Man Utd may have exposed their next transfer. (Image: Getty)
Manchester United may have accidentally exposed a surprise upcoming transfer announcement during a short training montage posted on social media. The Red Devils are set to announce the £35million arrival of Bologna striker Joshua Zirkzee after he travelled to Carrington for his medical on Friday morning.
Zirkzee is primed to become the first recruit of the INEOS era, replacing Anthony Martial after the end of his nine-year United career.
But the club appear to be preparing to confirm that they have, somewhat surprisingly, re-signed another player whose contract expired at the start of July.
On Friday, United posted a short montage of different moments from a recent training session at Carrington as Erik ten Hag's pre-season preparations continue.
But eagle-eyed supporters notice that one of the split-second clips showed the Dutchman seemingly holding talks with Jonny Evans.
The 36-year-old defender returned to Old Trafford last summer on a one-year contract and ended up making 30 appearances in all competitions due to a relentless injury crisis.
Evans' deal expired at the start of July, though, and while United confirmed that they were holding talks, reported plans to sign at least two new centre-backs made a stay unlikely.
However, his participation in training at Carrington indicates that he could well re-sign for the club as an extra cover option and an experienced head in the dressing room.
Is this Jonny Evans in #mufc training yesterday? ??????
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United quickly deleted the post on X after masses of supporters picked up on the fact that a player not under contract at the club was holding talks with Ten Hag.
On the other hand, Evans could simply be training in preparation for his next move or to help out while senior numbers are low at the start of pre-season.
Ten Hag is currently without his players who have featured at Euro 2024 and the Copa America this summer, filling up his pre-season squad with U21 and U18 players.
If Evans signs another short-term contract before Monday, he could feature in United's first friendly against Rosenborg in Norway.
The Red Devils will then meet Rangers in Edinburgh before jetting off for their pre-season tour of the United States, by which point Ten Hag will have all of his squad with him.
If Evans were to re-sign, he would almost be guaranteed to have a far less significant role than last term, with United focusing on reinforcing Ten Hag's defence.
Raphael Varane has left, but Matthijs de Ligt is expected to arrive from Bayern Munich, joining Lisandro Martinez, Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof as options.
While the latter pair's futures are uncertain, United are also pursuing Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite and Lille's Leny Yoro, for whom they've had an initial £42million bid accepted.
