Chelsea

Man Utd Steal March On Rivals After Making Formal Offer For Bundesliga Defender

Manchester United have stolen a march on Chelsea and Liverpool after tabling a formal offer to Wolfsburg for defender Ricardo Rodriguez, according to reports

by
Transfer News Reporter
July 7, 2014

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, Man Utd bid for Ricardo Rodriguez.

Image: Express

Manchester United have stolen a march on Chelsea and Liverpool after tabling a formal offer to Wolfsburg for defender Ricardo Rodriguez, according to reports today.

Rodriguez has just come off the back of an excellent campaign in the Bundesliga where he helped Wolfsburg to a fifth-placed finish, narrowly missing out on the Champions League spots to Bayer Leverkusen by just one point.

The 21-year-old also impressed at the World Cup for Switzerland and his solid displays at left-back have led to interest from England with the Express claiming that Liverpool, Chelsea and United have all shown a keen interest in bringing him to the Premier League.

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is on the look-out for another left-sided defender to offer competition to Jose Enrique and Jon Flanagan next season while Jose Mourinho needs to bring in a replacement for Ashley Cole – who’s on the verge of joining Roma on a free transfer.

However, United have now put themselves in the driving seat with reports suggesting that the Red Devils have now made contact with Wolfsburg and submitted a formal offer for Rodriguez.

On the face of it, left-back isn’t an area you’d think United needed to strengthen following the purchase of Luke Shaw and the fact that Patrice Evra has recently signed a new one-year contract extension.

But widespread reports suggest that despite penning a new deal at Old Trafford, Evra is still being targetted for a move to Juventus so Rodriguez could be seen as a replacement for the Frenchman should he be lured to Italy.

Wolfsburg reportedly need to sell off some of their players in order to raise funds for a new striker and with the club desperate to keep hold of key asset Luiz Gustavo, Rodriguez could be the man that’s sacrificed.

The Express doesn’t state what United’s bid supposedly was, but it will be interesting to see how Chelsea and Liverpool react to the news that the deposed champions have made their move for the player.

If the duo also firm up their interest, a bidding war could ensue with three of England’s biggest clubs going head-to-head for one of the most highly-rated defender in German football. But as of now, it appears United are winning the race and Liverpool and Chelsea have some catching up to do.