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Marc Jurado was born in 2004 – the same year in which Manchester United snapped up Gerard Pique from Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy.
Manchester United are set to anger the higher-ups at Barcelona by snapping up wonderkid Marc Jurado, reports Manchester Evening News.
The 16-year-old right-back has reportedly rejected a three-year contract offer from Barcelona in favor of starring for the Red Devils’ academy next season.
His contract situation with the Camp Nou giants means that United would have to pay a meager amount to secure his services when the transfer window reopens.
Jurado is the second highly-rated wonderkid who United have added to their youth ranks for next season, with the Red Devils having already beaten the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham to complete the signature of 16-year-old Joe Hugill from Sunderland.
David De Gea’s troubled relationship with then Manchester United boss Louis Van Gaal was the reason why the Spaniard wanted to leave the Red Devils in 2017, the 29-year-old’s former goalkeeping coach Eric Steele has told the iNews.
The Spanish number one choice goalkeeper was on the verge of completing a summer switch to Real Madrid back then before a fax machine issue barred him from completing his transfer to the Spanish capital.
Steele claims that the goalkeeper was happy with what the club was offering him and how he was treated by the fans, adding that it was something that had gone on ‘behind the scenes’ between him and his Dutch manager that had forced De Gea to take the extreme step.
The goalkeeping coach reassures the Man United faithful that despite likely facing increased competition for his first-team spot from loanee Dean Henderson next season, De Gea has his heart set on staying at United for the foreseeable future.
At a time when Mikel Arteta is trying to get Arsenal to where it belongs, the situation regarding their captain’s contract standoff suggests that the rot has set deep at the Emirates.
Mikel Arteta didn’t mention his captain Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang by name earlier this week, but everyone knew who he was referring to based on what he said. The Arsenal boss stated, quite wryly, that if he has to convince someone to stay at the club, it ‘holds me back.’
The message was very simple from the former Manchester City assistant boss: “sign the new long-term contract that we have offered or I won’t be beseeching you to stay beyond the summer”. Aubameyang might probably be expecting this message given that his contract with Arsenal is set to end next year.
The only party which probably wasn’t expecting these words were the Arsenal fans. They are the ones who measure the current goings-on at the club with the memories of the fabled past. Everything that players or manager do is viewed through a prism tinted with history.
It should then be easier for them to see that if Aubameyang leaves, Arsenal would be the only party staring at the thin end of the wedge. That he is even thinking of leaving the club, even in such times when other players are staying put, indicates that not everything is right within the Gunners.
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