashford should be pushed through the middle in Sesko’s absence.

Cunha has played as a centre forward this season (Picture: Carl Recine/Getty Images)

‘For me, Cunha is better on the left,’ Rooney told The United Stand on The Overlap. ‘Playing with your back to goal is so difficult.

‘When you are playing out wide and you receive the ball, your head is turned. And Cunha’s best attribute is driving with the ball.

‘I would have changed it a few weeks ago, I would have Cunha off the left, and while there is no no9 I would rather have Rashford than Cunha.’

United have tried to sell Zirkzee the last two windows (Picture: Lewis Storey – Danehouse/Getty Images)

Rooney also floated the idea of handing the much-criticised Joshua Zirkzee the role up top – on the provision he stops needlessly giving the ball away in deeper positions.

‘Zirkzee is actually a very technically good player,’ Rooney continued. ‘There are other things around his game where he is not so good and I and the fans get frustrated with the flicks he does.

‘I’d stay to him, “you’re going to start, if I see you f*****g flick the ball once you’re coming off. All I want you to do is get on the ball and link it with your midfield and wide players. That’s all. If you do it on the halfway line your coming off”.’

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