Long term Manchester United target Blaise Matuidi will be let go by Paris Saint-Germain this summer, should they receive an offer exceeding €30 million.
According to a report in Goal, Serie A champions Juventus had an initial bid of €15 million turned down by the Parisians, who are adamant that they will not let the French international leave the Parc de Princes this summer for anything less than €30 million.
This is despite the fact that Matuidi, who recently turned 29 in April, has only a year left on his current contract and could leave for absolutely nothing this time next year. The midfielder is also rumoured to be a subject of interest for the likes of Manchester United and Atletico Madrid.
However, with Atletico Madrid’s transfer ban, it seems unlikely they will make a swoop for the Frenchman. They can technically sign him, but they cannot include him in any match day squad or play him in any competition before their transfer ban ends in January next year.
So even though it is a possibility, unless Matuidi would be willing to sit out for half of the 2017/18 season, this move is not likely to take place. Manchester United, who have been linked with Matuidi for a while now, have no such restrictions and €30 million is a figure they can easily match.
They were even said to be in talks with the midfielder back in April. Paul Pogba, Ander Herrera, Marouane Fellaini and Michael Carrick are Mourinho’s only options and Matuidi, who has been one of Europe’s best midfielders in the past few seasons, would be a welcome addition to his squad.
Fellaini has been linked with a move way from Manchester United in the summer despite recently signing a contract extension while Michael Carrick, who had yet another fine season in a United shirt, turns 36 in a few weeks and will begin slowing down eventually.
While Matuidi wouldn’t exactly be the answer for the long term, he could be the immediate solution to Mourinho’s midfield woes and would add a certain level of dynamism and energy to their midfield, besides also giving him more quality options to choose from.
Besides challenging for the Premier League title and other domestic cups, Mourinho & co. are also set for a return to the Champions League and the Portuguese will no doubt want to win it in his first time of asking as Manchester united manager.
Matuidi, who has come close to winning European football’s top prize on numerous occasions with PSG but have always seeme to have fallen short in recent years, will surely want to add it to his big collection of silverware and Mourinho may very well be the man who could help him achieve that goal.
