With the Aaron Wan-Bissaka deal now done, the Crystal Palace right back becomes the second signing of this summer transfer window for Manchester United. So who will be the third?
There seems to be two front-runners right now, and they’re both midfielders- Newcastle United’s Sean Longstaff or Sporting Lisbon Captain Bruno Fernandes. Both of which have been heavily linked in transfer narratives already this summer. United begin training in just three days, and fly out to Perth next week to commence their preseason friendly tour.
The Evening Standard reports that the club hopes to sign three more players between now and then. We’ll start with Fernandes, where United go to the bargaining table, ES writes:
“knowing Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham have all pulled out of the running for the Portugal international.”
Meanwhile ESPN claims: “there have been informal meetings with Fernandes’ agent Miguel Pinho in London, although talks covered a range of topics.”
The transfer fee is reportedly expected to be in the neighborhood of £65 million, and if that is the case, then the Portugal international would become the third most expensive player in United’s history behind only Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku, both of which are rumored to potentially be exiting the club this summer.
In regards to Longstaff, United reportedly feeling pretty confident there as well. The departure of Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez has provided a boost for Old Trafford. The Samford Crimson has an excellent graphic chart which shows how the 21-year-old sizes up statistically against United’s current midfield.
The Standard says that “United are the only top flight club to express an interest in him so far and believe they can secure him for a cut price £25m.”
Other top targets this transfer window include Youri Tielemans, Christian Eriksen and Harry Maguire, among many others.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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