Manchester United have been told the required fee to prize one of their midfield targets away from his current club in January.
Manchester United’s midfield has been one of the biggest issues at the club for several years now. In truth, United haven’t had a stable midfield since the days of Ander Herrera and Nemanja Matic when they played in a double pivot behind Paul Pogba.
Jason Wilcox – United’s Director of Football – targeted a new central midfielder towards the end of the summer, with heavy links to Brighton and Hove Albion’s Carlos Baleba. But a transfer was not completed due to Brighton’s high price tag.
While Casemiro has undergone a significant improvement since then, the need for a midfielder remains. Manuel Ugarte seems to be thousands of miles away from the first team – despite his prior relationship with Rúben Amorim from Sporting CP – and Kobbie Mainoo appears only to be considered for Bruno Fernandes’ role.
The Red Devils have been linked with several Premier League options, including Elliot Anderson and Carlos Baleba, but Wilcox may be forced to look outside of England’s top flight for a more affordable option.
Previous reports have stated that United will aim to sign one midfielder in the January window, with another joining in the summer. Perhaps, United can now begin negotiations with their winter window star, as his price tag is now confirmed.
Gallagher price tag revealed
Conor Gallagher – formerly of United’s opponents on Sunday, Crystal Palace – has been linked with a switch to Old Trafford for many years, but there has never been any concrete information on a potential transfer, until now.
Pete O’Rourke of Football Insider has reported that Atletico Madrid are prepared to sell the former Chelsea midfielder, and they want £26 million if they are to let him leave in the January window.
Speaking on the Inside Track Podcast, O’Rourke said: “It does seem that Atletico would be open to parting with Conor Gallagher in January if they did get a suitable fee. I think they will be looking around €30million, so around £26m to let Gallagher move on.
“He started the midweek [26 November] for Atletico against Inter in the Champions League in a rare start, but he’s not been a regular starter under Diego Simeone. I think for Gallagher himself, he might be open to considering a move away in January due to his ambitions of trying to break into Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad.”
The £26 million demanded by Atletico should be within United’s price range for a January midfielder, especially if they sell or loan one of the current four first-team options, to make room for the new addition.
United must move for another option
Gallagher would be a good option for Amorim, but his role in the system would be an interesting one. For Crystal Palace, Gallagher made his name as a box-crashing midfielder, with him playing a similar role at Chelsea.
The England international can play as a more defensive player, but his routes lie in attack. Therefore, if he were to join United’s midfield, he would likely be competing with Fernandes, like Mainoo.
Perhaps, Gallagher would be an option to replace Mainoo if he went on loan, but signing on a permanent deal wouldn’t make much sense if that were the case.
O’Rourke went on to say: “I think Atletico turned down a few loan offers for Gallagher in the summer window, so they would obviously prefer a permanent sale in January, so that would allow them to bring in a potential replacement as well.”
A loan deal may not be an option for United, but signing him permanently would create another problem for Mainoo.
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