Man Utd looking to agree deal for 24-year-old attacker, could cost £18m – report
Manchester United is interested in signing Barcelona attacker Ousmane Dembele before the transfer market closes on Monday night, according to Sport (today’s issue, page 4).
The France international is in the final six months of his Blaugrana contract, and he has no plans to stay after the club offered him a short-term renewal with a pay cut.
He has been linked with a move to the Premier League before the transfer deadline, and United is said to be among the front-runners to capture him.
This month, the Red Devils are said to be ‘willing to sign.’ Ralf Rangnick has long admired his abilities and attempted to sign him for RB Leipzig in 2016.
In our opinion:
Dembele has been hampered by injuries during his time with the Catalan giants. Since arriving from Borussia Dortmund in 2017, he has made only 129 appearances for the club.
Last season, he appeared to have conquered his injury issues, contributing 16 goals in 44 appearances. However, while serving in France, he sustained a long-term knee injury.
The 24-year-old is now totally healthy and has no fitness concerns, although United may be better off searching elsewhere if they want to reinforce their attack before the transfer deadline tomorrow.
The attacker is valued at £18 million by the Blaugrana. It has also been stated that he will seek payment of roughly £210,000 per week, which is comparable to what he already earns.
While Dembele can be a match-winner with exceptional individual qualities, signing him on a permanent basis appears to be too risky, given that he has missed nearly 700 days of action since 2017.
A short-term move won’t hurt the Red Devils much, but there appears to be plenty of interest in signing him while the Blaugrana are desperate to recuperate transfer costs.
