Man Utd ‘close’ to finalising two signings as INEOS ‘accelerate’ £84m double deal
Man Utd are closing in on the signings of Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres, according to reports.
The Red Devils had a nightmare season in the Premier League with Ruben Amorim’s side finishing 15th in the table and failed to qualify for Europe.
Man Utd had a last-gasp chance to qualify for next season’s Champions League but blew it when they lost 1-0 to Tottenham in the Europa League final last month.
Despite their awful season, INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe have decided to stick with Amorim as they head into the summer and then next campaign.
They want to provide the former Sporting CP head coach with the tools to be able to implement his style of play effectively and they will back him in the transfer market.
Man Utd have already brought in Wolves forward Matheus Cunha for £62.5m as they look to improve his attack, while Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo is another player they have made a bid for.
READ: Mailbox: Man Utd ‘doing transfers right’ or ‘spaffing money around’?
Sporting CP striker Gyokeres has long been linked with a move to Old Trafford, due to his connection with Amorim, but it was thought that he wouldn’t be interested in a move without Champions League football football.
However, former CBS Sports journalist Ben Jacobs revealed on Thursday that the Sweden international is “very keen” on a transfer to Man Utd despite the lack of European football next term.
Jacobs told The United Stand: “My understanding is that Viktor Gyokeres would be very keen on a move to Man United if they could pull that off, financially speaking.
“I don’t think Gyokeres would be on £300,000 a week or more. So if Rashford and Sancho go they’ve got wage bill space to invest in these players, so that’s why if they bite the bullet on the transfer and agent fees, if they structure it in a way where they can start in the next financial year and get it on flexible instalments, it can be a way they can do that deal.”
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And now Spanish website Fichajes insists that Man Utd are now ‘close’ to two signings as they ‘accelerate’ in order to seal deals to sign Gyokeres and Aston Villa goalkeeper Martinez.
Man Utd ‘want to begin its rebuilding campaign with authority and has decided to make two strategic signings’ in Gyokeres and Martinez with INEOS ‘working to finalise both signings for a total of €100m (£84m), in a clear bid to turn things around after one of the most dismal seasons in its recent history’.
Martinez, who would be a replacement for Andre Onana, is ‘very close to leaving Aston Villa to become the Old Trafford side’s new goalkeeper’ after the Man Utd number one has ‘generated doubts since his arrival’.
It is understood that talks are ‘progressing smoothly, and the transfer could be around €30m’ while their ‘big target’ is Gyokeres with Man Utd ‘willing to pay the 70 million euros the Lisbon club is demanding’ with the former Coventry City striker ‘positive about the project’.
