{"id":248891,"date":"2026-06-18T13:11:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T13:11:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/18\/man-utd-eyeing-croatia-vs-england-star-after-leeds-bid-rejected\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T13:11:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T13:11:15","slug":"man-utd-eyeing-croatia-vs-england-star-after-leeds-bid-rejected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/18\/man-utd-eyeing-croatia-vs-england-star-after-leeds-bid-rejected\/","title":{"rendered":"Man Utd eyeing Croatia vs England star after Leeds bid rejected"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Lee Dixon felt England had produced close to a perfect performance as they saw off Croatia to open their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.footballfancast.com\/tag\/worldcup\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">World Cup<\/a> campaign with a 4-2 win in Dallas.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><\/p>\n<p>Thomas Tuchel\u2019s side were twice pegged back after captain Harry Kane scored two in the first half but second-half strikes from Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford secured three points in the Group L opener.<\/p>\n<p>Former England defender Dixon said on ITV: \u201cThis is a really difficult team to play against and apart from the moments in the first half when they gave those two goals away, they pretty much controlled the game.<\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img  image-expandable  img-article-item\" style=\"padding-bottom:50%\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/static0.footballfancastimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/rashford-england-kane.jpg\" data-modal-id=\"single-image-modal\" data-modal-container-id=\"single-image-modal-container\" data-img-caption=\"&quot;&quot;\">\n                                                                                            <picture><source media=\"(max-width: 480px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.footballfancastimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/rashford-england-kane.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=500&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.footballfancastimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/rashford-england-kane.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=500&amp;dpr=2\"\/><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.footballfancastimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/rashford-england-kane.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=800&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.footballfancastimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/rashford-england-kane.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=800&amp;dpr=2\"\/><source media=\"(max-width: 1023px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.footballfancastimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/rashford-england-kane.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=825&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.footballfancastimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/rashford-england-kane.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=825&amp;dpr=2\"\/>\n        <\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019ve had that forward line, that flair, and the running from midfield to match. They\u2019ve scored four goals. Just stop the two at the other end and it\u2019s been a perfect performance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey needed to be tested. Two poor goals in the first half but they\u2019ve really got to their game in the second half. They\u2019ve brilliant in all departments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDefensively they\u2019ve looked more sound and everywhere else really good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.footballfancast.com\/tag\/manchester-united\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Manchester United<\/a> defender Gary Neville was impressed by the response to a stern team-talk from manager Tuchel at half-time.<\/p>\n<p>Neville said: \u201cHe\u2019s given them an absolute rocket at half-time because they\u2019ve come out for 20 minutes at the start of the second half and they were breathtaking.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat I liked then was they had to sit off a bit and they played a bit deeper. He then makes the substitutions and the substitutions have a big impact and we go and get the fourth.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome of the stuff in the first 10 minutes of that second half was fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fellow Red Devils legend Roy Keane believes conceding twice will prove to England\u2019s benefit in the long run.<\/p>\n<p>The former United and Republic of Ireland midfielder said: \u201cI think they\u2019ll be delighted to score four goals, their attacking players obviously having had a big impact, subs coming on and doing well, controlling the game particularly in the second half, good set-pieces.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd I actually think it\u2019s good they conceded a couple of goals because it keeps them on their toes. It\u2019s just a reminder that if you slacken off you concede goals, but overall they\u2019ll be absolutely delighted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>United would have certainly had their eyes on Three Lions star Elliot Anderson, but they are also believed to be eyeing one of Croatia&#8217;s star men this summer.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"man-utd-eyeing-move-for-croatia-star\">\n                        Man Utd eyeing move for Croatia star<br \/>\n               <\/h2>\n<p>Indeed, according to reports in Italy, via <a href=\"https:\/\/sportwitness.co.uk\/aston-villa-and-manchester-united-in-mix-for-croatia-star-leeds-united-have-also-tried\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Sport Witness<\/a>, Manchester United are considering a move for Como midfielder Martin Baturina.<\/p>\n<div class=\"body-img landscape \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img  image-expandable  img-article-item\" style=\"padding-bottom:50%\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/static0.footballfancastimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/baturina-and-anderson.jpg\" data-modal-id=\"single-image-modal\" data-modal-container-id=\"single-image-modal-container\" data-img-caption=\"&quot;&quot;\">\n                                                                                            <picture><source media=\"(max-width: 480px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.footballfancastimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/baturina-and-anderson.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=500&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.footballfancastimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/baturina-and-anderson.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=500&amp;dpr=2\"\/><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.footballfancastimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/baturina-and-anderson.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=800&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.footballfancastimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/baturina-and-anderson.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=800&amp;dpr=2\"\/><source media=\"(max-width: 1023px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.footballfancastimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/baturina-and-anderson.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=825&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.footballfancastimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/baturina-and-anderson.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=825&amp;dpr=2\"\/><img width=\"1650\" height=\"826\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"baturina and anderson\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/static0.footballfancastimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/baturina-and-anderson.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=825&amp;dpr=2\" src=\"https:\/\/static0.footballfancastimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/baturina-and-anderson.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=825&amp;dpr=2\"\/>\n        <\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The 23 year-old scored a stunning goal to briefly level things up at 1-1 on Wednesday and is being chased by several English sides.<\/p>\n<p>Aston Villa are also said to be in the mix, while Leeds are expected to renew their interest having seen a bid rejected in January.<\/p>\n<p>The attacking midfielder six times and provided three assists in 29 Serie A appearances for Cesc Fabregas&#8217; side last season, and many believe he will have a brighter future than highly-rated teammate Nico Paz.<\/p>\n<p>Writer and scout <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RisingStarXI\/status\/2067374607460454418\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Filipe Sousa<\/a> believes Baturina is &#8216;underrated&#8217;, and he could be a long-term successor to club captain Bruno Fernandes, who will turn 32 later this year.<\/p>\n<div class=\"w-display-card-vignette\">\n<div class=\"qz\">\n<div class=\"qz-content\">\n<div id=\"qend\">\n<p>You scored<\/p>\n<p>out of 20<\/p>\n<p>      <button class=\"e-replay\" onclick=\"startQuiz()\">\u21a9 Play again<\/button>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.footballfancast.com\/man-utd-eyeing-croatia-vs-england-star-after-leeds-get-rejected\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lee Dixon felt England had produced close to a perfect performance as they saw off Croatia to open their World Cup campaign with a 4-2 win in Dallas. Thomas Tuchel\u2019s side were twice pegged back after captain Harry Kane scored two in the first half but second-half strikes from Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford secured [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":248892,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6808],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-248891","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248891"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248891\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}