Manchester United are reportedly prepared to offer €50 million plus Italian defender Matteo Darmian to land Portuguese international Joao Cancelo.

According to a report by TuttoMercatoWeb, Manchester United have stepped up their interest in Joao Cancelo. The Premier League giants have initiated discussions with the Portuguese international’s agent Jorge Mendes, and are ready to offer €50 million plus out-of-favour defender Matteo Darmian to land the full-back.

Joao Cancelo had seemed to set the ball rolling upon joining Juventus from Valencia last summer, having quickly established himself as a regular in the first-team setup. But, after a strong start to the season, injuries and a subsequent reduction in game time has soured things for the Portuguese defender.

Manchester United have their eyes firmly set on Cancelo. (Photo by Tullio M. Puglia/Getty Images)
Manchester United have their eyes firmly set on Cancelo. (Photo by Tullio M. Puglia/Getty Images)

In all, the 24-year-old has missed 16 games this term for various reasons, and recent reports have suggested that all is not right between the player and the club. Cancelo though, has still made an impact on things, with an impressive 8 assists to show for in his 32 appearances. His situation, however, has piqued the interest of Manchester United.

The Red Devils are set for a busy summer that will see Ole Gunnar Solskjaer remodelling his squad after what has been a disastrous 2018-19 season. One of the areas that will reportedly be addressed by the Manchester United boss is the right-back slot, and for good reason.

Antonio Valencia is set to make his way out of Old Trafford in the summer transfer window, when his contract with Manchester United would have expired. In addition to the veteran Ecuadorian, the struggles of Ashley Young have made right-back a problem position for Solskjaer, and Jose Mourinho before him.

Diogo Dalot is thus, the only player left at the disposal of the Manchester United manager. And, if the way the Portuguese defender has been used over the course of the season is anything to go by, the Premier League heavyweights can certainly do with another right-back, thereby explaining the interest in Cancelo.

To that end, Manchester United have opened talks with Mendes over the possibility of bringing Cancelo to Old Trafford in the summer. The Red Devils though, are unwilling to meet Juventus’ €65 million valuation of the player, and are only ready to shell out up to €50 million to secure his services.

Set to finally be on his way out of Old Trafford. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)
Set to finally be on his way out of Old Trafford. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)

But, United do have an ace up their sleeves, as they are set to offer Matteo Darmian, who has been heavily linked with the Bianconeri previously, as part of a deal that sees Cancelo make his way to Manchester.

The report suggests that the €50 million plus Darmian offer could tempt Juventus, although interest from PSG makes for an awkward situation for Manchester United, as the French champions can offer Champions League football to Cancelo.

It now remains to be seen if United can land the Portuguese international, or if he heads off to some other club. As things stand though, it looks like he could be on his way out of Juventus, just one year after joining them.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Recommended

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.