Man Utd Favourites To Land Colombian After Making €36m Bid

The summer transfer window is now well under way and managers are working hard to strengthen their squads ahead of next season, so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip. Today, Man Utd make bid for Barcelona target Juan Cuadrado.

Manchester United are now favourites ahead of Barcelona in the race to sign Juan Cuadrado after making a €36m offer to Fiorentina for the attacker, according to reports.

Cuadrado has become one of the most sought-after players in Europe after some positive performances at the World Cup, with the player catching the eye in an impressive Colombian side that reached the quarter-final’s before narrowly crashing out to hosts Brazil.

His displays this summer came off the back of an excellent season with Fiorentina where the 27-year-old chipped in with 15 goals in 43 appearances to help secure a fourth-placed finish to qualify for the Europa League.

Understandably, Cuadrado has been linked with a move to several top clubs this summer with Manchester United and Barcelona among those to be credited with interest in recent weeks.

The players agent confirmed he had been in ‘direct contact’ with the Catalans but appeared to hint that any potential move to the Nou Camp had stalled, with reports suggesting that the Spaniard’s had been put off by Fiorentina’s €50m asking price.

“I’ve been in direct contact with Barcelona and with other clubs.

“They showed interest but now there are no negotiations in place, not with Barcelona or any other clubs.”

In a further boost to United, reports in Italy claim that Barcelona won’t make any formal move for Cuadrado any time soon as they are struggling to offload Dani Alves – with new boss Luis Enrique hoping to play the Colombian as an attack-minded right wing-back in his new Barca side.

This news will have been well received at Old Trafford and the Daily Star suggest that United are now considered the favourites to land Cuadrado after making a €36m (£29m) offer that may also include performance related bonuses.

Although that offer falls short of Fiorentina’s valuation, the newspaper believes the Serie A side are resigned to losing the player this summer and with Barca cooling their interest, it looks like United are firmly in the driving seat to land the versatile attacker.

Cuadrado is predominantly a right-winger but he is also capable of playing at right-back, so Louis van Gaal is likely to see the Colombian international as the ideal right wing-back in his new 3-5-2 formation.

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It remains to be seen whether Fiorentina accept United’s supposed offer, but the situation is expected to be resolved soon as the start of the season is edging ever-closer and van Gaal will no doubt want the player integrated in to his squad as soon as possible, while the Viola will want time to bring in a replacement.