‘He will 100% leave’ – Romano tips Ten Hag to offload two Man Utd stars as transfer priority emerges
Fred and Donny van de Beek are reportedly expected to leave Man Utd imminently as they seek to generate funds to bring in more transfer targets.
Erik ten Hag has already signed the likes of Mason Mount, Rasmus Hojlund and Andre Onana and it now seems the manager is keen to bring in another midfielder and a centre-back.
Barcelona defender Andreas Christensen is one player who has been heavily linked with a switch to Old Trafford recently. The Red Devils have already made ‘made an offer’ worth €50m (£43m) for him,’ but face competition from Liverpool.
Sofyan Amrabat, on the other hand, has long been considered to be Man Utd’s top midfield target.
Fiorentina reportedly rejected their latest transfer offer, though, so they will have to increase that if they want any chance of signing him.
With that in mind, selling unwanted players such as Fred and Van de Beek is exactly the kind of thing they will have to do if they want to fund those deals.
Now, according to reputed transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano, Ten Hag is planning to do just that.
On Sunday, Romano wrote on Twitter: “Manchester United expect Fred’s sale to advance next week. Sources guarantee he will 100% leave the club.
“Negotiations will also continue with Real Sociedad for Donny van de Beek.”
Galatasaray are considered to be the favourites to sign Fred this summer. The Brazilian centre-mid has reportedly given his green light to a move to the Turkish club while Man Utd are waiting for an official transfer offer.
Fred has been a key player for Man Utd in the past but has now fallen behind the likes of Casemiro, Mount, Christian Eriksen and Scott McTominay in the pecking order.
The 30-year-old has just one year remaining on his current contract, so won’t command a big transfer fee. It’s reported that Ten Hag is willing to let Fred leave for £12.9m.
Van de Beek has struggled with injuries since joining the Red Devils from Ajax in 2020. Overall, he has made just 60 appearances, with the vast majority of these seeing him come off the bench.
A move away from Old Trafford may therefore be the best thing for him. As noted by Romano, Real Sociedad are the big favourites to sign the Dutchman.
Reports suggest Man Utd are in talks with the Spanish club over the permanent sale of Van de Beek. Although, they are expected to suffer a huge loss from the £40m they spent on the midfielder three years ago.
Nevertheless, the seemingly imminent departures of Fred and Van de Beek will help Ten Hag bring in more players this summer, with Christensen and Amrabat considered to be two of his top targets.
