Manchester United are closing on their first signing of the summer, with a move for Brazilian midfielder Fred reportedly imminent.
Manchester United are close to completing the signing of Shakhtar Donetsk’s Brazilian star Fred, as per an exclusive report from Manchester Evening News. The midfielder was also a target for Spanish champions Barcelona.
Manchester United have been active in the market for a new central midfielder, following the retirement of veteran midfielder Michael Carrick at the end of the season. And Belgian international Marouane Fellaini is also understood to be on the way out when his contract expires in just over a month, with AC Milan mooted to be a potential destination for the former Everton midfielder.
This would leave the Red Devils thin in numbers in the middle of the park and manager Jose Mourinho wants to address that issue at the earliest, as he prepares his team to challenge neighbours Manchester City for the Premier League crown next time out.
Fred has been linked with Manchester United since the January transfer window, while Manchester City, too, were believed to be keen on the midfielder, with reports of the Citizens making an offer for the 25-year old also surfacing. However, no move materialized at that moment as Pep Guardiola & co. ended their interest and are instead working on signing Jorginho from Napoli.
It seemed to have cleared the field for Manchester United to go ahead and get their man, but things seemed to have been complicated by Barcelona’s entry into the picture as a potential suitor for Fred.
Barcelona are keen on adding to their midfield ranks, with Andre Gomes set to leave the club this summer, while uncertainty surrounds the futures of Denis Suarez and Ivan Rakitic, who has been recently linked with a move to Manchester City.
However, it now seems Manchester United have managed to pip the newly crowned Spanish champions for the signing of Fred. The 25-year old has been picked as a member of the Brazil’s 23-member squad for the FIFA World Cup in Russia this summer and Mourinho is intent on getting the deal wrapped up before the showpiece event kicks off.
As a result, Manchester United are expected to try and get the transfer over the line in the coming week, when Fred will be travelling to Anfield, which is just 29 miles from the Red Devils’ Carrington training complex, for an international friendly against Croatia.
Fred was one of Shakhtar’s best players in the 2017-18 season as they picked up another Ukrainian league title. The 25-year old finished the campaign with 4 goals and 7 assists in 37 appearances across all competitions. The midfielder has a contract with the club till the summer of 2025 and is expected to cost Manchester United in the range of €50 million.
