Man Utd: Romano reveals two ‘cheaper options’ in midfield with ‘top target’ costing ‘crazy money’
Manchester United are reportedly considering two “cheaper options” as alternatives to Manuel Ugarte, with the PSG star likely to cost “crazy money”.
Man Utd have already spent around £90m to sign Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro this summer. They now have deals in place to sign Bayern Munich pair Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui.
Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his recruitment team reached an agreement with Bayern Munich and this “double deal” is set to be completed in the coming days.
The arrivals of De Ligt and Mazraoui provide a timely boost after Erik ten Hag’s side were without several players for Saturday’s loss on penalties in the Community Shield against Man City.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has provided details on the cost of Man Utd’s deal with Bayern Munich.
“Now we can say that De Ligt will be joining the Red Devils for €45m plus €5m in add-ons. Bayern sources say these add-ons will be quite easy to reach, but it’s still structured quite favourably for United, and for Mazraoui it’s also €15m plus €5m in add-ons,” Romano said in his Daily Briefing column.
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“Now both players will travel to join United and both are set to sign five-year deals. In the case of De Ligt, this agreement was actually reached with his agent Rafaela Pimenta back in June, so he’s been waiting and waiting for United and was never negotiating with any other club.
“Mazraoui has also been waiting patiently since July, with United at times considering other right-back options like Vanderson and Denzel Dumfries. Still, Mazraoui looks a good option as he knows Erik ten Hag well from their time at Ajax, and he can fill in at left-back as well as on the right-hand side.
“So, this is the double deal between Bayern and United, and now Bayern are expected to sign one more centre-back.”
The Red Devils will now turn their attention to signing a new centre-midfielder.
Ugarte is their “top target” but they have been forced to look elsewhere as PSG are reportedly unwilling to lower their asking price.
Instead, Romano reveals Burnley’s Sander Berge is “one to watch” as he is on a list of “Plan B options behind Ugarte”.
“United also remain busy in the search for a new midfielder – they spoke with the agents of Sander Berge and have considered other options, but their top target remains Manuel Ugarte,” Romano continued.
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“PSG will have to drop their price as United will not pay crazy money, otherwise they could also sell one player in that position, it could be Scott McTominay or Casemiro, we will see, but they will likely need a sale in order to finance the deal.
“Still, United could also go for a cheaper midfielder, so Berge could be one to watch after contacts with his agent, while Sofyan Amrabat remains a player on their list even after they initially decided not to sign him permanently from Fiorentina after last season’s loan came to an end.
“Amrabat remains appreciated by Ten Hag, so there are some Plan B options behind Ugarte, but let’s wait and see what happens with PSG on that one.”
