Wilson's hat-trick delight

James Wilson was delighted with his hat-trick in the Under-21s' 3-0 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday as he aims to keep improving.



The prolific striker was forced to pull out of the England Under-19 squad last week through illness but looked in great shape when smashing three second-half goals past Jonathan Flatt at Molineux.

The treble was the first by a United player this season at the three main levels (first team, Reserves/Under-21s and Under-18s) and takes his tally to four in four starts for Warren Joyce's team.

"It was well played by the players with good work rate," he told MUTV. "We work hard every day in training and just need the performances to get goals and win games.

"The first and second goals were kind of the same. For the first one I saw the defender coming towards me and pushed it away from him, it was a snap shot really for the second and the last one I was standing still in the box and it fell to me nicely so I put it away.

"I work on my shooting quite a lot, to be fair. I train a lot after training and put in extra, even before it as well I do extra finishing."

The chance to parade his talents at Molineux pleased the teenager, who has ambitions to catch David Moyes' eye.

"It was great," he added. "As soon as you walk in here, it's a massive ground with a great history so it's good to play here. It's good experience to play at these big stadiums.

"I just want to get as many minutes on the pitch as possible and keep my confidence up, hopefully pushing up to the first-team squad. I need to hope for the best.

"I can definitely relate a lot to Adnan [Januzaj] and the stage he was at last year. I hope I can kick on."

American investment firm increases stake in United to £90m

• Baron Capital buys stock and now has 24% of shares available
• Glazer family only released 10% of club on to the stock market













American investment firm Baron Capital acquired a quarter of all Manchester United shares available on the New York Stock Exchange, it has been confirmed. Baron Capital has been buying up stock and now owns 24% of all the United shares that were sold by the Glazer family in 2012, though that still only represents 2.5% of the club.

Analysts believe the accumulation of shares reflects the firm viewing United as a good long-term investment, rather than Baron Capital making any bid to secure a controlling interest in the club. The Glazer family only released 10% of the club on to the stock market – they still retain 90% and control the vast majority of votes.

Nevertheless, Baron Capital's actions explain why the share price has been slowly rising despite the club's struggles on the pitch. This has also been fuelled by expectation of an announcement of a new Nike kit deal worth hundreds of millions of pounds.

Baron Capital's United shareholding was confirmed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on the Manchester United investor relations website. It says Baron Capital now owns 9,581,636 shares, which were worth US$151m (£90m) at the close of the market on Monday.

Baron Capital says on its website the company remains positive about United's future. It said: "Shares of Manchester United dropped ... due to a delay in the signing of a new global merchandise deal with Nike and the team's poor performance on the field. The Nike deal is still expected to be signed, but has been pushed out from this fiscal year. We remain positive on the company's prospects going forward."

London-based financial analyst Andy Green, who writes a blog on football finance and advises the Manchester United Supporters' Trust, said the move by Baron Capital appeared to be purely an investment strategy and was not the start of a takeover bid.

Green said: "This is absolutely not the start of any takeover. You could buy all the shares available on the stock market and you would still only have 10% of the club and about 1.3% of the votes. I am sure they are looking at the investment opportunities and rumours of the new Nike deal. They have a reputation as a long-term investment company."

New Scanning Equipment installed at the Aon Training Complex

Manchester United have unveiled a new state of the art medical facility which they hope will reduce injury rehabilitation time for their players.

New scanning equipment has been installed in a 'medical imaging suite' at the AON Training Complex in Carrington.

The equipment, provided by club sponsor Toshiba, will help United's medical staff diagnose injuries earlier, improve player rehabilitation times and flag up potentially preventable injuries.

Toshiba said the new suite

"Will enable Manchester United to identify, treat and rehabilitate players with a speed not currently experienced in world football today."

Manager David Moyes added:

"I'm absolutely delighted to have this facility fully up and running. Not only is it cutting edge medical technology, it will also help us detect the early signs of injury and help to refine the rehabilitation process - something that will pay dividends for years to come."

#OnThisDay - Utd beat Inter 2-0 in the Champions League (Video)

OTD 2009 @ManUtd 2 - 0 @inter (Reds win tie 2-0 on agg) in @ChampionsLeague 2nd rnd, 2nd leg. (Ronaldo, Vidic) https://t.co/UKuImphZKW

— On This Day Man Utd (@OnThisDayManUtd) March 11, 2014

Mata hoping for No.10 position more often

Story from ESPN

Juan Mata has insisted that he is not a winger and wants to operate as a No. 10 -- even though David Moyes keeps on playing him out wide.

Manchester United’s record signing has made six appearances for the club since completing his 37.1 million pound move from Chelsea in January, but although his debut came in a central role just behind main striker Robin van Persie, his last five games have all come on the flanks.

Mata told BT Sport: “I love to play between the lines. Right now I am playing on the right but to honest I don’t see myself as a proper winger. I like to play between the lines as a No. 10.

“[When I] come inside, that is where I feel comfortable  to play, to keep in touch with the ball because I love to play in possession and with the ball.”

Mata generally operated as No. 10 last season, when he was named Chelsea’s Player of the Year, although he lost that position to Oscar this season before moving to United.

But the presence of star forwards Van Persie and Wayne Rooney means manager Moyes has not selected him in the middle since his bow against Cardiff.

And Mata added: “When we talk about them, we are talking about two of the best strikers in the world, Wayne one of the best for sure in the history of England and Robin as well is the captain of Holland so it is an honour for me to try and assist them because almost every chance you create is a goal.”

Mata said the size of United means that he is playing under a pressure he welcomes.

He explained: “When you see this club [from the] outside as a massive club, an enormous club and when you are in and you can feel everything that is happening inside, the repercussions around the world and the amount of fans.

"They expect you to win every game but it is good to have that pressure because that means you are playing at the highest level.”