Manchester United and Tottenham are reportedly behind Leicester City in the race to sign Boubakary Soumare this coming summer.
According to an exclusive report by Daily Star, the race to sign Boubakary Soumare from Lille in the summer transfer window is intensifying. The 22-year-old French midfielder is being pursued by the likes of Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City, with the Foxes now at the head of the chasing pack over a £30 million deal.
Soumare joined Lille from PSG in the summer of 2017, arriving at Stade Pierre Mauroy as a free agent. The youngster, though took a couple of years to finally establish himself as a mainstay in the middle of the park for Les Dogues, enjoying a breakthrough campaign last season.
The 22-year-old has only gone from strength to strength this term, turning out 37 times across all competitions for the French outfit. His continued progress has not gone unnoticed, with several top clubs across Europe, and particularly in the Premier League, setting their sights on him. These aforementioned suitors include Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City.
Manchester United’s eagerness to sign someone like Soumare is not unfounded, considering Paul Pogba is facing an uncertain future while Nemanja Matic is entering the twilight of his career. The French midfielder, with his qualities is the perfect fit in the double pivot of the 4-2-3-1 formation that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has preferred as the Manchester United boss.
To that end, the pursuit of Soumare makes a great deal of sense for the Red Devils. As for rivals Tottenham, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has been a top class addition to Jose Mourinho’s squad. Having said that, with Moussa Sissoko on the wrong side of 30, it is prudent for Spurs to sign a midfielder, seeing as Harry Winks has his future up in the air.
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To that end, the north Londoners have been linked with Sander Berge among other midfielders to bolster their squad ahead of next season, with Soumare a viable target as well. Manchester United and Tottenham, though, seem to be facing a losing battle in the chase for the 22-year-old, with Leicester City believed to be leading the race to sign him.
The report claims that the Foxes are confident of snapping up Soumare in a £30 million deal. Indeed, with a little over a year remaining on his current deal with Lille, signing him on the cheap is possible. With that being said, it will be interesting to see if Manchester United or Tottenham can turn the tide in their favour or if Leicester swoop the French midfielder away from Lille instead.
