Manchester United set to hijack Arsenal’s move for Brazilian starlet
Defensive reinforcements are needed at Manchester United this summer.
The summer transfer window is open, and coveted players all around the globe are considering making their moves in order to carve a new chapter in their respective careers. For the Premier League sides, some substantial additions have already been made by some big and relatively small clubs. And it can easily be predicted that the drama of exchanging teams won’t be going to cease so fast.
While talking about confirmed businesses, Manchester City have already secured two big signings in the form of Nathan Aké, who joined from Premier League 2019-20 relegated side AFC Bournemouth for a jaw-dropping transfer fee of £41 million, and Ferran Torres, who publically criticised the “crooked” Valencia employees for selling him to City for an initial fee of £20.9 million without his consent.
In another part of England, Chelsea have garnered two bog guns in Timo Werner from RB Leipzig and Hakim Ziyech from Ajax Amsterdam for a total amount of around £80 million. If everything flows in the same way, there might be some more new arrivals at the Stamford Bridge before the end of the transfer period.
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The team that finished 8th in the Premeir League 2019-20 and won the FA Cup by beating Chelsea at Wembley Stadium are going down the same road alongside Manchester United, a team that somehow managed to finish third in the league, and Liverpool, the lifters of the devoted Premier League trophy after 30 prolonged years, having signed no one in the ongoing market so far.
Although there are doubts about whether Liverpool are going to spend a penny amidst the COVID-19 crisis this summer, Arsenal and Manchester United, on the other hand, might have no chance but to break the banks to strengthen some areas on the pitch should they want to close the huge gap of points on Manchester City and Liverpool.
The defence is one of those concerning areas both teams do want to refurbish. Having conceded 12 more goals than Manchester United in the 2019-20 Premier League campaign, Arsenal seems to be in a hurry than their counterpart. Manchester United are in the hunt for a left-footed defender, who could make their experience smoother while playing the ball from the back.
Having played with two right-footed centre-back all season, Manchester United have summoned unwonted difficulties upon them at the time of build up from the back. As United already have a right-footed ball-playing centre-half in Harry Maguire, who costed the club a reported £80 million transfer fee last summer, the idea now is to sign a left-footed defender who could occupy the left-hand side of the centre-back pairing for Manchester United.
Hence, you may have already watched the clip of Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer saying that United need a left-footed centre-back to the former AFC Bournemouth centre-back Nathan Aké at the end of their Premier League meeting at Old Trafford last July.
Things might not have gone well for the Mancunian side in the pursuit of Aké, as the latter ended up those speculations by joining United’s noisy neighbours; but all hope is not lost yet.
According to a report from a French outlet named La Voix du Nord (via Sportwitness), Manchester United could splash cold water on Arsenal’s intention to make a move for Brazilian up-and-coming superstar defender Gabriel Magalhães by hijacking the deal at the end of the day.
At the moment, Arsenal are believed to be the frontrunners in the race that has the teams like Manchester United, PSG, Lazio, and Everton in it. Lille OSC are expected to sell the 22-year-old defender for nothing less than €30 million.
In the middle of the financial conundrum when Arsenal had to declare 55 fresh redundancies last week, it is understood that paying €30 million would not be reasonable from any angle for the North London club. And Manchester United could take advantage of Arsenal’s financial deficiencies, spending €30 million on a ready-made defender, who is currently vying for a move to a bigger club.
Manchester United are currently wholeheartedly negotiating a deal for Jadon Sancho with Borussia Dortmund, and they would be able to start their hunt for Magalhães as soon as they conclude the Sacho saga. Whether Magalhães or Lille could wait for that long remains to be seen.
dark. Next. Utd have been braced for a huge Sancho twist
Do you think Manchester United could get Magalhães this summer?