Man Utd Plotting €81m Bid For Striker Who ‘Favours’ Arsenal Move

The January transfer window is now closed but that won’t stop the newspapers from speculating ahead of the summer so we’ll bring you all the news and gossip. Today, Man Utd are linked with Edinson Cavani…

Manchester United are lining-up a mega €81m bid for unsettled Paris Saint-Germain striker Edinson Cavani as Louis van Gaal looks for an alternative to Radamel Falcao this summer, according to reports.

United have the option to make Falcao’s loan move from Monaco permanent at the end of the season but it’s understood the 20-time Premier League champions will turn down that opportunity and send him back to Ligue 1.

That wouldn’t be a surprise given how Falcao has struggled for form and fitness in England, with the Colombian hitman managing to score just four goals in 16 appearances in all competitions so far.

His departure would leave a hole to fill at Old Trafford and the Daily Star are running an ‘exclusive’ today claiming that van Gaal has made Edinson Cavani his number one target and is ready to renew the clubs interest after former boss David Moyes failed to land him last summer.

Cavani’s future at PSG has come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks after he was disciplined for arriving back late from the winter break which meant he missed the clubs mid-season training camp in Morocco, while he’s also understood to be increasingly frustrated at playing second fiddle to Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The uncertainty has led to speculation in recent months suggesting that Arsenal had joined United in the race for Cavani’s signature and the North Londoners were even considered as favourites as the Express reported last month that the 27-year-old’s preferred destination was the Emirates Stadium.

However, it seems United are now ready to try and blow the Gunners out the water as the Daily Star claim that van Gaal is planning to test PSG’s resolve with an €81m (£60m) bid this summer and the Glazers are supposedly willing to sanction the move as long as they secure Champions League football next season.

An apparent ‘source’ told the newspaper:

“Edinson Cavani has been targeted as the big-name striker the club wants and United are confident of pulling it off.

“He has not settled in Paris and is looking for a new challenge at another big club, so United fit the bill.”

Publicly PSG have insisted they aren’t willing to sell the Uruguayan hitman, but the Star suggests that privately the Ligue 1 champions are ready to cash in on Cavani to help meet UEFA’s financial fair play regulations.

It remains to be seen whether that’s the case but a £60m bid would certainly be difficult for PSG to turn down given the problems Cavani has been causing lately, and it would go a long way to helping them with FFP.

Despite all the speculation surrounding Arsenal’s supposed interest, I really don’t see Arsene Wenger competing with United for that sort of money, and there are very few clubs in world football who could match United’s financial firepower.

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

Therefore, if Cavani does push for a move this summer and PSG are willing to negotiate, then United would be well-placed to bring him to the Premier League and he’d be an exciting addition to van Gaal’s squad if they were able to pull it off.