Euro Paper Talk: Ruthless Ratcliffe uses 22 y/o as Man Utd bait for Sporting star; John Henry’s ‘personal mission’ to sign world superstar for Liverpool
Facundo Pellistri could be used in a swap deal for Morten Hjulmand at Manchester United
Manchester United are set to dump Sofyan Amrabat and plan to sign a Sporting Lisbon midfielder as his replacement, Arsenal are ahead of Aston Villa in the hunt for a Roma star, while Liverpool chief John Henry is doing all in his power to bring a world superstar to Anfield.
MAN UTD TO SEND AMRABAT BACK AND WANT MORTEN HJULMAND
Manchester United have reportedly informed Sofyan Amrabat they will not be signing him permanently, having already identified Sporting Libson star Morten Hjulmand as his ideal replacement.
The Moroccan moved to Old Trafford over the summer in an initial €10m loan deal from Fiorentina, with United having an option to make the move permanent.
However, the World Cup semi-finalist has struggled to adapt to the pace of the Premier League and United coaches have reportedly expressed their concerns over the merits of making the 27-year-old’s signing permanent.
As a result, Manchester United has now seemingly decided they won’t be taking up that option to sign Amrabat and are instead actively pursing alternatives for players better suited to the tempo of the Premier League.
Now according to multiple reports, United have settled on Danish midfielder Hjulmand, who only moved to Sporting over the summer in a bargain €18m deal from Lecce.
The 24-year-old defensive midfielder stands 6ft 1n tall and is powerfully built, also possessing a great physicallity seen as perfect to thrive in the Premier League.
Sporting, of course, do not want to cash in and A Bola reports that, with United having scouted the two-times capped midfielder on five occasions, that any deal will cost United the player’s full €80m (£69m) exit clause.
Man Utd to use Facundo Pellistri as bait in swap deal
United chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe does, however, have a crafty tactic in mind to get the deal and done twist Sporting’s hand.
And with Uruguayan winger Facundo Pellistri put on the market and likely to leave, United have made clear they are willing to include the 22-year-old as part of any deal.
The former Penarol man has had very limited opportunities to impress since arriving in October 2020, managing a mere 24 appearances.
Nine of those have come this season, but Ratcliffe is reportedly of the mind that Pellistri is not of the standard required and has made it clear he is willing to move him, it’s been claimed.
Having starred for Alaves over two loan spells, it it little surprise to see reports linking the 18-times capped winger with a move back to LaLiga.
Indeed, Villarreal are among the sides strongly looking into a move for a player, who has three goals from 99 career appearances – all of which came while in his younger days in his homeland.
However, United would rather use Pellistri as bait to help push through a move for Hjulmand and in the hope Sporting may reduce their asking price further.
That said, a move this month does look difficult to pull off and it might be that United try and push through the move in the summer months, though they could offer Pellistri to Sporting now, on an initial loan deal, to help sweeten any deal.
DON’T MISS: Man Utd given encouragement to sign Champions League nemesis as attacker pushes for move
ARSENAL LEAD VILLA IN CHASE TO SIGN SPINAZZOLA
Arsenal are leading Aston Villa in the chase for Roma wing-back Leonardo Spinazzola, who is expected to leave the Serie A side this year with his deal due to expire in the summer. (Fabrizio Romano)
Borussia Dortmund will happily push through the Jadon Sancho loan deal, but they are already making it clear they don’t have the funds to sign the England winger on a permanent deal in the summer. (Sky Deutschland)
Aston Villa have not yet made a move to sign Lazio’s former West Ham winger Felipe Anderson, with Juventus reportedly in the driving seat to seal the Brazilian’s signing in the January window. (Fabrizio Romano)
PSG are leading Liverpool and Man City in race to sign Joshua Kimmich and are actively working on a deal to sign the Bayern Munich midfielder in 2024. (Sky Deutschland)
Newcastle are leading Manchester United in the race to sign Bologna striker Joshua Zirkzee and are willing to pay as much as €40m (£34m) to sign the Netherlands Under-21 international this month. (Tuttomercato)
Barcelona have increased their offer to sign 17-year-old Swedish midfielder Lucas Bergvall, but still remain behind Eintracht Frankfurt in the race to sign the €15m-rated Djurgardens talent. Manchester United and Juventus are also on his trail. (various)
PSG INTEREST IN DIEGO LLORENTE EXPLAINED
PSG’s interest in signing Diego Llorente from Leeds is genuine and they are preparing a move to sign the Spaniard ahead of his loan club, Roma. Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique was a big fan of the 30-year-old defender while in charge of the Spain national side and sees the centre-half as ideal cover for the injured Milan Skriniar. (AS)
Rangers are reportedly in talks with Fenerbahce over the signing of former Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi. (various)
Ajax are leading the chase to bring Jordan Henderson back to Europe and are ready to reach out to the former Liverpool man to see if he would be keen on a move to Amsterdam from Al-Ettifaq. (ESPN)
Victor Osimhen’s agent, Roberto Calenda, has joined the Napoli striker in condemning Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s agent, Mamuka Jugeli, over his claims that the Nigerian striker would sign for a Saudi Pro-League club this summer. Osimhen already branded Jugeli a ‘a piece of filth and a disgrace’. (various)
Juventus expect to sign Tiago Djalo next week after agreeing a €3.5m fee for the Portuguese centre-half with French side Lille. The Bianoneri are funding the deal via the 20% sell-on clause they have in (Fabrizio Romano)
Barcelona have dropped their interest in signing Girona midfielder and captain Aleix Garcia after being informed of his €20m release clause and deciding it is beyond what they can afford to pay. (Mundo Deportivo)
Mario Balottelli is a target for Udinese, Salernitana and Empoli amid claims the controversial former Liverpool and Man City striker wants to leave Adana Demirspor. (Corriere dello Sport)
LIVERPOOL CHIEF ON A PERSONAL MISSION TO SIGN MBAPPE
Liverpool owner John Henry has made it is ‘personal mission’ to bring Kylian Mbappe to the club this summer and will leave no stone unturned, including the possible sale of Mohamed Salah, to make the deal a reality. (Mundo Deportivo)
Kylian Mbappe continues to be linked with Liverpool
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi will make one final push to get the 25-year-old to stay, but will begrudgingly accept his free-transfer exit in the summer if his last approach fails. (RMC Sport)
Leicester City manager Enzo Maresca is targeting the signing of Inter Milan’s 28-year-old Italy midfielder Stefano Sensi. (Sky Italia)
Roma are close to handing Jose Mourinho a new deal after the Portuguese firebrand made clear his wish to stay. (Gazzetta dello Sport)
Barcelona have paused talks over the future of Atletico Madrid loanee Joao Felix amid claims they now no longer want to make the move permanent. (Sport)
Juventus are planning to meet with the representatives of English winger Samuel Iling-Junior’s to discuss a contract renewal. The 20-year-old, whose current deal runs out in 2025, has been linked with Aston Villa and Tottenham, with Unai Emery ready to make an official offer to bring him to the Midlands. (Tuttosport)
