• Dutchman to hold discussions after finishing with Ajax
• He still intends to bring Steve McClaren back to the club

Erik ten Hag will arrive in Manchester on Monday to start preparations for his job as Manchester United’s manager.

The Dutchman, who was appointed on 22 April as the permanent replacement to Ole Gunnar Solskjær, had his final game as Ajax manager on Sunday, having already led them to the Dutch title.

• Former United assistant worked with Ten Hag at Twente
• McClaren had period alongside Ferguson at Old Trafford

Steve McClaren is expected to be confirmed as a member of Erik ten Hag’s coaching staff at Manchester United.

Discussions have been ongoing from some weeks between the former United No 2 and the incoming manager and the club regarding the appointment.

• Manager keen to sign player he worked with at Ajax
• De Jong’s preference is to continue in Champions League

Erik ten Hag will push to make Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong one of his first signings at Manchester United. The pair worked together for a year and a half at Ajax, the club Ten Hag is leaving for Old Trafford this month.

Contact has been made between the parties but no agreement is close. Barcelona’s financial troubles could make them willing to entertain offers of at least €70m (£60m), although Ten Hag would have to persuade De Jong of the merits of joining United given that the midfielder regards competing in the Champions League as a priority.

• Manchester United 3-1 Nottingham Forest
• Garnacho penalty secures trophy in front of 67,492 supporters

Alejandro Garnacho fired Manchester United to their first FA Youth Cup win since 2011 as Nottingham Forest were edged out in front of a record-breaking crowd at Old Trafford.

There were 67,492 in attendance for Wednesday’s final, smashing the competition’s previous record of 38,187, as the Red Devils’ teenagers provided a much-needed boost at the end of a wretched season for the club.

Youth Cup winner on a telling-off from Ferguson, which player was the best of the crop and that famous Lee Sharpe party

Lenny Taylor made only a single fleeting appearance for Manchester United’s vaunted 1992 FA Youth Cup victors and never played professionally but he remains enchanted by his experience at the club.

Taylor was released by Alex Ferguson days after David Beckham, Gary Neville, Nicky Butt and Ryan Giggs led Eric Harrison’s starlets to the 6-3 aggregate triumph over Crystal Palace that was the launchpad for their stellar careers. Yet 30 years later, and with close to 60,000 tickets sold for Wednesday’s final of the 2022 edition at Old Trafford between United and Nottingham Forest, Taylor exudes pride at a journey that began at a trial as a Birmingham schoolboy.

Buendía delivers a timely reminder, Werner’s woes continue apace and Jesse Marsch faces a fraught fortnight

Eddie Howe has worked wonders at Newcastle since arriving on 8 November – but only in one type of match. Against the big six (also, as things stand, the top six, despite Ralf Rangnick’s best efforts), Howe has managed only one point. The drubbing at the Etihad on Sunday was Newcastle’s 10th defeat in 11 meetings with the big six, the exception being the draw with Manchester United. But against the smaller fry, Howe has made all the difference. He inherited a team with no league wins and half as many points as Watford (five, from 10 games). On his watch Newcastle have racked up 11 victories, as many as Chelsea in the same period. They have one last chance to beat a big-six club when Arsenal visit St James’ Park next Monday. Tim de Lisle

Match report: Manchester City 5-0 Newcastle

Match report: Liverpool 1-1 Tottenham

Match report: Brentford 3-0 Southampton

Match report: Crystal Palace 1-1 Watford

• • 59-year-old rejects chance to work with Erik ten Hag
• ‘This type of project, I felt uncomfortable with it’

Fred Rutten has revealed that he turned down an offer to become one of Erik ten Hag’s assistants at Manchester United.

Rutten, 59, a former Netherlands midfielder who has managed a string of clubs over the past 20 years or so, including Twente, Schalke, PSV Eindhoven, Vitesse and Feyenoord, preferred to stay in his native Netherlands to be close to his family.

Ralf Rangnick apologised to Manchester United’s supporters after their “unacceptable” defeat which ensured the club will finish with their lowest Premier League points tally. United have been accused of being on the beach during their dismal season and Rangnick’s hapless team, who are in danger of missing out on Europa League qualification, were all at sea with Brighton rampant on the south coast.

Rangnick said: “To start with it’s important to apologise to our supporters. They came all the way from Manchester to Brighton. We were just not good enough from start to finish. The performance was very poor.

• Live Premier League updates from 5.30pm UK time
• Lingard plans to leave Man Utd even if Ten Hag wants him
• And you can email Scott with your thoughts

Both teams are coming off the back of satisfying three-goal wins, so there aren’t many changes to report. Brighton make one, and it’s enforced: Pascal Gross replaces the injured Enock Mwepu. Manchester United are unchanged. Marcus Rashford is ill, but Harry Maguire, having recovered from a back injury, takes up a place on the bench.

Brighton & Hove Albion: Sanchez, Veltman, Dunk, Cucurella, March, Bissouma, Caicedo, Trossard, Gross, Mac Allister, Welbeck.
Subs: Lamptey, Webster, Maupay, Lallana, Alzate, Steele, Duffy, Offiah, Ferguson.

• Interim manager had identified Luis Díaz among targets
• ‘Maybe I should have pushed … the answer at the time was no’

Ralf Rangnick has revealed his request to sign a striker in January was rejected by Manchester United despite the interim manager wanting cover after losing Mason Greenwood and Anthony Martial.

Greenwood was arrested on 30 January on suspicion of rape, assault and threats to kill and suspended indefinitely, and a few days earlier Martial had joined Sevilla on loan.

France midfielder has rejected a new deal at Old Trafford and is open to moving across the city to work with Pep Guardiola

Manchester City are considering signing Paul Pogba on a free transfer when the Frenchman’s deal expires at rivals Manchester United in the summer. The Guardian understands Pogba is open to crossing the city.

Pogba is interested in working with the Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola, who believes the World Cup-winner could operate in a deeper role in midfield. It would be a controversial move, following in the footsteps of Carlos Tevez, by leaving United for City and would see Pogba accept lower wages than he is currently on.

The stakes might not be high but this end-of-season encounter is not completely meaningless. Rather than challenging for the title or pushing for a Champions League spot Manchester United still need points to make sure of a Europa League place and avoid the Europa Conference. Brighton – ninth but only four points above Southampton in 15th – are seeking a highest top flight finish since they came 13th in the old First Division in 1982. To inch closer to their goals both must improve on recent form with Brighton having failed to win at home in their last eight and United losing their past four away matches in the Premier League. Cristiano Ronaldo also needs two goals to reach 700 in club football. Stephen Hollis

Saturday 5.30pm Sky Sports Premier League

Crunch time for Manchester City, Liverpool and Spurs, while Watford could be sent down

For the second week in a row, Liverpool can get their work done before sitting back to see how Manchester City fare. The extent of any European bounce or, in City’s case, hangover may be hard to predict but Jürgen Klopp’s men have certainly built up a fearsome head of steam to carry into the final four games. Like Liverpool, Spurs have a rival sitting just above them who, by and large, keep on winning: falling five points behind Arsenal this weekend could prove very costly going into Thursday’s north London derby and it adds to the sense that neither team can really afford anything but victory at Anfield. Spurs were not especially convincing in beating Leicester but, with an on-song Harry Kane and Son Heung-min kept fresh for the best part of a week, might fancy exposing any tired legs from that monumental comeback at Villarreal. Seasons are on the line for both sides, who would doubtless have preferred different opponents at this point. NA

Liverpool v Tottenham, Saturday 7.45pm (all times BST)

Manchester City v Newcastle, Sunday 4.30pm

• Lingard’s contract expires and he would consider move abroad
• He feels he has not been shown the respect he deserves

Jesse Lingard has resolved to leave Manchester United when his contract expires this summer even if Erik ten Hag tries to persuade him to stay.

Lingard feels he has not been shown the respect he deserves this season after more than 20 years at United and sources close to the player say his mind is made up irrespective of any overtures from the incoming manager.

• ‘Those kinds of players, we don’t have that many,’ says Rangnick
• Wants club to target strikers who play ‘in different positions’

Manchester United must sign two “modern” strikers who will bring real quality to the attacking positions when the new manager, Erik ten Hag, begins his squad rebuild, Ralf Rangnick has said.

Rangnick will step down as interim manager at the end of the season and the new Austria manager, who will remain at Old Trafford in a consultancy role, said finding someone to share the scoring burden with Cristiano Ronaldo will be one of Ten Hag’s top tasks.

There are only two ways Manchester United can ease this miserable season. Win the last three matches and, if not, play some sparkling stuff that offers hope for the future. On Monday night they achieved the first part of the quest to claim all their available final points. And also the second: this was as good as Ralf Rangnick’s team have performed during his stewardship.

It was crowned by Raphaël Varane’s 72nd-minute goal, his first for United, from a corner, 60 seconds before a walkout from the constituency disgruntled at the Glazer family. This was not observed in the numbers hoped for by the organisers: a sign of how the on-field product pleased home fans.

• Live updates from the 8pm GMT kick-off at Old Trafford
• United players to salute fans despite torrid season and protests
• Email Michael or get in touch via Twitter: @michaelbutler

The teams are out. Manchester United in their red shirts, white shorts and black socks. Brentford are in their all yellow away shirt.

“Is it just me that finds astonishing the comparative reactions of club supporters to their team’s current travails?” asks Eric Peterson. “On the one hand, the protests of a deeply disgruntled Manchester United fan base. On the other, the Everton fans who yesterday couldn’t have made more clear to their team how they have their back, both on the trip to the stadium and throughout the match. Proud to be a Toffee today in so many ways.”

• Lap of appreciation will go ahead after Brentford match
• Further demonstration against Glazers’ ownership planned

Manchester United’s players will perform a lap of appreciation following their game against Brentford on Monday evening despite being aware it could lead to a torrent of abuse from supporters given what has been a hugely disappointing season for the club.

United have three games remaining with the visit of Brentford the last at Old Trafford, before trips to Brighton and Crystal Palace. It is customary for teams to mark their final appearance at home with a post-match stroll around the pitch but there had been an expectation that United would ditch theirs given results and performances since August. United are sixth going into the game on Monday and have all but given up on qualifying for the Champions League having won only four of their past 11 league games, a spell during which they have also lost four away games in succession.

Barring the near-miracle of Champions League qualification this is surely the annus horribilis of Manchester United in the Premier League era. Even if they beat Brentford and Ralf Rangnick’s team win their final two games they can only equal their lowest ever total of 64 points in the competition and this is with a far more expensive squad than David Moyes had when his 34-league game tenure of 2013-14 ended on that mark. But, to paraphrase Samuel Beckett, United, must go, because, well, they have to, and move forward in the quest for better days. Jamie Jackson

Monday 8pm Sky Sports Premier League

Ralf Rangnick says that recruitment will be key for Manchester United going forward and has urged them to sign 'future top players' such as Dortmund's Norwegian striker Erling Haaland. 'My opinion is the club should try to find future top players and try to develop them,' he said.

• Rangnick calls on Manchester United to recruit ‘future top players’ like Haaland