Manchester United are reportedly in advanced negotiations to sign Fulham defender Kevin Mbabu in January, as per the Italian outlet TUTTOmercatoWEB.
The 27-year-old joined the Cottagers last summer from German club Wolfsburg for a fee of around £5m. However, the move hasn’t panned out for the Swiss full-back as he has struggled to find regular first-team football since moving to the English capital, making only one start in the Premier League so far this term.
Erik ten Hag has mentioned several times that he wants to add more options to his squad and if an opportunity comes up then the Red Devils will try to sign new players this month.
However, it has been reported that with the club being up for sale, the record Premier League champions are unlikely to spend big and would only look to make loan signings.
According to the report by TUTTOmercatoWEB, despite moving to Craven Cottage just six months ago, Mbabu – valued at around £6m by Transfermarkt – is likely to leave Marco Silva’s side this winter.
Mbabu to Manchester United
The report further claims that Manchester United are showing an interest in signing Mbabu and are in advanced talks to lure the Switzerland international to Old Trafford.
Following Ten Hag’s appointment last summer, Diogo Dalot has been the first-choice right-back for Man Utd. Aaron Wan-Bissaka struggled with injury issues during the first half of the season and first-team football was hard to come by.
It was reported that Ten Hag wasn’t been impressed by the Englishman’s traits and wanted to offload him to sign a new full-back.
However, since the resumption of club football after the World Cup hiatus, Wan-Bissaka has been back in the fold due to Dalot’s injury absence, and the former Crystal Palace star has taken his chance with some impressive displays.
Therefore, it will be interesting to see what ten Hag’s plans are for Wan-Bissaka if Manchester United agree a deal for Mbabu. The Swiss has struggled to showcase his best for Fulham in the Premier League, so it would be something of a surprise if United do end up signing him this month.
