Man Utd ‘big offer’ for Barcelona midfielder planned with Ratcliffe ‘willing to pay a fortune’

Manchester United are planning a ‘big offer’ for a Barcelona midfielder, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe ‘willing to pay a fortune’, according to reports in Spain.

United have completed two major signings so far this summer, adding Matheus Cunha from Wolverhampton Wanderers and Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo for a combined £127.5million.

They’ve also added youngsters Enzo Kana-Biyik and Diego Leon, taking their summer spending up to £134.8m.

Signing a centre-forward remains a priority for Ruben Amorim and Ratcliffe’s transfer team after missing out on new Arsenal signing Viktor Gyokeres.

The Red Devils have been in talks to sign Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig but face competition from Premier League rivals Newcastle United, who made an official offer for the Slovenian striker on Saturday.

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Amorim would also like to replace Andre Onana with a new goalkeeper but knows the Cameroonian has to leave for that to happen, while a midfielder could also be targeted.

One midfield player being linked with a move to Old Trafford this weekend is Barcelona’s Fermin Lopez, who scored eight and assisted 10 in 46 appearances across all competitions in 2024/25.

According to Spanish outlet Sport, United ‘would be willing to pay a fortune’ for Fermin, but Barcelona are ‘debating why a big sale is needed’.

Indeed, the Red Devils have ‘expressed direct interest in signing’ the 22-year-old and are open to making a ‘big offer in excess of €70m’ (£61.1m).

With the La Liga champions and the player’s camp ‘aware of the situation’, ‘it’s likely the transfer could go ahead in the coming weeks’.

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Barcelona are debating whether they should accept United’s approach, while Fermin decided at the start of the summer that he ‘wants to stay no matter what’, despite ‘approaches from a powerful Saudi Arabian club, Chelsea, and even Arsenal‘.

United’s interest has ramped up ‘significantly’ this week as Amorim ‘plans to add at least four more players’ before the summer window closes.

The Premier League giants apparently ‘raised this interest in meetings’ with Barca over Marcus Rashford – who has moved to Catalonia on loan – but ‘the negotiations weren’t coordinated’.

With negotiations completely separate, United ‘want to convince Fermin with an astronomical offer’ that would ‘practically double his salary’ in order to convince him to join.

While the report previously said ‘it’s likely’ to happen, it’s also said that ‘no one wants to leave Barca’ and the Spanish midfielder ‘has already said no to several Premier League projects’.

If the Red Devils offer around £61m, Barca ‘would be willing to negotiate’ to hel p solve their financial issues and ultimately ‘register all renewals, make signings, and even dream of adding more’.

Regardless, it’s stated that Fermin ‘holds the upper hand’, and it will be the player and his representatives who make the final decision.

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