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Simon Stone in Los Angeles Chief football news reporter Manchester United wide-man Amad Diallo got some advice from an unexpected source on his holidays this summer, after bumping into fellow Ivorian Yaya Toure in the Maldives. Yaya Toure, his brother and fellow former Manchester City star Kolo Toure, and former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, are three of the most influential Ivory Coast players of all time And Amad was delighted Toure took the time to speak to him. "Drogba and the Toure brothers are big legends from my country, " the winger told BBC Sport. "This summer, I met Yaya Toure on holiday and he gave me some advice. " Amad was not keen on revealing the secrets of his conversation with the former Barcelona and Manchester City star, but he intends to use it to help him make more of an impact at Old Trafford this season. "What is said is a secret, " laughed Amad. "As a midfielder, he scored a lot of goals with City, so meeting him on holiday and talking with him was very important for me. "He gave me some advice for the season, so let's see what happens. " The latest episode of BBC Radio Manchester's The Devils' Advocate podcast discusses the possibility of Manchester United building a new 100, 000-seater stadium. Our reporter Simon Stone explained earlier this week that the owners hope to make a final decision on whether to spend more than £2bn on a new stadium by the end of 2024. Presenter Gaz Drinkwater: "This is Manchester United, the biggest club in the country, and we need a stadium that is an absolute behemoth and that looks like what they're trying to do. "We sell out [Old Trafford] every game and there's still so many people on the season ticket waiting list. I think it [a new stadium] is fantastic - we'd sell it out every game. It'd be the jewel of the north - I am ecstatic. "You don't just have it for Manchester United - it's a community asset, you would have a load of shops around it, you'd use it for gigs and you'd use it for other sporting events. It'd be somewhere that everyone in the north in 30 years' time will have been to. " However, no decisions have been made yet and how the stadium would be financed is one of the subjects that remains under discussion. Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds Simon Stone Chief football news reporter There is some scepticism from environmental campaigners about the Real Betis-inspired ‘The Greenest Game’ initiative around tonight’s pre-season encounter with Manchester United in San Diego. Even Real Betis chief executive Ramon Alarcon admitted the club are trying to do something positive to counter the damage caused by flying to California in the first place. Nevertheless, organisers claimed 65 volunteers set about working on the San Diego riverbed on Tuesday. Collectively, they said, over 500 pounds of rubbish were removed from the Mission Valley Preserve. Read more on the initiative here Simon Stone in Los Angeles Chief football news reporter Manchester United star Amad Diallo says he wants to stay with the Old Trafford club for the rest of his life. Amad's current contract expires next summer, although the club do have an option to extend for another year. There have been suggestions over a new deal but, with the club willing to listen to offers for most of their first-team squad, the 22-year-old's future is not certain and contract talks are not due to take place until the transfer window has closed. But - if the Ivory Coast international has his way - he knows what he wants to happen. "Yes, why not? " he replied, when asked if he would like to extend his stay at the club. "I am very happy here and I think everyone is happy with me, because I smile with everyone and bring good energy. "Why not stay here all my life? " After successful loan stints at Sunderland and Rangers, Amad was hoping to make a positive impression at United last term - only for a knee injury sustained in pre-season to keep the £19m signing from Atalanta sidelined until the end of December. That was a significant setback and then it took him until his last-gasp extra-time winner in the FA Cup quarter-final against Liverpool in March to convince manager Erik ten Hag that he was worth a regular place in his squad. However, overcoming adversity and tricky situations is not unusual for Amad, given he left his native Africa for Italy when he was a child. "My dream was to play football, " he said. "I was born in Africa, but I left when I was young to go to Italy with my mum. "I grew up there and I'm happy to be here now. " Pat Nevin Former footballer and presenter Players like Manchester United’s Rasmus Hojlund are already suffering from hamstring injuries two weeks before the season even starts - and they say the modern preparation regimes are better, safer and more scientific! They probably are better. At least the players do not have to go through some of the borderline sadistic routines that previous generations did. Back then, after a decent length of summer break, pre-season meant working incredibly hard over a short period of time to get yourself back in top condition fast. Sprinting up and down gigantic sand dunes against the clock until many players were physically sick was de rigueur, alongside other road runs and track work. Here is the weird part: I used to look forward to that, the way a class swot looks forward to exams. Being smaller, lighter and a committed long-distance runner all my young life, even before I became a pro footballer, it was, if not exactly a piece of cake, then certainly much easier for me than most of the rest of the team. I have asked many modern managers what they would prefer to do in a perfect world during their pre-season. The most common answer is "just about anything other than what we are forced to do now! " Sign up to the Football Extra Newsletter here Manchester United are working to reach an agreement with out-of-contract France midfielder Adrien Rabiot, 29, who left Juventus this summer. (Caughtoffside), external United are expected to sign a replacement if they complete the sale of 27-year-old Scotland midfielder Scott Mc Tominay, with Fulham set to make a new offer. (Football Insider), external Tunisia winger Hannibal Mejbri is close to joining Rangers. The Scottish club want a loan deal but United would prefer a permanent exit for the 21-year-old. (Teamtalk), external Want more transfer news? Read Wednesday's full gossip column On this week's The Devils' Advocate podcast from BBC Radio Manchester, hosts Gaz Drinkwater and Joe Mc Grath discuss the latest on the future of Manchester United's stadium. They also catch up with fans in the United States as the Red Devils continue their pre-season tour and chat about injuries, after Rasmus Hojlund and Leny Yoro came off in the defeat by Arsenal. Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds Pat Nevin, former Chelsea, Everton and Scotland winger writing in his Football Extra newsletter: The pre-season friendlies are in full swing and let's be straight about this, the players generally hate these games, whatever they say. They clearly haven't had enough rest in the summer, it is a grind getting your body back into peak shape, especially if the accumulated injuries from last season haven’t been allowed to fully recover. The games themselves are weird affairs, where you would like to win but that is nowhere near the most important thing. Fitness, integrating new players, possibly a new manager and sometimes a new system are each more important. You also know full well that it is a hotch-potch of a team selection to give players minutes. The fans, mass media and social media will read far too much into every game and every performance. From within the team itself, there are different motivations. A young or new player being given his first chance will be racing about like an overexcited spaniel. Other experienced players will be easing themselves back into it, the primary concern in their minds is to be fit and healthy come the first weekend of the Premier League season. ‌Deep down they don't worry if they get thumped by Celtic or DC United on their US tours, nobody at Chelsea or Aston Villa will remember or care about these results in two weeks' time. ‌Unless of course you are a DC or indeed Celtic fan. The Celts just beat Chelsea and Man City. Now that is impressive pre-season form or is that just Scottish bias. Sign up to the Football Extra Newsletter here Simon Stone in Los Angeles Chief football news reporter West Ham are interested in signing full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Manchester United. Julen Lopetegui is keen to add a quality right-back to his squad and have agreed a fee with Bayern Munich for Morocco international Noussair Mazraoui. However, they have been unable to conclude a deal as Erik ten Hag's side have also expressed an interest in the 26-year-old. If Mazraoui joined the Old Trafford outfit, the Red Devils would be open to letting Wan-Bissaka leave. The former Crystal Palace player has a year left on his contract and sources had suggested a preference on Wan-Bissaka's part to wait before assessing his options. However, his stance may be softening which could lead to a deal being done. Wan-Bissaka, 26, has made 190 appearances for United since joining the club from the Eagles for £50m in 2019. Simon Stone Chief football news reporter in Los Angeles Is there anyone out there who thinks the modern day Premier League footballer just goes out to play? Watching Bournemouth, Arsenal and Manchester United train and play in Los Angeles over the past week or so, the number of backroom staff around has been amazing. Some information via United explains why. The club's physical performance team has been assessing each individual player's fuelling and hydration during their pre-season tour. Fluid loss has been measured using sweat patches. The results are then analysed to help identify the best hydration strategy for each individual player. Simon Stone Chief football news reporter Complications in renovating the 74, 310-capacity Old Trafford, which has been Manchester United’s home since 1910, include a railway line at the back of the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand and having to significantly reduce capacity during building works, causing inconvenience to fans and a major loss of revenue. Unlike Tottenham, who played at Wembley while their £1. 2bn stadium was being completed, United have no obvious alternative ground to use. The club want something in keeping with their roots in an industrial city and it is anticipated the statues around the current stadium would be relocated to any new ground. Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants local and national government to play some part in funding the overall project although, realistically, that is likely to involve transport links. Exactly how the stadium would be financed is one of the subjects still under discussion. At current exchange rates, United’s present debt is £647. 5m, excluding outstanding transfer fee payments, made up of $650m (£504. 5m) historic debt as a legacy of the Glazer family takeover in 2005 and £143m from a rolling credit facility. Read more on the club's stadium plans here Simon Stone Chief football news reporter There was some good news on the injury front for Manchester United on Sunday as Victor Lindelof returned to training. The Sweden defender is yet to play a match during United's pre-season campaign due to what was described as a "slight niggle". The 30-year-old made 28 appearances last term and his return may be well timed given the injury that left new signing Leny Yoro limping badly as he was substituted during the first-half of Sunday's defeat by Arsenal in Los Angeles. United said on Sunday they were still assessing the extent of the problems for Yoro and striker Rasmus Hojlund, who was also forced off through injury. After Manchester United 2-1 pre-season defeat by Arsenal, we asked you to have your say on the game. Here are a selection of your responses: Will: Injuries again. Unless we get more cover I'm already concerned for the season. You can't afford to fall behind even early in the season and these two injuries look serious. Don't know if it's bad luck, training methods or players not able to withstand the schedule, but we have to try and sort it or it's another long season ahead. Peter: It's early days, but looks the same as last season. We need to win, this builds confidence and momentum. We have to play with style, fluidity and passion. Poor result. Tom: Lots of good performances and passion in the first half. However, in the second half there was plenty of evidence of misdirected passes and sloppy play. It's a trait which, sadly, was far too evident last season and needs to be sharply rectified if the team is to improve their poor 2023-24 position. Get a grip coaches. Mrrostrevor: The usual menu of nothingness from a Ten Hag team. Again, no structure or perceived idea of a game plan. United should have taken their chance and got rid of him and finally ended this nonsense. A fresh start is needed. Now we're going to have to wait for his dismissal before this can happen. Paris St-Germain have an agreement in principle with 24-year-old English forward Jadon Sancho, but they must meet Manchester United's asking price of about £50m. (Sports Zone - in French), external United could target one of 26-year-old French right-back Nordi Mukiele, 23-year-old Uruguay midfielder Manuel Ugarte or 29-year-old Slovakia centre-back Milan Skriniar in a potential swap deal for Sancho. (Express), external West Ham have opened negotiations over a deal to sign English right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Manchester United, who value the 26-year-old in excess of £15m. (Sky Sports), external Manchester United have agreed a fee of between £15m-20m to sign Morocco right-back Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich but need to offload Wan-Bissaka first. (Guardian), external Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag says they have to be "positive" as they wait for news on injuries to Rasmus Hojlund and Leny Yoro. Striker Hojlund scored after 10 minutes in United's 2-1 defeat by Arsenal at So Fi Stadium in Los Angeles. The Denmark international seemed to experience a muscle injury after 15 minutes that meant he could not continue. £52m new signing Yoro's exit was equally innocuous. The 18-year-old defender, who only joined United from Lille 10 days ago, went down and needed lengthy treatment, before he too called it a day. "Of course it is too short [to know about their injuries] and we have to wait over 24 hours, then we will hopefully know more, " Ten Hag said after the match. "We were careful especially with Leny [Yoro] as he only did 50 per cent of the [training] sessions. "He has to come up but let's be positive and see what comes out. " Despite the Red Devils' bright start, Gunners forward Gabriel Jesus levelled with a close range finish after 25 minutes, which Ten Hag was certain should have been disallowed for offside. Substitute Gabriel Martinelli then cut inside 17-year-old rookie full-back James Scanlon to score the winner. "I think [the game] was a very good level for the third week of pre-season, from both sides, but in the first half I thought we were the better team, " added Ten Hag. "We scored a very good goal, a very good ball in behind from [Marcus] Rashford and then [Rasmus] Hojlund with a very good move and a finish, I was very pleased. We also created some more good chances and we then conceded the goal which was offside. " Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund and £52m new signing Leny Yoro both suffered first-half injuries as the Red Devils lost their opening US tour game against Premier League rivals Arsenal 2-1 in Los Angeles. Hojlund had given his side a 10th-minute lead before seeming to experience a muscle injury after 15 minutes. Gunners forward Gabriel Jesus levelled with a close range finish after 25 minutes, before substitute Gabriel Martinelli cut inside 17-year-old rookie full-back James Scanlon to score the winner. United did triumph in a pre-arranged penalty shoot-out that followed, with Jadon Sancho scoring the decisive spot-kick to seal a 4-3 win. Arsenal fans, let us know your thoughts, external What did you make of the display, United fans? , external David Lockwood BBC Sport Editorial Sustainability Lead Los Angeles or Chesterfield? San Diego or Salford? The pre-season destinations of 20 Premier League clubs may be varied, but the issue remains the same - the impact of so many flights. Half (10) of the clubs have flown to the United States for friendlies; three have travelled to the Far East and the rest are in Europe and the UK. Manchester United's pre-season schedule see them flying almost 13, 000 miles playing fixtures in Norway, Scotland, and across the US. Chelsea and Tottenham are also expected to fly in excess of 12, 000 miles. In contrast, Everton will fly the least, with just one fixture outside the UK in the Republic of Ireland. Spurs and Newcastle also played an exhibition fixture in May - three days after the season finished - for which they both flew to Melbourne, Australia, a game Alan Shearer described as “madness”. Add in those air miles and both teams will have travelled in excess of 30, 000 air miles in the close-season, equivalent to more than once around the globe, to play in non-competitive matches. Newcastle and Spurs both have a target to be Net Zero by 2030, while Manchester United and Chelsea are in process of establishing an emissions reduction plan. Net Zero requires the reduction and removal of all 'non-essential emissions' - so are these games essential? Wycombe's David Wheeler is a leading sustainability campaigner in football and told BBC Sport: "These games are only necessary in the sense that the clubs want to make more money and grow their fan base". He added: "The vast majority of players don't want to be away from their families, they don't want to be travelling around the world after a full slog of a season. They're overworked and injuries have gone through the roof, so there is a synergy between player welfare and planetary welfare. " An estimated travelling group of 30 flying 12, 864 air miles business class generates around 200 tonnes of CO2 - the equivalent of 500, 000 miles driven by an average petrol car, or the entire annual emissions for a year of 16 people in the UK. Tottenham said it is "committed to minimising its environmental impact" in all its operations, "which will take time and effort". The club says it "ensures" all teams travel "as sustainably as possible throughout the season". It "measures, manages and reports on travel emissions" and will offsets "where possible. " Read more about the Premier League's pre-season air miles here Including the May trip to Australia for Newcastle and Tottenham more than doubles those two clubs' total flights in the close-season and puts them way above the rest of the Premier League for environmental impact © 2024 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.