Manchester United are having a great transfer window under Jose Mourinho, they have signed a number of key players and are being strongly linked to one of the biggest signings of the summer. However one of their top targets seems to have slipped out of their hands.
The Red Devils were reportedly interested in a move for 19-year-old striker Breel Embolo back in June. However they were beaten to his signature by Bundesliga club Schalke, who agreed on a five-year deal for the striker with FC Basel for an undisclosed fee.
Schalke sporting director Christian Heidel has now claimed that Man United manager Jose Mourinho was ‘desperate’ to sign the teenage striker.
“There are a number of reasons why we signed Embolo,” Heidel told the official Bundesliga website. [via:Goal]
“First and foremost there are sporting reasons. It’s nothing new that he is a great player. There is a reason why Mourinho desperately wanted to sign him for Manchester United.
“When we realised there was a possibility that we could miss out on signing him due to other clubs’ interest, we had to move fast.”
Heidel further added that he hoped Embolo would become a player the fans could relate to, like Benedikt Howedes or Manchester City target Leroy Sane.
The 19-year-old Embolo may be the next big young hope for Switzerland, but Mourinho has more than enough young attacking talent in the Manchester United squad already. The duo of Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford will be looking to build on their triumphs of the previous season and the Portuguese manager should not, in good conscience, let them warm the bench for too long.
The purchase of Embolo would have made United even more attack-heavy than they are already shaping up to be. Apart from Martial and Rashford, they have two first-team senior forwards including superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic and captain Wayne Rooney. They also have forward-minded players in Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Jesse Lingard, Memphis Depay and Juan Mata, who will all be fighting for a position in the attacking quartet. The Swiss striker is more likely to get decent game time at Schalke and it seems a move to the Bundesliga club makes sense for the player for now.
The purchase of Embolo could have been a move for the future for Mourinho but as things stand, the Portuguese manager already has a competitive squad to choose from, this coming season.
