Paris Saint-Germain defender Thomas Meunier reportedly prefers a summer switch to Premier League giants Manchester United over their arch rivals Arsenal.
According to a report from Belgian outlet DH.be, Thomas Meunier has requested current club PSG to sanction a summer sale to Premier League heavyweights Manchester United rather than Arsenal, who are also interested in signing him.
Meunier has been with PSG for three years now, having joined from Club Brugge in the summer of 2016. However, the 27-year-old could be on his way out of the club this summer, with manager Thomas Tuchel preferring German international Thilo Kehrer and French youngster Colin Dagba at right-back.
Meunier’s potential availability has piqued the interest of Manchester United, who are in the market for a new right-sided full-back. The Red Devils are set to lose seasoned campaigner Antonio Valencia later this month once his contract runs out, while it is believed that they are looking to offload Italian international Matteo Darmian in this transfer window as well.
This would leave Manchester United with just Ashley Young and Diogo Dalot as options at right-back. With Young seriously struggling towards the end of the campaign and Dalot still relatively inexperienced, it makes sense that they would target someone like Meunier who has the know-how of playing for a big club and has done well at the biggest stages.
However, Manchester United’s pursuit of the 27-year-old Belgian international has been rivalled by fellow Premier League Arsenal. The Gunners have Hector Bellerin as their first-choice right-back, with Ainsley Maitland-Niles and veteran Stephan Lichtsteiner as the fallback options.
While Maitland-Niles has done well in the injury-enforced absence of Bellerin, the Englishman sees himself as a central midfielder and prefers playing there. Lichtsteiner, on the other hand, will be out of contract later this month, which could be the reason behind Arsenal pursuing Meunier, as Unai Emery knows first-hand what the Belgian would bring to the table having worked with him at PSG.
Meunier, though, prefers to join Manchester United ahead of Arsenal. The 27-year-old is a childhood fan of Manchester United and has made no secret of his admiration for the Red Devils in the past. And hence, has asked PSG to sell him to the 20-time English champions as per the report.
A modern day attack-minded full-back, Meunier would address a problem position for Manchester United and given his age and experience has the potential to be an excellent addition to the roster. The report adds that PSG are looking for a transfer fee of €25 million for the right-back, which shouldn’t prove to be a problem for the Red Devils.
With both Meunier and Manchester United keen on the transfer, there is a good chance that a deal will be worked out in the coming weeks. As far as Arsenal are concerned, they might have to look elsewhere for their right-back needs.
