Prem striker on Man Utd radar leaves door ajar with guarded response

A Premier League striker on the radar of Man Utd refused to dismiss the transfer rumours when delivering his response to the links.

Man Utd have a wealth of options at the top end of the pitch. Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood can all play centrally when required, while Uruguayan veteran Edinson Cavani has surpassed all expectations on his first season in England.

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The 34-year-old’s performances have been of such a high level that Man Utd moved to extend his Old Trafford stay by another 12 months. Upon doing so, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer fired a bold warning to their Premier League arrivals ahead of next season.

Despite their abundance of options, the club continue to be linked with additional arrivals.

A blockbuster move for Harry Kane has been touted. Though that would likely swallow up the vast majority of the club’s summer transfer budget. Additionally, it would seemingly diminish the role of Cavani with both players more suited to a central role.

A cheaper alternative was mooted last week when a report revealed Man Utd’s interest in Southampton hitman, Danny Ings.

The 28-year-old has excelled since leaving Liverpool for the South Coast. His all-action displays and clinical finishing have led many to believe he could easily enhance the forward ranks of a club challenging for top honours.

Now, responding to the links when speaking to talkSPORT, Ings gave little away and stopped short of dismissing a possible exit.

“I’ve got a contract until the summer of 2022,” he said (via the Metro). “I haven’t really acknowledged them [transfer rumours]. I’ve just been focused on each game. Ultimately, I’ve still got a contract here.

“My main focus is to finish the season strong.”

Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl was asked about the rumours during his Friday press conference.

Committing to a more hard-line stance, the Austrian insisted he is “confident” Ings will remain at St. Mary’s next season.

“I am confident that he will stay with us,” he bluntly told reporters.

Ferguson reveals trophy-costing Messi regret

Meanwhile, Former Man Utd manager Sir Alex Ferguson revealed a burning Lionel Messi regret that he believes directly prevented the club from being crowned European champions for a fourth time.

Domestic success was frequent, though proved far harder to come by on the European stage. Two Champions League trophies were lifted in 1999 and 2008. But Spanish powerhouse Barcelona prevented additional titles in the 2009 and 2011 finals.

A key contributor to the Red Devils’ downfall on each occasion was, unsurprisingly, Messi. The Argentine scored in each match, though Ferguson believes the latter final would have been very different if he had pulled the trigger on a tactical change at half time.

Speaking to Sport Bible, Ferguson insisted tasking noted big match specialist Park Ji-sung with man-marking the Argentine superstar would have ensured a different name on the trophy.

“That’s where I lost the final against Barcelona at Wembley,” said Ferguson. “I should have changed at half-time and put Ji-sung Park on Messi.

“That was a mistake… I was going to do it at half-time, then I said, ‘Well, we just equalised before half-time, they may see the game differently, we may grow into the game better.’

“We were actually quite good in the last 10 minutes of that half. We came into it and we could have been in front.

“But if I’d played Ji-sung Park against Messi, I think we’d have beaten them. I really do.”

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