Man Utd Chief Due In Spain On Tuesday To Wrap-Up £21m Signing

With the summer transfer window in full swing, 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 close-in on Pedro….

Manchester United chief Ed Woodward will fly-in to Spain on Tuesday to finally wrap-up a deal for Barcelona attacker Pedro Rodriguez, according to Sport.

With Angel Di Maria set to undergo his medical ahead of a move to Paris Saint-Germain [via the Express], United are now on the look-out for a replacement and it appears Louis van Gaal has set his sights on Pedro.

The Spanish international has been strongly linked with a move to Old Trafford this summer and the Mirror reported last week that United officials had held initial talks with Barcelona ahead of their friendly game in the United States last month.

It seems like the proposed deal is now on the verge of being completed as Spanish outlet Sport are reporting today that United chief executive Ed Woodward will arrive in Spain on Tuesday to hold face-to-face negotiations with Barcelona to finally thrash out a deal.

The newspaper suggests that United are hoping to agree a fee in the region of £17.5m (€25m) and while Barca will refuse to do business for anything less than Pedro’s £21m (€30m) buy-out clause, a deal is expected to be reached that may include various add ons.

Pedro played the full ninety minutes in Barca’s 2-1 defeat to Fiorentina yesterday which may have been one final attempt from Luis Enrique to persuade the player to stay, but I think it’s obvious he needs to leave in order to get more regular minutes under his belt.

The Spanish international has virtually no chance of breaking up the front three of Luis Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi, and with the 2016 European championships coming up next summer, first team football is vital for the player this coming campaign.

Sport say that Pedro already knows his future lies in Premier League and the president of the player’s first club, San Isidro, was quoted in the Express over the weekend as saying that the attacker’s mother had informed them he was heading for England.

Jaime Lorenzo is quoted in the paper as saying:

“The other day, Pedro’s mother told us he was leaving for England.

“I think it would be a good challenge for him and he will have more playing time.

“We will send him a gift! If the agreement is €30 million (£21m) at least €450,000 (£316,350) belongs to us, even though these contracts have some specific clauses.”

So it looks like it’s only a matter of time until United wrap-up Pedro’s signature and he’ll become their sixth major signing of the summer following the arrivals of Matteo Darmian, Sergio Romero, Morgan Schneiderlin, Memphis Depay and Bastian Schweinsteiger.

It’s a shame Di Maria’s move hasn’t worked out as he’s a top talent but I think Pedro will prove to be an excellent replacement and van Gaal should still have plenty of money left over to strengthen other areas of the squad.

READ MORE –> Man Utd transfer news

Despite not always being a regular, Pedro has still managed to chip in with 98 goals in 318 games during his career at Barcelona, while he’s capable of playing anywhere across the front-line, so he’ll be a very useful player to have around.

Nothing is confirmed as yet but if Sport are to be believed, a deal could be finalised as soon as Tuesday and I think it will be an excellent piece of business by United if they can take Pedro to Old Trafford this summer.