Fabrizio Romano has revealed how close Manchester United were to signing a “complete” midfielder after several meetings about the player.
Manchester United’s midfield was an area that the Director of football – Jason Wilcox – looked to strengthen over the summer, although it wasn’t a top priority.
Carlos Baleba was heavily linked to the club, with many feeling that he would have been the perfect midfielder for Rúben Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 system, but a transfer never transpired.
Despite looking so close to signing Baleba, United didn’t appear to turn their attentions to another midfielder after it became clear that a deal for the Brighton midfielder wouldn’t be possible this summer.
Instead, the transfer team chose to focus on signing Benjamin Šeško and Senne Lammens, while also prioritising selling Antony, Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Højlund.
Romano reveals details behind Hjulmand interest
One midfielder United were interested in was Sporting CP’s Morten Hjulmand, who replaced Manuel Ugarte in Amorim’s side back in Portugal.
Speaking on his YouTube Channel, Fabrizio Romano revealed the details behind United’s interest in Patrick Dorgu’s international teammate, who has been described as a “complete” player.
“One of the names they [Manchester United] had on their list – and they had several meetings to understand the situation of the player – was for Morten Hjulmand,” said Romano.
“The situation of Hjulmand was never easy, but Manchester United were informed over the summer about Hjulmand, a player well known by Ruben Amorim. Different skills to [Connor] Gallagher and [Carlos] Baleba, but still a very interesting midfielder.
“The option was never advanced for one reason,” Romano went on to say. “Sporting, after selling Viktor Gyokeres to Arsenal, didn’t want to sell any other crucial piece of their squad to any other club.”
Amorim doesn’t trust Ugarte or Casemiro
United’s main midfield targets in the summer transfer window were high-energy, ball-winning players, meaning they would replace Casemiro and Ugarte in the starting lineup, rather than Bruno Fernandes or Kobbie Mainoo.
While Casemiro has started the season in the starting side, it is clear that Amorim doesn’t trust the Brazilian of Ugarte to play a key role in his team going forward.
The United manager needs a player who can cover ground quickly to support the more creative player on the other side, not Casemiro, but he also needs someone who can progress play with their passing ability, not Ugarte.
In truth, Toby Collyer and Sekou Kone are the closest profiles to Amorim’s ideal central midfielder, but neither are ready to play week in, week out in the Premier League.
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