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Manchester United receive ironic transfer boost after two players disappointed vs Crystal Palace
Manchester United have been able to take one positive from their embarrassing defeat to Crystal Palace on the weekend.
Manchester United suffered a 2-0 defeat against Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon after a disappointing display from Ruben Amorim’s team.
The Portuguese manager opted not to start a traditional striker, leaving Rasmus Højlund and Joshua Zirkzee on the bench.
Instead, Kobbie Mainoo operated as a false nine and made a bright start, striking the post early on. However, the youngster’s influence waned as the match progressed.
United began the game as the stronger side, but Palace consistently posed a threat on the counterattack and eventually capitalised in the second half.
Jean-Philippe Mateta netted twice after the break—matching Højlund’s Premier League goal tally this season—to secure victory for the visitors.
United receive Tel boost after Palace defeat
It was a clear statement from Amorim to leave both Højlund and Zirkzee on the bench for this game and they didn’t exactly prove him wrong after coming on.
The attacking pair have been extremely poor this season and neither made any impact against Palace.
Ironically, their poor displays have seemed to give the club a boost in their pursuit of Mathys Tel from Bayern Munich.
Updates immediately after full-time revealed that United are now leading the race for the young forward, who wants to join them, and are most likely to land his signature before the transfer deadline.
It had recently been claimed that Tel’s main priority is to secure a move where he can guarantee regular football and watching the likes of Højlund and Zirkzee struggle would have only made the teenager more confident of getting that at Old Trafford.
It remains to be seen what kind of deal United will look to strike with Bayern, who want a guaranteed fee through a permanent transfer or an obligation to buy being inserted into a loan deal.
Pressure on United signings
It feels like there is a lot of pressure on these incoming signings, with Patrick Dorgu coming in as a new-and-improved wingback option while Tel would need to bring attacking quality to a team struggling to score.
Even the young defender Ayden Heaven could end up getting more football than initially expected after the injury to Lisandro Martínez.
United have too many problems for a few young players to fix, and while there will certainly be improvements in certain areas, Amorim’s side will undoubtably continue to struggle.
But with Marcus Rashford heading out on loan, getting a replacement in becomes a non-negotiable and it seems like Tel could be set to join.
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