United now ‘seriously’ considering move for Euros semi-finalist after £76.5m swoop is complete

Manchester United are scouring the market for cut-price midfield options as they close in on a £76.5 million double swoop for Dutch duo Matthijs de Ligt and Joshua Zirkzee. 

A deal for the latter is expected to be relatively straightforward, given that he has a £34m release clause embedded into his contract. As for De Ligt, it’s thought that Bayern Munich will demand £42.5m to sanction his exit, two years after their £59m coup from Juventus.

As such, bolstering the middle of the park as cheaply as possible may be necessary until the club oversees more departures; Donny van de Beek is joining Girona for a measly €500,000 (£421,000), so that won’t come as much use when pursuing other targets.

To United fans’ dismay, reports have strongly suggested in recent weeks that the club plans to reignite their interest in Adrien Rabiot after he became a free agent in June. He has shown no desire to extend his stay with Juventus and may finally complete a move away from Turin after five years.

Read more: Why European giants are waiting for United to sign two of their top targets as swiftly as possible

The latest on United’s potential move for Rabiot

CaughtOffside claims the Red Devils are ‘seriously’ considering a move for the France international as an alternative to high-cost target Joao Neves, for whom Benfica will demand all €120m (£101m) of his release clause.

Rabiot, 29, has just exited Euro 2024 after a 2-1 semi-final defeat to Spain. He started and played the majority of five matches at the tournament, barring the quarter-final against Portugal due to a yellow card suspension.

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