We’re still waiting for all that hype that entered this summer transfer window at Manchester United to actually be realized, but hey, they have signed two new players, and that is more than a lot of clubs, even the big ones, have done so far.
Hopefully, there will be more signings to talk about between now and when the season starts. United are currently on their preseason tour in Australia, with their first friendly coming on Saturday. With all this in mind, here are some of the top trending transfer narratives in the Manchester United online community on this Friday.
We’ll start with the latest on striker Romelu Lukaku, who missed training yesterday with a “little problem,” as transfer negotiations have now begun with Inter Milan.
We have confirmation from Inter Sporting Director Piero Ausilio.
“It was an official approach between two important clubs. We’ll see what happens,” Ausilio told Sky Sports. “All the players we’re following are targets we’ve agreed with Antonio Conte. We want to satisfy his request within certain financial parameters.”
It’s been reported that United are holding out for £75 million, which would mean 1.) they would recoup most of what they spent on the big Belgian two summers ago and 2.) their net spend for the summer would actually be in the green, to the tune of about £5 million.
Of course, the positive ledger sheet standing may only be temporary, as the money generated from the Lukaku sale could fund the acquisition of centre back Harry Maguire, who they have been pursuing for a very long time.
It’s been reported that defender Matteo Darmian, who is surplus to requirements at United and thus wants away, could be part of the deal.
Also, the two sides might be a little too far apart on price right now, plus Inter supposedly want to spread the payment out across a couple years, and that it not something United will hypothetically be down with. So, in other words, there’s a lot of obstruction to this deal getting done, even though both Lukaku and Inter want it.
Elsewhere, United look set to miss out on another transfer target, a man very much in demand, Ajax defender Matthijs de Ligt.
The 19-year-old is wanted by more than United; all the big boys in Europe have been after the young, talented Dutchman.
Dutch publication De Telegraaf reported early yesterday that the defender deluxe is closing in on a move to Juventus. Thus is appears Juve superstar and United club legend Cristiano Ronaldo has succeeded in recruiting pitch to the next big thing.
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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