Man Utd Table £57m Bid As van Gaal Eyes Striker To Replace RvP

With the summer transfer window finally open for business, managers are working hard trying to strengthen their squads ahead of next season so we’ll bring you all the news and gossip. Today, Man Utd are linked with Thomas Muller….

Manchester United have tabled a £57m bid for Bayern Munich forward Thomas Muller as Louis van Gaal looks to replace Robin van Persie, according to the Express.

The Dutch striker struggled for form and fitness last season and with just one year remaining on his current deal, it appears the 31-year-old has been allowed to look for a new challenge and is on the verge of a move to Turkey.

The BBC claim that talks with Fenerbache are well under way while Sky Sports News go one further by suggesting that van Persie has already agreed terms over a four-year deal.

The former Arsenal hitman’s departure could leave United with just two recognised senior strikers as Javier Hernandez is also expected to leave Old Trafford, so there’s no doubt van Gaal needs to bring in at least one forward this summer.

And it looks like he’s eyeing an audacious swoop on Bayern Munich as the Express claim that United have set their sights on Thomas Muller and have now tabled a formal £57m offer.

However, the newspaper suggests that the bid has already been knocked back by Bayern with the German champions insisting they have no interest in doing business for the 25-year-old.

We’ll have to wait and see if that’s the case or if United could tempt them with an improved offer, but Muller would certainly be a major coup if the Red Devils could somehow lure him to Old Trafford this summer.

The Express claim that there’s been rumours of a supposed bust-up involving Muller and boss Pep Guardiola so you never know, Bayern may be prepared to cash-in if the offer is too good to turn down.

United have been linked with the German international for some time and Muller himself admitted just last week that he was honoured to have attracted interest from van Gaal’s side. When quizzed about United’s interest, he’s quoted as saying by the Express:

“When you get an offer you consider it automatically,”

“A request by a big club is an honour and appreciation that your output was good. But I feel fine at Bayern and my contract runs until 2019. There is nothing more to say about this speculation.”

van Gaal knows Muller well from their time together at the Allianz Arena and despite playing in a variety of positions over the past few years, he’s still managed to score 121 goals in 304 games for Bayern, so he’d clearly add a real threat to United’s attack if he made the move.

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Muller’s versatility will also be useful to van Gaal as he’s able to up front as a No.9 or from the wing, so he’d give van Gaal plenty of options in the final third. However, as it stands a deal is a long way off and it looks like United will have to go well above the £60m mark to persuade Bayern to do business.