According to Manchester Evening News, Manchester United could make an approach to sign Bayer Leverkusen defender Edmond Tapsoba next summer.
Man United were touted to sign a new central defender this summer, but they did not have the finances to afford one. They had planned to offload Harry Maguire to land a replacement, but the Englishman turned down the opportunity to move to West Ham United.
As per Manchester Evening News, United are already preparing their recruitment drive for next summer, and they could pursue four players. One of them could be a central defender, and it is mentioned that Tapsoba is a potential transfer target for the Mancunian giants.
Top-class defender
Tapsoba has been linked with a move to the Premier League for some time. He was on the radar of several English teams, but stayed with Leverkusen in the end. The central defender recently signed a long-term contract with the German club, and this is likely to raise his value.
Standard Sport claimed that Leverkusen were looking for £61 million to consider his sale this summer, and the valuation could be much higher at the end of the season. Despite this, there will be interest in the Burkinabe star, who has developed into a top-quality centre-back.
United could be tempted to make a formal approach for his signature. They currently have Lisandro Martinez, Raphael Varane, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans as centre-back choices. Out of those, Evans is a stop-gap signing while Maguire’s time could end soon.
Varane is in the back end of his career and has become overly injury-prone. Lindelof, on the other hand, has his contract expiring next summer, but there is a 12-month option for United to activate. Tapsoba would be a quality purchase as he is good with the ball at his feet and has the physical attributes to succeed in the league.
