9 months ago
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Manchester United sent scouts to watch Copenhagen wonderkid Roony Bardghji play in a friendly tournament this week and are planning three more trips to watch the youngster, according to reports.
The 18-year-old has been on the Red Devils’ radar since he bagged the winner against them in Copenhagen’s stunning 4-3 victory in the group stages of the Champions League back in November.
New minority owners Ineos are thought to be driving the interest and had actually been looking at Bardghji as a potential signing for one of their other clubs, Ligue 1 side Nice.
But it appears they may feel he is already ready to make the step up to Premier League football, with The Sun reporting that a United scout was sent to Portugal to watch Bardghji in action in the Atlantic Ocean Cup.
The friendly tournament is used by Scandinavian clubs during their winter break to get players back up to speed and Bardghji had another solid game despite Copenhagen losing 2-1 to Brondby, with the winger volleying home late on.
United are hoping to offload Jadon Sancho permanently in the summer but want to bring in a replacement, with Bardghji one of the names in the frame.
The Sweden Under-21 international, who is likely to cost around £17m, will be watched again on Friday in his side’s next warm-up match against Molde while United also intend to deploy scouts to watch both legs of Copenhagen’s Champions League last-16 tie against Manchester City – a contest that will give a good idea of whether he can cut it in the Premier League.
Speaking this week, Copenhagen sporting director Peter Christiansen says he expects Bardghji to leave the club in the summer, having already had interest in the January window, and feels he is ready to make the step up to a bigger club.
Asked if the club could have sold the youngster last month, he told Bold.dk: ‘In general terms, I can say that we have a lot of players who have done well for a long time.
‘So, I think I’ll stick to saying that if we wanted to, we could have done it, but that has not been our aim. Roony’s time will come. I’m sure of that.’
Probed on the possibility of Bardghji fetching a club-record fee, he continued: ‘It’s the market that determines what the price will be.
‘It’s clear that the bigger the club, the more muscle they have financially, and so the transfer will be bigger for us.
‘I’m sure he’ll probably get the opportunity at some point, but it wasn’t in this window. But he certainly has the potential for it, but let’s see.
‘We know what dreams and talent he has, but he’s a humble boy who works insanely hard on the training ground. He has his dreams, and that is a huge driving force for him. But that’s just the way it is at Copenhagen.’
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