Manchester United want to sign a defender and a midfielder before the transfer window closes on September 1 but they have to sell before they can buy, according to Football Insider.
Erik ten Hag has already brought in a new goalkeeper having snapped up Andre Onana from Ajax while Mason Mount has been signed from Chelsea to strengthen the midfield. United have also added another striker to their ranks having signed Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta.
However, Football Insider claims that ten Hag still wants to bring in another two players before the window closes with the Dutch boss eyeing a new defender and another central midfielder.
The report says Man Utd’s top midfield target is Sofyan Amrabat and the Red Devils have already held talks with the players agent about a potential move to Old Trafford this summer.
Amrabat has been heavily linked with a switch to United in recent months as ten Hag looks to refresh his midfield and Football Insider claims that Fiorentina are ready to do business if £30m is put on the table.
The news outlet also says that Manchester United have opened preliminary talks to sign Benjamin Pavard after identifying the Bayern Munich as one of their prime defensive targets.
The Frenchman is believed to be keen to try a new challenge and is open to joining United this summer, and the versatile 27-year-old would be an excellent signing if they could pull it off.
Sell to buy
However, Football Insider says that Man Utd cannot push ahead with proposed moves for Amrabat and Pavard until they raise extra funds by selling some of their fringe players.
The report suggests that ten Hag is actively trying to offload the likes of Harry Maguire, Scott McTominay and Donny van de Beek to make room for new signings.
However, Maguire’s proposed move to West Ham has collapsed because the England international wants to stay at Old Trafford this season and fight for his position. He’s currently fifth choice centre-back behind Lisandro Martínez, Raphaël Varane, Victor Lindelöf, and Johnny Evans.
The 30-year-old was not included in the matchday squad for their second Premier League game of the season at Tottenham Hotspur but it looks like Maguire is determined to stay and fight for his place.
McTominay is attracting interest from several clubs and he was among the substitutes as United suffered their first league defeat of the season with a 2-0 defeat to Spurs on Saturday. Van de Beek is believed to be close to leaving the club which could pave the way for another midfield signing in the coming days.
We’ll have to wait and see how things develop but it looks like Man Utd are going to need to offload some deadwood before they can finalise any moves for the likes of Amrabat or Pavard before the end of the month.
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