Man Utd seek to beat €50m ‘pain threshold’ for defender as they fear ‘very painful’ striker talks
Man Utd are hoping to lure Bayer Leverkusen defender Jeremie Frimpong to the club in the summer transfer window, according to reports.
The Red Devils will be hoping to build on a positive first season under Erik ten Hag by providing him funds to strengthen his squad again in the summer transfer window.
A report in The Athletic suggested that Ten Hag will be backed in the summer regardless of the takeover situation at the club with INEOS founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Qatari bidder Sheikh Jassim looking to buy from the Glazer family.
Man Utd will apparently be able to ‘spend big’ even if the Glazers decide not to sell, with none of the bidders reaching their £6bn valuation, as they have a ‘revolving credit facility’ with a limit of £300m.
And Frimpong, who has scored eight goals and provided nine assists in 35 appearances in all competitions, is likely to be one of their targets and is attracting interest from top clubs around Europe.
Sport Bild claims the full-back has numerous suitors ‘especially Manchester United’ with Bayer Leverkusen putting the ‘pain threshold’ for a transfer at €50m.
A number of Premier League clubs have ‘set their sights’ on Frimpong with Ten Hag known to be a fan of the Netherlands under-21 international.
Man Utd will also look to strengthen their attacking options in the summer with Tottenham’s Harry Kane, Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Benfica’s Goncalo Ramos some of their top targets.
A recent report claimed that Kane was now their top target as they eye a new centre-forward with Ten Hag ‘sold’ on signing the Tottenham and England striker this summer.
However, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is a notoriously tough negotiator and CBS Sports reporter Ben Jacobs insists that Man Utd fear “very painful” talks over a possible move for Kane.
Jacobs wrote in his Caught Offside column: “I am still told Manchester United have many striker options and are concerned Levy either won’t do business or will hold out for £100m+ and make negotiations very painful. Kane will speak further to Spurs over the coming weeks, but for now it is important form turns around and his goals can help that.”
And transfer expert Fabrizio Romano insists that Man Utd will make a striker their main priority over a new midfielder.
Romano wrote on Caught Offside: “Despite reports of Manchester United wanting to sign a ‘no.8’ in midfield this summer, my understanding is that the focus is on a central striker, there is where they want to invest.
“However, it’s important to remember that the budget is not clear yet due to the club sale situation. Once the owners will be clear, we will understand budget, the main striker target, and also other positions to be covered.”
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