Man Utd eye swoop for Serie A star in next stage of defensive rebuild
Manchester United are prepared to offer £20m for Inter Milan defender Denzel Dumfries as they look to further strengthen their defence this summer.
United have already secured the signing of Lille defender Leny Yoro, 18, in a £52m deal, but Erik ten Hag and the new-look INEOS board are keen to add further quality to the backline. Forward Joshua Zirkzee has also joined from Bologna.
Reports in Italy suggest Dumfries is the man in their sights. The Dutchman, 28, is out of contract next season and the Red Devils are keen to strike a cut-price deal.
Dumfries is very highly-rated and performed well at Euro 2024 this summer for the Netherlands. He joined Inter in 2021 and has played 98 Serie A games, scoring 10 goals. He helped them win the league title last season.
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It has been a remarkable turnaround at Old Trafford for Ten Hag. He was expected to be sacked before the FA Cup final, according to the Guardian, but victory over Manchester City at Wembley gave him his second trophy in two seasons and after talks with the board, he stayed and signed a new contract.
That could signal serious change. United have been linked with a move for Bayern Munich fullback Noussair Mazraoui after a reported move to West Ham broke down.
However, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano said United need to offload Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who is also out of contract next summer, with a swap deal with Inter for Dumfries mooted.
“Despite the rumours, I’m not aware of Noussair Mazraoui preferring a move to West Ham over Man United,” Romano told Caught Offside.
“Man United still have Aaron Wan-Bissaka and they need him to leave first in order to bring in a new right-back.
“The situation whilst I’m writing is that West Ham can make a deal happen now as they have agreed terms with Bayern, but they’re still working on the player side.
“It’s also true that Wan-Bissaka would like to move to Italy but at the moment it’s not something advanced or concrete.
“An idea offered by intermediaries since April/May was a swap deal with Inter’s Denzel Dumfries, but it’s just agents trying to make a deal for two players out of contract in 2025.”
United are currently in the USA on a pre-season tour but they will soon be returning to the UK ready for the Community Shield at Wembley before they host Fulham at Old Trafford in the Premier League curtain raiser on August 16.
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