Explosive Man Utd centre-back raid ‘only’ on via ‘crazy’ offer as Ten Hag told he’ll have to pay over odds
Giorgio Scalvini lines up ahead of match for Italy
Manchester United centre-back target Giorgio Scalvini will ‘only’ be sold for a ‘crazy’ offer of £52million, ‘even more so’ for a Premier League club.
Seven different players have occupied the centre-back spots for United so far this season. The constant chopping and changing cannot be ideal for a side hoping for some consistency while struggling in eighth place.
It’s not been easy for Erik ten Hag given a number of injuries, but he’s also made tactical changes.
One of the big ones was dropping Raphael Varane, who’s fallen behind Harry Maguire in the pecking order.
The Frenchman could soon leave United – he reportedly feels he’s being ‘pushed out’ by the club, and is considering accepting a move elsewhere.
Given he was the marquee centre-back signing when he joined in 2021, United will want to replace him with another big-name defender.
Scalvini is one of the main names cropping up at the moment, and it was recently reported United were ‘ready to agree’ a deal to sign the Atalanta man.
It was stated that the Italian outfit would accept a bid of £44million for his services.
United must pay over the odds for Scalvini
However, a fresh report suggests the Italian international will in fact command a higher fee.
According to Alfredo Pedulla, Atalanta have ‘no intention of depriving’ themselves of Scalvini in January.
But with their knowledge of the ‘appreciation of several top clubs’ such as United, they’ve slapped a ‘crazy’ asking price on him.
Indeed, it’s reported the offer should be ‘at least’ €60million (approx £52million), but ‘even more so’ for a Premier League club.
Knowing that United are desperate and can probably pay more than other sides, the Premier League tax comes into play.
It’s said only an offer of that price ‘could change the mind’ of Atalanta regarding Scalvini’s sale, which puts the ball firmly in Ten Hag’s court.
Scalvini would be third-most expensive United defender
United have broken the £50million mark for a defender on two occasions previously.
They did so most recently in 2022 when signing Lisandro Martinez from Ajax.
Maguire is their most expensive defensive signing, commanding a whopping £80million fee when he was snared from Leicester.
It would not be a surprise if the Red Devils dropped the £52million on Scalvini, being no strangers to paying over the odds for a player, such as when they did so for Antony in 2022.
