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Manchester United had to deal with refereeing injustice and a man disadvantage as they played out an entertaining goalless draw at home to bottom-dwellers Southampton on Sunday.
Casemiro was shown a harsh red card after intervention from VAR while two blatant penalty calls were waved away as the Red Devils suffered yet another poor day in the Premier League.
A cursory glance across the Premier League table will show how United have suffered due to a lack of goals as they are the second-lowest scorers among the top seven teams.
United’s woes up front
Marcus Rashford has 26 goals to his name and none of his teammates have even reached double figures. If the England international struggles, as he did on Sunday, goals become hard to come by.
It is imperative that the Red Devils bring in an elite goalscorer ahead of next season with the of names of Victor Osimhen, Harry Kane and Dusan Vlahovic doing the rounds.
Interestingly, one player who is being offered to the 20-time English league champions is Barcelona starlet Ansu Fati. United had tried to go after him in the past but were rebuffed each time.
Xavi: “We have discussed my new deal, we are in positive talks but as I always say: priority to win titles, then there’s time to do that” 🔵🔴 #FCB
“Ansu Fati? You have to give Ansu all the confidence. I’m very happy with him”. pic.twitter.com/Ygwb2lST5s
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 11, 2023
The Spaniard is unhappy with the playing time he has got this season under Xavi and is said to be considering his options with agent Jorge Mendes trying to find a way out.
“The future of Ansu Fati will be one of the star topics in the next transfer market. His agent, Jorge Mendes, would be working in case he should leave Barça this summer.
“The representative would have offered Ansu to various Premier clubs, including Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle,” a report from SPORT revealed.
Fati offered to United
The 20-year-old was considered untouchable a couple of seasons ago with many seeing him as the heir to Lionel Messi with the club even inserting a €1 billion release clause in his contract.
But his stock has fallen dramatically under Xavi with the Spain international making only 11 starts across all competitions.
And that could be set to dwindle even further once Ousmane Dembélé recovers from injury as Xavi has zeroed in on a system where he utilises four midfielders.
Barcelona will have to offload stars and raise capital if they are to be active in the transfer window and Fati could prove to be one option. The Catalan giants will sell him for a record amount but are undecided as of now.
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