Man Utd make £21.4m ‘offer’ for Barcelona starlet as Laporta lines up transfer ‘sacrifice’
Man Utd have made a bid for Barcelona youngster Mikayil Faye as they battle Bayer Leverkusen for his signature, according to reports.
The Red Devils face a summer of change after Sir Jim Ratcliffe completed a deal to buy 27.7 per cent of the Premier League club from the Glazers.
Man Utd want at least one new defender this summer
Ratcliffe has already brought in Omar Berrada as the new CEO from arch-rivals and Dan Ashworth looks likely to arrive as sporting director from Newcastle if the two clubs can agree a compensation fee.
Man Utd recently beat Liverpool 4-3 in the FA Cup quarter-finals to give manager Erik ten Hag a bit of respite from speculation surrounding his future at the club, with Brentford boss Thomas Frank and others linked to the Dutchman’s job.
There have already been a number of rumours about potential top player targets ahead of the summer with Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise widely reported to be on Ratcliffe’s list of targets for the summer.
And transfer expert Fabrizio Romano recently revealed that a left-back is one of Ratcliffe’s recruitment team’s top priorities for the summer transfer window.
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“Manchester United have already planned months ago to bring in a new left-back in the summer; expected to be a young one, an important player,” Romano wrote on X.
“Shortlist to be decided once board structure will be completed but Man Utd will go for a new left-back, no matter what happens with Malacia.”
And the Daily Mail claimed over the weekend that Man Utd are ‘following’ Barcelona defender Faye, who can operate as a centre-back or a full-back, with Red Devils scouts present as he scored a brilliant goal on his Senegal debut against Gabon on Friday night.
La Liga and Serie A insider Matteo Moretto also gave an update yesterday on interest in Faye from a number of clubs, including Man Utd.
Moretto said in his Caught Offside column: “Mikayil Faye is a young player with great potential. Many European clubs like him, he has definitely been seen live by scouts from Manchester United and Bayer Leverkusen. He will have a lot of interest in the transfer market, but his future next season depends on the offers that arrive.”
Man Utd make ‘offer’ to Barcelona for Faye
And now Spanish publication Nacional insist that Man Utd have made an ‘offer’ of €25m (£21.4m) for Faye with Barcelona ‘constantly exploring options to be able to raise money and alleviate the complicated financial situation that it has been experiencing for many seasons’.
With Man Utd ‘interested’ in the 19-year-old Senegal international, Barcelona president Joan Laporta ‘will have to decide who is the sacrifice that leaves the club to alleviate’ the club’s finances.
Raphinha, Frenkie de Jong or Jules Kounde are all options, while Nacional predicts Faye – who is also interesting Bayer Leverkusen – will receive ‘many proposals’ and the offer from Man Utd ‘could be enough to convince the Barcelona entity’.