Man Utd in talks to sign “world-class” star in £50m transfer

Manchester United have intensified contacts in recent days to sign a new defender in a deal that could be worth more than £50m.

Ratcliffe lays out Man Utd transfer plans

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS are preparing for their first transfer window as part owners and have full control over sporting decisions.

One of their toughest calls could be on manager Erik ten Hag, who’s future is thought to be 50/50 at this stage. England boss Gareth Southgate, Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi, Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou and Brentford’s Thomas Frank have all been linked with moves to Old Trafford in recent weeks.

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Whoever is in charge may need to shuffle their playing squad ahead of the 2024/25 campaign, but talking to the media recently, Ratcliffe hinted that the Red Devils may not splash the cash.

“I’d rather find the next Mbappe than spend a fortune trying to buy success. It’s not that clever, is it, buying Mbappe, in a way? Anyone could figure that one out. Much more challenging is to find the next Mbappe or Jude Bellingham or the next Roy Keane.”

Then asked if he’d like to sign Bellingham, he added:

“It’s not where our focus is, the solution isn’t spending a lot of money on a couple of great players. They’ve done that over the last 10 years. The first thing we need to do is get the right people in the right boxes who are managing and organising the club and make sure we get recruitment right. It’s such a vital part of running a football club today, finding new players.”

One man who has been heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford is Juventus defender Gleison Bremer. There has been speculation that the Red Devils are ready to trigger the defender’s £50m release clause and are set to firm up their interest, and it looks as if that may have happened.

According to reports in Italy, Man Utd have now intensified contacts in recent days to sign Bremer, looking ‘to gain an advantageous position over their English competitors’, Chelsea, Liverpool, Newcastle United and Tottenham. Again, it is claimed that United have no problem paying Bremer’s £50m release clause, and they are also looking at Wolves midfielder Joao Gomes.

The centre-back has actually been Juventus’ second-best performer in Serie A this season, as per WhoScored, behind another rumoured Man Utd target in Adrien Rabiot.

Bremer, called “world-class” by CBS commentator Matteo Bonetti, was also praised by former Brazil boss Tite, who said after calling him up to the 2022 World Cup squad: “Bremer had this opportunity to be called up thanks to his career and performances of a high level at Torino and Juventus. Perhaps we got it wrong and didn’t observe him closely enough, because he deserved more of our attention a lot earlier.

“When he arrived here, in the games and the training sessions we did together, he gave such a sense of certainty. He really is a player of great quality.”