Talk of the Devils: The Athletic FC's Manchester United show

Ian Irving hosts The Athletic's podcast dedicated to Manchester United with regular contributor Andy Mitten and club correspondent Laurie Whitwell.

Coming to you from the bowels of Old Trafford immediately after Erik Ten Hag's side beat Liverpool to kickstart their season, we also discussed the huge protest march that dominated the build-up to the game.

And there was the small matter of a £70m signing from Real Madrid. Brazilian midfielder Casemiro fetched the second highest fee for a player over 30 but he is a serial winner and it sounds like he still means business.

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Ian Irving hosts The Athletic's podcast dedicated to Manchester United with regular contributor Andy Mitten and club correspondent Laurie Whitwell.

There was breaking news on Wednesday night as Ineos owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe issued a statement outlining his desire to take a stake in the club. It's a story that will excite many fans with protests against the current ownership expected when Liverpool visit on Monday night, but is a it a serious prospect?

We also take a look at the ridiculous number of players being linked with United, not least Andy's scoop for The Athletic confirming that Chelsea's American winger Christian Pulisic is a loan target.

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Ian Irving hosts The Athletic's podcast dedicated to Manchester United with football writer Carl Anka, regular contributor Andy Mitten, and club correspondent Laurie Whitwell.

How bad were Manchester United at Brentford on Saturday? Nobody can remember a worse performance, and the stats suggest there hasn't been one in over a century of football. From De Gea to Ronaldo, the team looked no match for a Bees eleven that was assembled at a tenth of the cost.

So, can Erik Ten Hag turn this Jumbo jet around having just left the runway, and is the transfer strategy built around Frenkie de Jong as fragile as it seems?

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Ian Irving hosts The Athletic's podcast dedicated to Manchester United with regular contributor Andy Mitten and football writer Carl Anka.

It's been an, ahem, interesting week: the dust has settled on the opening-day home defeat to Brighton and unexpected transfer links have prompted new questions of the club's recruitment policy.

Will we see Ronaldo starting at Brentford? And what about McFred? Attracting Frenkie de Jong to Manchester looks as important as ever, but no closer to reality.

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Ian Irving hosts The Athletic's podcast dedicated to Manchester United with regular contributor Andy Mitten and club correspondent Laurie Whitwell.

Any optimism from pre-season was dashed by defeat to Brighton, the visitors bringing back traumatic memories of recent years with their first ever win at Old Trafford.

The Frenkie de Jong deadlock shows no sign of breaking and, as The Athletic's David Ornstein broke news of potential moves for Adrien Rabiot and Marko Arnautovic, it's fair to say anxious fans aren't reassured by either prospect.

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Ian Irving, Laurie Whitwell, Andy Mitten & Carl Anka discuss the news - broken on The Athletic - that United forward Anthony Martial is set to miss their opening game of the season against Brighton & Hove Albion due to injury.

Does that mean Ronaldo will start? Or has Erik ten Hag got other ideas?

Also, hear all about Benni McCarthy will become a first-team coach for Manchester United - and find out why Teng Hag wanted him.

Plus, enter the De Jong Zone... will we ever leave?

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Ian Irving hosts The Athletic's podcast dedicated to Manchester United with regular contributor Andy Mitten and club correspondent Laurie Whitwell back on home turf alongside football writer Carl Anka.

The R word was on everybody's lips this week as Cristiano Ronaldo appeared at Carrington, apparently to have talks with senior management about his future. Is it in the club's best interests to make sure he stays?

Meanwhile, Barcelona are spending more on players than Laurie does on Australian cocktails, but Frenkie de Jong doesn't fancy balancing their books for them by heading to Manchester.

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Ian Irving hosts The Athletic's podcast dedicated to Manchester United with regular contributor Andy Mitten, club correspondent Laurie Whitwell, and football writer Carl Anka.

The squad, closely followed by Andy and Laurie, have moved from Thailand to Australia where our team secured access to Erik Ten Hag, Bruno Fernandes, and some liquid refreshment.

We've also been speaking to local Reds in Melbourne and Adelaide, and the de Jong theme is announced after a barrage of suggestions.

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Ian Irving hosts The Athletic's podcast dedicated to Manchester United with regular contributor Andy Mitten, club correspondent Laurie Whitwell, and football writer Carl Anka.

Laurie and Andy were in Bangkok for the pre-season friendly win over Liverpool and the open training session that preceded it. They both met fans en route, albeit Andy took a little bit of a detour.

Meanwhile, Ian and Carl had to put up with the scorching weather in Manchester as we learned a little bit more about Ten Hag's United.

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Ian Irving hosts The Athletic's podcast dedicated to Manchester United with regular contributor Andy Mitten, club correspondent Laurie Whitwell, and football writer Carl Anka.

Cristiano Ronaldo returned to the headlines after he failed to report for pre-season training amid rumours of a move to Chelsea. Would that be a bad thing for Manchester Utd? We're not so sure.

Meanwhile, Erik Ten Hag and his squad will travel to Thailand later this week with new signing Tyrell Malacia, and perhaps Christian Eriksen as well. Andy and Laurie will be there, too, albeit via slightly different routes.

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