7 months ago
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Manchester United are ready to make a move for Senegal defender Mikayil Faye following John Murtough’s visit to Barcelona earlier this month.
Murtough, United’s football director, was in Barcelona with head negotiator Matt Judge earlier this month to meet with executives from Barcelona, and he flew to Madrid later in the day to spend time with Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid counterparts.
It’s sizing up to be a monumental transfer window for United as it will be their first since Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS team took control of football operations.
While uncertainty remains over Erik ten Hag’s position, the club are progressing with their transfer plans and they’ve made signing a defender a priority.
Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia have all had long stints on the sidelines this season, which has undermined United’s campaign.
Faye, 19, has already earned an international call-up for Senegal and scored on his debut against Gabon last Friday as United scouts watched his performance, say the Daily Mail.
The defender is adept at both left-back and centre-back, which would cover two problematic positions for United.
While he’s yet to make his senior debut for Barcelona, he’s impressed for their B team and is already valued at £25m.
The club need to make cuts this summer, and will reluctantly cash in on Faye.
They rejected bids of around £13m from the likes of Nice and Lyon last summer, while Bayer Leverkusen and Inter Milan.
United expect Jonny Evans to leave this summer, while a final decision is yet to be made on Raphael Varane.
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