United in talks to sign Alderweireld
UNITED are still in discussions with Tottenham over a possible deal for Toby Alderweireld despite their interest in Leicester’s Harry Maguire.
The M.E.N. revealed the Reds approached Spurs with a view to concluding a £55m deal for Alderweireld in May but talks reached an impasse as the London club held out for a higher fee. The sides are now understood to be £10m apart on the Belgian defender’s valuation and Anthony Martial’s name has not reemerged during negotiations.
Meanwhile, Foxes boss Claude Puel remains confident Maguire will stay at the club despite interest from United.
The 25-year-old is understood to be keen on a move to Old Trafford after seeing his value skyrocket following an impressive World Cup with England.
Although there are now just 11 days left until the transfer window closes, Jose Mourinho believes it is ‘possible’ for United to complete one more signing following the additions of Fred, Diogo Dalot and Lee Grant last month.
Leicester, though, are desperate to hang onto Maguire after another key player, Riyad Mahrez, left the club and are preparing to offer the defender a new, improved deal.
And Puel has now reiterated his desire to hang onto the defender and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel which means Maguire may need to push if he wants the transfer to happen.
“I think we can keep both players,” he told reporters. “It is crucial for us.
“We cannot lose players just a few days before the beginning of the season.”
UNITED could command a £30m fee for Marcos Rojo. Yes, £30m for a defender last seen resembling a steward vainly attempting to stop a pitch invader as Kylian Mbappe hared past him.
Rojo has played in 107 United matches out of a possible 223 across four seasons and suffered 16 separate injuries and bouts of illness. He was signed on the back of a World Cup and it has shown; in three of his four summers supporters have approved of a possible sale. In the other he was injured.
United’s refusal to take hits on the wantaways and unwanteds has partially contributed to their relative transfer inactivity. Receiving a mere profit on Rojo would be a result, but United’s inflated sense of their players’ worth is reflective of the market in this post-Neymar climate.
Rojo cost £16m in 2014 and a £30m valuation is not necessarily excessive for a player tied to the club until 2021, even given his brittleness and often poor defending. Matteo Darmian, a defender who has failed to impress, was signed by United for a frugal fee (£12.7m) in 2015 and the club is reputedly demanding €20m – around £17.7m.
The Reds could rake in us much as £18m from Ajax for Daley Blind, who had entered the last year of his contract following a campaign in which he started four games. Morgan Schneiderlin had not played for United for almost two months by the time Everton gave them £22m – rising to £24m – in January last year. Memphis Depay’s last United start was in September prior to his £16.3m switch to Lyon in the same month as Schneiderlin.
Sam Johnstone, 25 and a goalkeeper who never played for the first-team, moved this month for an initial £6.5m, rising up to £10m. Take the £20.6m already cashed from Blind and Johnstone and it feels perverse that United are even haggling over Toby Alderweireld. A minimum £20m for Rojo would provide them with the bulk of the cash to sign the 29-year-old Tottenham defender.
United are unlikely to be in as much of a rush with Darmian, particularly since the Italian window closes on August 17. They have already made their full-back addition this summer in Diogo Dalot and it emerged nearly two months ago that they would not be pursuing a deal for a left-back. With the exception of the journeyman Lee Grant, United have signed players whose contracts featured release clauses, which allowed them to swoop for Dalot and Fred before the World Cup began. The squad size currently stands at 29, so it is little surprise United are talking about trimming the fat more than beefing it up.
The possible departures of Rojo, Darmian and Anthony Martial, as well as Joel Pereira on loan, would take it down to 25 and Mourinho wants two more signings. Axel Tuanzebe and Timothy Fosu-Mensah could embark on seasonlong loans, too, which would give the squad a fresher and leaner look. United could also bank in excess of £100m from player sales.
The strategy is flawed, though. While United sweat it out on selling they are delaying buying players and the deadline has entered its final fortnight. The Reds already have six centre-halves and it comes back to the suspicion that there is a need to sell before they buy. Fred offset Michael Carrick’s retirement and United’s move for Dalot was enforced by other clubs’ interest, which is why they paid Porto slightly more than the release clause.
“I think if you have the money, if you invest well, is better than have in the bank, because the interests are very low,” Mourinho half-joked in Carson on Wednesday. “The problem is you have to invest.”
Mourinho has been left so frustrated by Ed Woodward’s failure to clinch a deal for Alderweireld or Harry Maguire he is already pondering the possibility of using Nemanja Matic as a central defender.
God forbid if he faces Mbappe.