Erik ten Hag and Sir Jim Ratcliffe are close to finalising the signing of Leny Yoro for Manchester United
Manchester United are closing on two more transfers after Leny Yoro, Fabrizio Romano has confirmed, Carlo Ancelotti has ordered Real Madrid gazump Arsenal to a €50m deal, while Liverpool are knocking at the door to seal a brilliant €60m midfield signing.
RATCLIFFE TARGETS DOUBLE MAN UTD SIGNING TO FOLLOW LENY YORO
Manchester United are on the cusp of signing Leny Yoro in what will be their second new arrival of a revolutionary summer window – and work is already underway with Fabrizio Romano confirming plans are being put in place for two more summer signings.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s persistence in chasing Yoro has paid off. For much of the summer, the French teenager had made it clear he only wanted Real Madrid after making it clear he would be leaving Lille with just a year left on his deal this summer.
However, Real’s refusal to pay the French’s side asking price for the player opened the door for Manchester United to pounce and now the promise of first-team football, together with the huge wages on offer at Old Trafford, have swung the pendulum firmly in their favour.
As a result, the 18-year-old is soon expected to sign on the dotted line in a deal worth £52m.
The Red Devils, though, are far from done and the club are ready to pursue two more major targets to follow on from both Yoro and their first signing of the summer in Joshua Zirkzee.
Indeed, their summer business is being led by new sporting director Dan Ashworth and his ability to quickly tie up both the Zirkzee and Yoro deals has won him plenty of early plaudits.
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With that in mind, United are ready to step up the hunt to bring in PSG midfielder Manuel Ugarte. The Ligue 1 champions have made it clear they are open to offers for the Uruguayan and having lined up a move for another Red Devils target – Joao Neves – as his replacement.
Romano confirms two more Man Utd transfers in the works
Ashworth and Co are also looking to sign another centre-half to go alongside Yoro and, while Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite looks beyond their price range, they do still hope to sign Matthijs De Ligt, amid claims the Bayern Munich defender has given the green light to a reunion with Erik ten Hag.
United will likely need to sell another centre-half to finance the deal, though, and are open to offers for both Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof, after saying farewell to Raphael Varane at the end of last season.
Confirming that United are super-busy and that plans are very much in place for more additions, Romano said on YouTube: “Manchester United keep working on several options also in the midfield, in case Casemiro deal accelerates with Al-Ittihad.
“After Zirkzee, after Yoro, the midfield is going to be a crucial position. This is the plan, this is the idea, Manchester United are ‘super active’ in the market.”
TEAMtalk understands that Ugarte is now United’s top target after appearing to be priced out of the race for Neves by PSG.
But as one door closes another one opens and they have been given encouragement in France that a deal is there to be done, with the French champions even open to the idea of letting Ugarte leave on loan if the deal contained an option to buy.
United still have a similar decision to make on Sofyan Amrabat who joined United on loan last summer for €10m and can still make the move permanent for €20m. However, with the player now back at parent club Fiorentina, the more time that ticks by, the less likely it seems that United will take up that option.
TWO REASONS WHY YORO SNUBBED REAL MADRID FOR MAN UTD
Leny Yoro decided to reject Real Madrid to sign for Manchester United after the Red Devils blew him away with the offer of a huge €9m a year deal (£145,000 a week) over five years and in the belief he would not have been a guaranteed starter at the Bernabeu owing to Carlo Ancelotti’s strong central defensive options. (Marca)
Ancelotti has requested Real Madrid act quickly to wrap up the signing of his new top defensive priority – Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies – and to ensure he does not miss out on another top target. (Marca)
Everton are close to finalising the signing of Napoli midfielder Jesper Lindstrom who is expected to join the Toffees on loan with an option to buy for €25m (£21m). (Corriere dello Sport)
Leeds United are ready to sanction the sale of Junior Firpo to former club Real Betis, with PEC Zwolle’s Anselmo Garcia MacNulty lined up as his replacement. (Estadio Deportivo)
Aston Villa are at the front of the queue and ‘confident’ of beating Barcelona to the extraordinary signing of Joao Felix this summer. The Portuguese forward is one of the world’s costliest players having moved to Atletico for €126m (£113m) back in summer 2019. (Radio Marca)
Unai Emery’s side are also tracking Raphinha as a potential replacement for Moussa Diaby, with the French star tipped to move to Al-Ittihad for €70m. Arsenal and Newcastle have both also been offered the chance to sign the Barcelona winger. (Sport)
Adrien Rabiot has called time on his Juventus career after rejecting their final proposal of a new deal, with a move to the Premier League now in his sights. Liverpool, Manchester United and Newcastle United have all been linked, while options to stay in Italy will arrive from Napoli and AC Milan. The France star is seeking a deal worth €9m a season – £145,000 a week. (Gazzetta dello Sport)
Liverpool, Chelsea and Juventus target Karim Adeyemi has refused to rule out a move away from Borussia Dortmund this summer after struggling to find his best form at the Westfalenstadion and amid claims he can leave for a fee of €35m (£29.5m). (Ruhr Nachrichten)
REAL MADRID READY TO HIJACK ARSENAL DEAL FOR CALAFIORI
Arsenal are in danger of losing the signing of Riccardo Calafiori as they continue to haggle over the breakdown of his €50m fee and amid claims Carlo Ancelotti has instructed Real Madrid to swoop for the Bologna defender. (Corriere di Bologna)
Tottenham interest in signing Federico Chiesa is genuine and an offer worth just €25m (£21m) is likely to be accepted by the Bianconeri with multiple sources in Italy claiming the transfer is ON. (various)
Leicester and West Ham will miss out on the signing of Juventus winger Matias Soule, with the player agreeing to join Roma, who have topped the Foxes’ offer by bidding €25m up front plus bonuses. (Gazzetta dello Sport)
Barcelona have made their first formal proposal to Athletic Bilbao in their bid to sign Nico Williams, amid claims they are trying to re-negotiate his €58m exit clause. The Euro 2024 winger has already agreed personal terms with the LaLiga giants. (Fabrizio Romano)
The Blaugrana have also met with the agent of Dani Olmo as they look to re-create the famous attacking formation that helped Spain to Euro 2024 glory. Manchester City are also looking to activate the €60m (£50.5m) clause in the playmaker’s RB Leipzig deal. (Mundo Deportivo)
Manchester United and Liverpool are set to miss out on Benfica midfielder Joao Neves amid claims the Portuguese teenager has formally agreed a move to join PSG this summer and with the French giants ready to spend €80m (£67.3m) on his signature. (Fabrizio Romano)
Former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has absolutely no interest in taking the vacant England manager’s job and would shut down any approach from the FA for his services. (Sky Deutschland)
Manchester City have been warned there is a very real possibility that Julian Alvarez will quit the club this summer amid claims Atletico Madrid are ready to launch a firm €70m (£58.9m) offer for the Argentina striker. (various)
LIVERPOOL CLOSING ON HUGE TEUN KOOPMEINERS TRANSFER
Liverpool are pushing hard to finalise the signing of Teun Koopmeiners in a €60m (£50.5m) deal and are seen as the ‘club in waiting’ to bring in the Dutch midfielder from Atalanta this summer with Juventus priced out of the race. (Corriere della Sera)
Arne Slot wants to reunite with Teun Koopmeiners at Liverpool
Tottenham Hotspur are ready to battle Arsenal over a deal for Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia. The 23-year-old is valued at €25m (£21m). (AS)
Former Liverpool defender Joel Matip is in discussions over a free-transfer move back to the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen. (Sky Deutschland)
Barcelona have not allocated Vitor Roque a shirt number this season, fuelling speculation the Brazilian will be allowed to leave. Meanwhile, 17-year-old sensation Lamine Yamal has inherited the striker’s No 19 shirt, having previously worn 27. (Sport)
AC Milan have been set an asking price of just €15m (£12.6m) after making an enquiry with Borussia Dortmund for the signing of Germany striker Niclas Fullkrug. (Sky Italia)
Atletico Madrid defender Stefan Savic is weighing up a three-year offer to join Trabzonspor having been cleared to leave Wanda Metropolitano by Diego Simeone. (Fabrizio Romano)
Atletico are pushing to sign €30m-rated (£25.3m) Real Sociedad defender Robin Le Normand as his replacement in central defence. (AS)
Tottenham striker Richarlison is set to be the subject of two Saudi approaches with both Al-Ittihad and Al-Qadisiyah having ‘set their sights’ on the Brazilian – with Ange Postecoglou tipped to use the funds to sign Lille striker Jonathan David. (various)
