Man Utd transfer U-turn confirmed after 'coaching staff' intervene

Fabrizio Romano has confirmed Manchester United have performed a U-turn on a transfer decision after the club’s coaching staff ‘pushed’ for a different outcome.

Man Utd will be among the busiest clubs in the upcoming summer window, both from an arrivals and exits perspective. A plethora of stars are up for sale, with permanent solutions sought for the likes of Jadon Sancho, Antony and Marcus Rashford, to name just three.

A handful of United stars are also out of contract and in line to leave the club via free agency. While transfer fees won’t be collected, United will at least shed chunks off their wage-bill.

Four Man Utd first-team stars fall into that category – Tom Heaton, Jonny Evans, Victor Lindelof and Christian Eriksen.

The expectation had been all four would be allowed to leave, with transfer guru Fabrizio Romano confirming as much regarding Heaton and Evans last month.

Writing on X on April 15 (in a since-deleted tweet), the reporter stated: “Tom Heaton and Jonny Evans are both set to leave Manchester United at the end of the season, plan confirmed.”

However, rumblings of United performing a U-turn on third-choice goalkeeper Heaton began to surface and in a fresh update on Friday afternoon, Romano confirmed United have changed direction regarding Heaton.

“Manchester United have now decided to open talks with Tom Heaton over new deal for one more season,” wrote Romano on X.

“Concrete discussions to follow for Heaton to stay as third GK until June 2026.

“The coaching staff pushed for this decision as delighted also with his help to young players.”

United’s U-turn will be music to the ears of Heaton who The Daily Mail previously stated had no plans to retire if leaving Man Utd in the summer.

Heaton is 39 years of age and hasn’t made a single Premier League appearance since returning to Man Utd in the summer of 2021.

The cup competitions haven’t been all that fruitful either, with just three appearances made in the last four years, the last of which came in February of 2023.

But as Romano stated, the veteran’s importance to the club behind the scenes extends beyond his availability as third-choice stopper.

Latest Man Utd news – Cunha clarification / Scholes fears transfer blunder

In other news, Man Utd remain on course to sign Matheus Cunha from Wolves despite the lack of updates of late.

United fully intend to trigger Cunha’s £62.5m release clause, though cannot do so until it becomes active at season’s end. As such, the deal is on standby for the time being which has alerted Arsenal to the possibility of a hijack.

Their sporting director, Andrea Berta, has scheduled a meeting with Cunha’s camp to discuss a move to Arsenal instead.

But thankfully for Man Utd, the expectation is a switch to The Emirates is not on the cards. Cunha has already partially approved a move to United and agreeing personal terms should not be an issue.

Crucially, Cunha is also open to joining Man Utd regardless of whether they qualify for the Champions League or not.

If Man Utd beat Tottenham in the final of the Europa League they’ll secure entry into next year’s UCL. Defeat in Bilbao will resign United to a campaign without any form of European football.

Elsewhere, Paul Scholes fears Man Utd will sell a player Cunha’s arrival could force out – Alejandro Garnacho.

In Scholes’ mind, United selling Garnacho would be a grave mistake, with the Argentina international capable of scoring “25-30 goals” per season, according to the United legend.

“He’s perfect in a regular 4-3-3,” began Scholes. “He will be a real threat. He needs to tidy up his decision-making and finishing, sometimes his final ball is a bit rash but he’s a young player so that’s to be expected.

“I fear we will sell him for £50-£60m for PSR reasons. It’s been rumoured, hasn’t it? I fear he will end up scoring 25 to 30 goals for somebody else, that’s how good I think this lad can be.

“Shoehorning him into this system might be tricky, I’m struggling to find a position for him in Ruben Amorim’s system. I don’t want them to sell him, I hate the thought of that, but I think they could do. I wouldn’t like it. He frustrates me but he’s often the biggest threat for Manchester United.”

The latest on Man Utd’s stance on selling Garnacho can be found here.

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