Manchester United are no strangers to wild transfer rumours circulating each and every transfer window, as is befitting the most successful club in English football.
And now, as reported in the Manchester Evening News, a shortlist of eight players have been lined up by United that they want to bring to Old Trafford this summer to boost their hopes of regaining their Premier League crown in 2018/19.
Although the Red Devils finished second the past season, it was a disappointing 19 points behind champions and cross-city rivals Manchester City and whilst their defence was admirably second best in the league, manager José Mourinho appears to want to solidify it further.
Surprisingly, the Tottenham Hotspur defender Toby Alderweireld is not the top target for Manchester United. Although linked with a move to the North-West throughout the season, as The Sportsman wrote last week, Manchester United and Tottenham’s valuations of the 29 year-old Belgian centre-half are a staggering £20million apart. Spurs are currently demanding around £70million for Alderweireld.
The reluctance of many Premier League teams to keep it ‘in-house’ and sell to a fellow top-tier team, as the Alderweireld saga is typical of, means that United’s gaze has moved wide across the continent.
Raphaël Varane is the highly-prized Real Madrid defender on Utd’s radar. The 25 year-old Frenchman, currently on international duty ready for the World Cup, may take a bit of coaxing. Los Blancos are currently coasting on the back of their 13th Champions League title.
Perhaps the most interesting name on the list comes in the form of Jerome Boateng. A former Manchester City player, it would mark the first time a Blue has found his way to the Red.
Germany international Boateng was bought by City in 2010 but only lasted one season before going onto considerably greater success at Bayern Munich and become a mainstay of the first team.
Having won everything there is to win with the Bavarians, Boateng is apparently seeking ‘a new challenge’ and his lack of commitment to City in the past would probably demonstrate he will have no qualms about playing for the red half.
Kalidou Koulibaly, the towering Napoli defender monikered ‘K2’, is another potential addition alongside the current defensive roster of Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelöf, and Phil Jones amongst others. An excellent season saw Koulibaly help Napoli run Juventus agonisingly close to the Serie A title.
The Slovakian centre-back Milan Škriniar of Internazionale, Milan’s Alessio Romagnoli, José Giménez at Europa League winners Atlético Madrid, and Freiburg’s defender Çağlar Söyüncü are also said to amongst United’s desired transfer options, the latter also said to be approached by Arsenal.
It looks set to be a busy transfer window for Utd with furious competition for signatures with clubs of similar standing, against the backdrop of the World Cup, and performances by certain names to feature on the Red Devils’ Wishlist will surely increase their value exponentially.
