Manchester United have entered the race to sign Wolfsburg star Kevin De Bruyne, according to reports in Germany.
De Bruyne, 24, has been linked heavily with a move to Manchester City this summer after a breakthrough season in the Bundesliga last year as he guided them into a second place finish behind Bayern Munich.
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The Belgian attacker has been valued at €50 million by his club and was thought to be close to a move to the Etihad Stadium after it was revealed last week that he was open to the move.
However reports in Germany recently have suggested that he’s not completely sold on the idea of joining the Blue side of Manchester and now Sport1 are reporting that Louis van Gaal has entered the race.
According to Sport1‘s report, translated here by Sport Witness, Manchester United are prepared to pay up to €75 million for De Bruyne, which converts to around £55 million and while no bid has been made yet van Gaal has entered the race.
EXKLUSIV! @ManUtd mit Louis van Gaal steigt in den Poker um @DeBruyneKev @VfL_Wolfsburg mit ein! @premierleague @MCFC - Gleich auf @SPORT1
— Christian Ortlepp 💯 (@OrtivorOrt) August 24, 2015
Bayern Munich have also been linked with a move for De Bruyne although they’re said to be more keen on bringing him in next summer.
De Bruyne himself has been pretty non-committal this summer about a move. Despite saying last week that he would be staying at Wolfsburg, his agent immediately came out to insist it was a case of words being lost in translation. The player has said he’s open to a move although he’s also repeatedly insisted that he is happy to stay at the Bundesliga outfit.
If van Gaal’s interest is genuine, it throws up some questions. While the former Chelsea man is undoubtedly talented, £55 million for a player where we already have an abundance of talent is seemingly unnecessary.
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Fans and media have been calling for Juan Mata to be used in the No.10 role that De Bruyne usually occupies and while he is also capable of playing on the wings, it would be another case of square pegs in round holes for the Manchester United manager.
With Adnan Januzaj’s re-emergance as well as the wonderful prospect that is Andreas Pereira all around the side too, De Bruyne is seemingly not needed at Old Trafford.
On the other hand, United are severely lacking a creative spark in the final third. De Bruyne got 18 assists for Wolfsburg last season with Bas Dost and Nicklas Bendtner ahead of him so with greater talent around him, he could be even more prolific.
He would also be the marquee name that the Reds and Ed Woodward have reportedly been searching for this summer. Rumours have emerged that Manchester United are interested in Neymar (who isn’t?) but nobody seems to be taking those seriously as astronomical fees are mentioned and, more importantly, a contract renewal with Barcelona is reportedly close.
Should the interest be genuine, it will be interesting to see if United can pip their rivals to the signature of a big-name player and one of Man City’s main targets all summer to really make a statement of intent about their season.