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Manchester United's minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe is devising a masterplan to bring record-breaking Italian forward Simone Pafundi to Old Trafford from Serie A side Udinese.
Pafundi became the youngest player to feature for the Italian national team in November 2022 against Albania. He made his Serie A debut at the age of only 16, just four months before his shock national call-up by Roberto Mancini.
However, after shining for Italy at the U-20 World Cup last summer and helping them to a runners-up position, the youngster's progress has been impeded by injuries. He suffered pubic muscle inflammation, which has restricted him to just 60 minutes of game time this season.
After recovering, he has moved to Lausanne-Sport on a one-year loan, giving him a chance to excel in Switzerland. The club has an option to make the deal permanent for £12.8 million, which would be a Swiss Super League record.
This is the juncture where things get extremely interesting. Lausanne are currently owned by INEOS, Ratcliffe's own company, and according to Blick, this move is part of a long-term project to bring the talented forward to Manchester United.
If Pafundi succeeds in Switzerland, the deal will certainly be made permanent. This would give him a chance to shine further before Sir Ratcliffe could make a move to bring him to Manchester United.
Rasmus Hojlund mentions Manchester United teammate who first caught his eye
Manchester United's big-money summer arrival Rasmus Hojlund singled out Bruno Fernandes as the first player amongst his new teammates who stood out to him in training and on the pitch.
Speaking to club media, Hojlund was faced with a question about the first player that caught his eye at Old Trafford. In response, he said:
“I think you can see Bruno, his touch. He is very elegant on the pitch and, especially, also in training. I mean he’s just, yeah, quality.”
He also discussed his ambitions to transform into a proper marksman to help the squad achieve its goals. He said:
“You need to be even more complete as a striker (nowadays). I try to be that every day, in every sort of aspect, all of those things you just mentioned (pressing, work-rate, hold-up play, physical strength) are some of them."
Hojlund has had a pretty on-and-off 2023-24 season, struggling for form as well as with nagging injuries. While he is the joint top scorer in the Champions League with five goals in six games, he had a rough start in the Premier League, with no goal contributions in his first 14 games.
He has rebounded well however, and has bagged two goals and an assist in his last two games against quality opposition like Aston Villa and Tottenham.
