THUGS’ ATTACK ON WOODWARD’S CHESHIRE HOME

bans for anyone guilty of committing a criminal offence or trespassing in the attack. A club statement read: ‘Fans expressing opinion is one thing, criminal damage and intent to endanger life is another. There is simply no excuse for this.’ Woodward, his wife and young children were not present. Sportsmail revealed exclusively this month that United had revived their bid for Fernandes after the player’s representatives and Sporting president Frederico Varandas held talks at the Premier League club’s Mayfair offices in London. Negotiations broke down between United and Sporting last summer over the valuation, and were in danger of doing so again with Sporting steadfastly sticking to their £67.8m demand for the player. United refused to meet the asking price and there were concerns the deal was on the verge of collapse. However, United’s stance paid off yesterday when they raised their offer slightly and Sporting accepted, ending the lengthy saga. United were surprised when the Portuguese club relented. It is understood the breakthrough was not linked to speculation yesterday that Barcelona were ready to buy Fernandes and loan him to Valencia as part of a deal to sign Rodrigo Moreno. Fernandes has been on United’s radar for five years and was their main target in this window. The player had also expressed a desire to move to Old Trafford, despite interest from elsewhere. Signing Fernandes would be a huge boost for United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who is desperate for reinforcements after injuries to Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford and Scott McTominay. Meanwhile, Solskjaer hopes that tonight United can rekindle the spirit shown in their Champions League comeback against Paris Saint-Germain last March — still the high point of Solskjaer’s time as manager. The Norwegian believes a similar feat is needed for his team to overturn a 3-1 first-leg deficit at Manchester City in the second instalment of their Carabao Cup semi-final. ‘It has to be a perfect performance to win with two goals against such a good team away from home,’ said Solskjaer, who will be encouraged by a 2-1 League win at the Etihad last month. ‘We’ve got to go into the memory bank and think PSG because we’ve done it against good teams before and that gives us hope. We’ve done amazing things — the PSG game is a good example.’