Mourinho may make a move for Moura if PSG’s price is right
MANCHESTER United are among a few clubs weighing up a deal for Paris Saint-Germain’s Lucas Moura, with the Brazilian winger’s representatives currently pushing to get him a move to a Premier League top-four club.
Nantes are also interested in the 25-year-old, but he and his entourage feel a higher-profile move is still a possibility, with United the likeliest.
Jose Mourinho has wanted a right winger, but sees Moura as having a different profile to the top summer target Ivan Perisic and has other aims this window, such as a left-back — Danny Rose, Malcolm or Alex Sandro — and a midfielder.
The Portuguese nevertheless might be willing to do a deal if United can get a favourable option, such as a loan until the end of the season or cut-price fee of around €15m.
Another bonus is that the Brazilian would not be cup-tied for the Champions League.
United previously tried to sign Moura in the summer of 2012 after an impressive showing at the London Olympics, but he decided to join PSG at the last minute.
Meanwhile, Henrikh Mkhitaryan is willing to return to Borussia Dortmund this window, with the Bundesliga club also keen on a move for the playmaker, but there is a considerable gap between their positions on potential wages. That should make a summer move more likely.
Other than a few flashes since signing in the summer of 2016, Mkhitaryan has generally been a disappointment for United, struggling to both fit into Mourinho’s system and settle.
Mkhitaryan is currently on a deal of over £120,000-a-week, and the German club’s current stance would bring an offer well short of that.
Inter Milan also have an interest in the Armenian playmaker, and may act if Dortmund progress, but that could see United looking to leverage their position on summer target Perisic, who plays for the Italian side.