Man Utd ‘will pay’ £67m for ex-Barcelona ‘jewel’ with Red Devils ‘increasingly closer’ to transfer
Man Utd are getting ‘increasingly closer’ to bringing a former Barcelona starlet to the Premier League in the summer transfer window, according to reports.
The Red Devils are having a terrible season in the Premier League with Ruben Amorim’s side currently 13th in the table after 29 matches.
Incredibly, Man Utd still have a chance of qualifying for the Champions League this season if they manage to win the Europa League, where they play Lyon in the quarter-finals.
The Red Devils’ transfer budget for next season could look very different if they qualify for the Champions League and Man Utd have some big plans if they can pull together a good amount of money.
Man Utd are looking for players who can fit into Amorim’s system with his current squad struggling to adapt to his playing style, philosophy and tactics.
And RB Leipzig attacking midfielder Simons has emerged as a target with reports in Spain claiming that Man Utd are ‘increasingly closer’ to signing the Netherlands international.
It is understood that Man Utd ‘will pay €80m (£67m) for the former Barcelona academy graduate, who has contributed seven goals and five assists in 18 Bundesliga appearances for Leipzig this season.
The Red Devils consider Simons ‘a key player in its long-term project and is prepared to make a significant investment to secure his services’ with his price skyrocketing in recent times.
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Leipzig ‘has historically been a selling club, and with such a high fee on the table, they could consider selling him to reinvest in other signings’.
In good news for Man Utd, Barcelona’s ‘financial difficulties have made it impossible to compete for his signature’ despite the Catalan giants ‘dreaming’ of the La Masia graduate’s return.
Former Man Utd midfielder Gordon Strachan insists that the Red Devils have not made any progress under new boss Amorim.
When asked if Man Utd had improved under the Portuguese head coach, Strachan told makthavare.se: “No, no, no, United have not improved under Amorim, and it’s okay, as I said to you before, sticking to your principles, but it’s not working.
“With this Man United team, you get great games at Tottenham, but you don’t get them at United. It’s a different thing.
“I’ve got to say that players are playing in positions they’re not used to. And Amorim looks like a great fella trying to do the right thing, but I’ve said it before, when I went to Middlesbrough, I tried to play a system that I thought was right, but didn’t suit the players that I had available at the time. So that was my fault.
“If you look into that, I think that’s what’s happening at Man United. I just think they’ve got players that are not used to this system, and they’re not comfortable in the system. That’s exactly what it is. They’re not comfortable in the system.
“And when I look at the back three, people say that gives you an extra defender. Sometimes it’s not, because your wingback gets dragged up the pitch.
“And defenders like De Ligt and Maguire, if they have a full-back alongside them, then they don’t get dragged out into wide positions. That’s a major problem if you’re De Ligt – you’re getting exposed all the time.
“Lindelof dealt with it OK. Martinez wasn’t too bad at it because he could get about the place and felt comfortable, but I don’t think this is a system that De Ligt looks or feels comfortable in.
“In the middle of the park, you’ve got two wonderful players in Casemiro and Eriksen, or players that were sensational over the years; great careers, but they’ve not got the legs to get about in there anymore.
“You can still protect them by playing like other teams, with a 4-4-2, and then one drops back, and it can feel more comfortable there. You can quickly feel isolated in midfield, especially if you’ve got players who don’t work hard enough either side of you.
“Amorim started off by playing with a back five and then two in the middle of the park, two wide men and one up front. That’s the kind of way they started playing the system at Man Utd. Now it’s like three in the middle of the park and two up front with one dropping back. Whatever it is, it’s not working.”
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