Manchester United are hesitant over signing a £69m star this summer due to their plan regarding Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba.
With Manchester United’s summer business still not seemingly over, the Red Devils have been pursuing a new midfielder to partner their captain, Bruno Fernandes.
United’s main dilemma heading into the summer transfer window was to revitalise their attacking department that underperformed tremendously last campaign.
Ruben Amorim has successfully achieved this, signing Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, and finally, Benjamin Sesko to complete a brand new front three.
After signing these three forwards, the Red Devils aimed their attentions towards a new midfielder. More specifically, they chose to pursue Carlos Baleba, although this was unsuccessful, and has left them looking elsewhere.
United hesitant on Hjulmand deal
Since the Baleba deal was too improbable for this window, Amorim’s side have looked elsewhere for midfield depth, and one option is Sporting CP’s Morten Hjulmand.
As reported by GIVEMESPORT, United are fearful that meeting the expensive demands required for Hjulmand’s signature may impact their plans for Baleba next year.
The Danish midfielder has a release clause worth in the region of £69million at Sporting, which would put a healthy dent in United’s budget for the future transfer windows.
Understandably, Hjulmand would be a target for Amorim, given how central he was to the Portuguese tactician’s plans whilst he was manager for Sporting, but £69 million may be too steep.
United’s Baleba conundrum
As things stand, it seems that the Red Devils are comfortable waiting until next year to acquire Brighton’s 21-year-old midfielder, but could this hinder their progress for this season?
Fortunately for United, they only have domestic competitions to prepare for, as they missed out on European football, but it still seems like something is missing from their midfield.
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Plans seem to be heading in the right direction regarding the defence and attack of Amorim’s side, although his 3-4-2-1 set-up puts any midfield insecurities under the microscope.
Saying this, both Fernandes and Casemiro did a great job against Arsenal in the Reds’ Premier League opener at the weekend, but it will be interesting to see what approach United take as to whether they recruit or wait.
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