Man Utd Steal March On Rivals With €37.5m Attacker Bid

The summer transfer window is now open for business and it’s expected to be a busy few weeks as managers strengthen their squads ahead of next season, so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip. Today, Manchester United make a bid for Juan Cuadrado.

Manchester United have stolen a march on Arsenal and Liverpool after tabling a €37.5m bid for Fiorentina attacker Juan Cuadrado, according to reports.

The Colombian winger has just come off the back of an excellent season with Fiorentina where he scored 15 goals in 43 appearances to help the club to a fourth placed finish and qualify for the Europa League.

The 26-year-old has taken that impressive form into the World Cup, where alongside fellow attacker James Rodriguez, he’s shone in a hugely entertaining Colombian side that are due to face hosts Brazil in the quarter-finals on Friday night.

Fiorentina have only recently bought the remaining rights to Cuadrado’s registration after agreeing a deal with former co-owners Udinese, but it looks like they are ready to turn a quick profit after the players impressive displays in Brazil.

His performances for club and country have led to speculation linking him with a whole host of top clubs, with Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool all reportedly keen on bringing him to the Premier League this summer.

It appears United have now put themselves in the driving seat for the attackers signature with the Express claiming that the Red Devils have tabled a formal €37.5m (£30m) bid, which is higher than either Arsenal or Liverpool have previously considered making. Reports in Italy support the Express‘ claim, but they suggest the bid is actually €40m, so it looks like there is certainly something in this.

However, while United appear to be the front-runners ahead of their domestic rivals, the newspaper states that their offer is still short of  Fiorentina’s €50m (£40m) valuation, so it seems the deposed champions are going to have to dig a little deeper if they want to bring Cuadrado to England this summer.

They could also face some stiff competition from abroad with Barcelona and Bayern Munich also understood to be keeping an eye on the players situation, and with so many big clubs interested, it’s no wonder Fiorentina are holding out for as much as they can get.

United have been busy this past week signing Luke Shaw and Ander Herrera for a combined £56m, so the club are certainly not shy in splashing some serious cash this summer and Cuardro would be another major coup if they could pull it off.

READ MORE –> Arsenal transfer news | Liverpool transfer news | Man Utd transfer news

It remains to be seen how the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool will react to United’s bid, but with the duo supposedly concentrating their efforts on Alexis Sanchez right now, they may leave it to United to battle it out with Barca and Bayern for Cuardro’s signature.