Manchester United are reportedly plotting a summer swoop for Barcelona defender Andreas Christensen, as per the Spanish outlet Fichajes.
After running his contract down with Chelsea, the Denmark international joined the Blaugrana at the beginning of this season as a free agent.
Upon moving to Camp Nou, the 27-year-old has been enjoying a promising debut campaign in the Spanish top-flight this term, scoring a solitary goal and keeping seven clean-sheets in 18 La Liga appearances.
However, according to the report by Fichajes, despite displaying impressive performances this season, Barcelona are open to cashing-in on the Dane this summer if they receive an offer of around €70m (£62m) to balance the books amid their financial difficulties.
The report further claims that Man Utd are looking to take advantage of this situation and sign Christensen at the end of this season as Erik ten Hag has identified the Barcelona star as an ideal option to reinforce United’s backline.
Christensen to Man Utd
It has been suggested that Ten Hag hasn’t been convinced by Harry Maguire so the Dutch boss is prepared to let the Englishman leave at the end of this season.
If the 29-year-old were to move away from Old Trafford this summer then United would need to sign a replacement for Maguire and Christensen would be a very good option.
The 27-year-old, standing at 6ft 1in tall, is comfortable playing out from the back, good in the air, is quick enough to play in the high defensive line, excellent in defensive contributions and also reads the game extremely well. So, he would certainly be a shrewd acquisition for Man Utd if they manage to secure his signature this summer.
However, the concerning part about purchasing the Denmark international is his woeful injury record as he hasn’t been able to stay fit for a whole season over the last few campaigns. Spending the reported £62m fee to sign an injury-prone player would not be a wise decision so, Man Utd would be better off exploring other options to strengthen their backline this summer.
However, it is going to be interesting to see whether Man Utd opt to formalise their interest in signing Christensen if they decide to bolster their defence at the end of this season.
