Still Following the Trawler

Via  the Guardian : The Guardian  have released their United season preview - check out the video below and full article here .

01.08.15 – the red devils will break expectations. #BeTheDifference Posted by adidas Football on  Friday, July 31, 2015

The di Maria deal agreed with PSG yesterday is for a €63m fee (£44.2m) — Guillem Balague (@GuillemBalague) July 30, 2015 Di Maria to PSG close to being done now. Not sure yet when PSG will announce. Fee around £44.1m #mufc — James Ducker (@DuckerTheTimes) July 30, 2015 Man United finally set to give up on Di Maria as PSG close on £40m deal | @Ian_Ladyman_DM http://t.co/dRzk8OgF8h — MailOnline Sport (@MailSport) July 31, 2015 Ducker in the Times : United to sell Di Maria and take £15m loss. pic.twitter.com/jX81YeWBlZ — James (@writtenoff_mufc) July 31, 2015 Mark Ogden reporting Angel di Maria is set to join PSG this weekend + Pedro is identified as his replacement http://t.co/xWT5yzy7Qh — MUFC Peoples Person (@PeoplesPerson_) July 30, 2015

As last season disintegrated into an anti-climax there was one story in United's season that stood out as the most tragic and confusing of all - that of Angel Di Maria and his inability to transform a tired looking United side as so many people had hoped. Two months prior to joining United in August 2014 he was starring in Real Madrid's Champions League triumph, right before helping lead Argentina to their first World Cup final since 1990. He was the man everyone wanted in their team: a bona fide superstar and a world beater. And he was a United player. At a British record fee of £59.7 million Real Madrid certainly got the money they felt his talent warranted. Yet United fans were more excited for the season ahead, wondering expectantly as to what he would be able to add to the team that finished a pathetic 7th in the league the previous season rather than worry too much about his phenomenal price tag. And when you heard the mighty  Ronaldo speak out in anger at Real's deci...

Tom Purslow/Man Utd via Getty Images This morning on Twitter   United announces the signing of Argentina international 'keeper Sergio Romero - who played in last summer's World Cup, including the final defeat to Germany. Perhaps not the 'Sergio R' United fans were hoping for! But still, a decent acquisition nonetheless. The news however would have been far better received had the whole "Will he? Won't he" de Gea saga not dominated the entire transfer window - with today's signing suggesting that United could indeed be preparing for the Spaniards exit. Either way, whether he's been brought in as deputy to David de Gea, or to become our new (albeit rather uninspiring) no.1, signing the goalie of the world's best international side can't be a bad thing. Welcome to United, Sergio!

Sky Sports today have revealed the results of a study to establish who the most-watched Premier League team is in each region of the UK. Unsurprisingly, 20-times champions United come out on top - leading the way in 49 regions...yes, that's right, including Manchester. Other notable results showed Arsenal - smashing Chelsea and Tottenham - are the most popular team in the South East, with Liverpool dominating a large chunk of Scotland and the West of the country. Results below... via SkySports.com Manchester United (49 regions): Bath, Birmingham, Blackburn, Blackpool, Bolton, Bournemouth, Bradford, Cambridge, Carlisle, Colchester, Crewe, Darlington, Doncaster, Dorchester, Dumfries, Galashiels, Glasgow, Halifax, Huddersfield, Ilford, Kilmarnock, Kirkcaldy, Kirkwall, Leeds, Lincoln, Llandrindod Wells, Manchester, Nottingham, Oldham, Oxford, Peterborough, Portsmouth, Reading, Redhill, Sheffield, Shrewsbury, Southampton, Stockport, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland, Swindon, Taunton, Teess...

Got a message for you @d_degeaofficial ... Please don't go!!! ❤️ #mufc A video posted by Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) on Jul 22, 2015 at 1:12am PDT

I knew that Botox , summer training and Italian lessons would fool everyone! #imback pic.twitter.com/BaR2N9jVPh — Gary Neville (@GNev2) July 19, 2015

You've no doubt heard the manager's comments by now as to why he is looking to offload Victor Valdes . Well, the 33-year old 'keeper has had this to say in response... .....? #respect pic.twitter.com/LSnwz1HfDB — Victor Valdes (@1victorvaldes) July 16, 2015

Well, another  two weeks  has gone by since my last, and now (accidentally) fortnightly, blog post summarising United's inactivity in this summers transfer market, and STILL absolutely nothing has happ...oh, hang on a second! In complete contrast to the ineffective Executive Vice-Chairman that was being portrayed by the press over the past month, Clive Woodward has indeed been a busy little bee recently, signing no less than THREE decent and much-needed players  for a combined fee of £51million (...£2million more than Citeh paid for this chump ) while also successfully alleviating some of the dead-weight that was burdening our wage bill by releasing the likes of Falcao, Nani and, unfortunately, Robin van Persie. Still, his and van Gaal's work in bringing in new players to United is far from done. With the aforementioned Falcao and van Persie now gone we are down to Rooney and the youngster James Wilson to lead us in attack. Of course, we saw Wazza play well as ...

Thank you Arsenal and thank you Manchester United. Wish you all the best. pic.twitter.com/Y43uA13Y8j — Robin van Persie (@Persie_Official) July 14, 2015

  All images via www.twitter.com/ManUtd

Finally! A rumour with some serious substance. During the official unveiling of Memphis Depay earlier today LVG has confirmed United's interest in 25 year old right back Matteo Darmian from Torino. The transfer is expected to be completed in the next few days , just in time for the start of United's pre-season tour in the USA which begins on 17th July . Louis van Gaal confirms #mufc are pursuing the signing of Matteo Darmian from Torino. — Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 10, 2015

It was exactly two weeks ago when I proudly highlighted no less than seven world-class talents who were being linked with a place in United's team next season. How wrong I (well, really the national press) was on all seven! Now, 14 days later, it seems as though all seven have been either forgotten about or have signed for Liverpool, so Louis van Gaal has instead chosen to set his sites firmly on three players only. The rumours are, as usual, fluctuating on a daily basis, although if we can pull off at least two we'll certainly look a serious threat next season. Sergio Ramos Getty Images Sergio Ramos transfer: How Real Madrid defender could cost Manchester United £70MILLION  | The Mirror |  2nd July 2015 Sergio Ramos will only leave Real Madrid for Man Utd - Calderon  | BBC Sport | 1st July 2015 Club:  Real Madrid Position:  Defender Value:  £30 million How much do we need him? 10/10 Likelihood of him coming to United?  7/10 Morgan Schneiderlin Getty ...

Via  BBC Sport : The rumours have been going from hot to cold almost on a daily basis, but yesterday, former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has confirmed that Sergio Ramos has told the men in charge at Real to listen to offers coming in from United. United have already bid £28.6m for Ramos and Calderon thinks the 29-year-old defender is ready to move. "I know Sergio has told the general manager to listen to offers they get from Manchester United," said Calderon, who served as president of the Spanish club from 2006 to 2009. He only wants to go to United."