Man Utd consider hijack of huge PSG transfer as Liverpool steal top Ten Hag target
Manchester United are reportedly considering moving for Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti, who has an agreement to join Al Hilal, as Liverpool are moving to sign a top United target.
Throughout the summer window, Erik ten Hag has been looking to sign a new holding-midfielder. The necessity to do so became ever greater after Fred was allowed to leave for Fenerbahce.
Casemiro served a couple of suspensions last season, and Donny van de Beek and Scott McTominay – who aren’t favourites of Ten Hag anyway – might still leave.
United have reportedly identified PSG midfielder Verratti as a useful addition to the midfield. That’s according to French outlet L’Equipe, who state a United move for the midfielder can’t be ruled out after they registered an interest.
If Ten Hag’s side are to sign him, they’ll have to overcome Al Hilal. Verratti has reportedly agreed to personal terms with the Saudi side, though club negotiations are still ongoing, as PSG are asking for £69.5million.
As such, United will obviously have to make an offer worth more than Al Hilal’s, whatever that may be.
The Old Trafford outfit have been courting Sofyan Amrabat throughout the summer. The Fiorentina midfielder has been their top target for a while, but it looks as if Liverpool might now beat them to the transfer.
They are said to be ‘very close’ to sealing a deal for the midfielder, with personal terms already agreed.
Signing Verratti would see Ten Hag hit back at Liverpool, if he’s to lose out on his top target to the Reds. It was reported at the end of July that the PSG man had given the greenlight to the club to sign him.
As he was on their ‘priority list’, they reportedly made attempts to make the signing, before Al Hilal moved into the box seat. As such, if United manage to hijack the Saudi side, they’ll also, in a way, be hijacking their rivals.
They’ll also be getting a player who has played 416 times for PSG, and is clearly a very handy asset. At 30 years old, he could still have a good few years performing at the top level.
Wherever he does end up, it seems it’ll be away from Paris. United will hope it’s Old Trafford that he moves to, but it still remains to be seen whether or not they can make that happen.
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