Man Utd star ‘close’ to exit ‘in 48 hours’ as ‘phone call’ with Euro giants boss moves £50m deal along

Joe Williams
Man Utd winger Alejandro Garnacho
Alejandro Garnacho has been linked with a move away from Old Trafford.

Man Utd winger Alejandro Garnacho is edging closer to a move away from Old Trafford after speaking to Napoli boss Antonio Conte, according to reports.

The Red Devils have had a terrible first half of the season with Ruben Amorim unable to turn things around after replacing the sacked Erik ten Hag in November.

Amorim’s side had put a couple of good performances against Liverpool and Arsenal recently but two poor displays against Southampton – although they won 3-1 – and Brighton have squeezed the positive energy out of many Man Utd fans.

Yankuba Minteh put Brighton ahead against Man Utd at Old Trafford on Sunday before Bruno Fernandes scored a penalty to bring the Red Devils level before half-time.

But Kaoru Mitoma and Georginio Rutter scored two second-half goals to give Brighton a 3-1 win and see Man Utd remain 13th in the Premier League table.

Man Utd are hoping to provide Amorim with some reinforcements but it’s understood that they will have to sell before they buy anyone in the January transfer window.

One player who is attracting lots of interest is Garnacho with the Man Utd winger the subject of two bids from Napoli, while Tottenham are also reportedly keen on his services.

And now Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport insist that Napoli could seal a deal for Garnacho ‘in 48 hours’ as the Italian club face ‘decisive days’ in their pursuit of the Man Utd winger.

Garnacho has always been ‘first on the winter list’ after losing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to Paris Saint-Germain and the report has revealed that the Man Utd starlet has had a phone call from Napoli boss Conte.

The report adds:

‘Napoli have put 50 million euros on the table but the Red Devils, caught in the grip of Financial Fair Play, want to capitalise as much as possible on the sale of an Academy product who would be a net profit on the balance sheet and have put 60 million pounds on the table.

‘The blue club could reach 60 million euros (£50m): they could, and in any case no more. The agreement with Garnacho is close, it seems he has also spoken on the phone with Conte , while the sporting director [Giovanni] Manna will meet United in the next few hours: tomorrow, at the latest later.’

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Napoli sporting director Giovanni Manna suggested on Saturday that they are looking to land Garnacho before the transfer deadline but only on “Napoli’s terms”.

When asked directly about a potential move for Garnacho, Manna said: “We are making some assessments, he is an important player, but he is not ours.

“We must not get carried away even if we know that an important player has left, a top player as the manager defined him and therefore the expectations are high. But we will do something on Napoli’s terms.”