Man United are still eager to sign more players in the summer transfer windowplaceholder image
Man United are still eager to sign more players in the summer transfer window | Getty Images
Man Utd have reportedly put forth a mega-money offer to sign one of the best players in Europe from last season
Manchester United have reportedly submitted a jaw-dropping £128m offer for one of the stand-out players in European football last season.
United finished 15th in the Premier League last season, scoring just 44 goals in 38 games. Cunha netted 15 times last term while Mbeumo scored 20 goals with the pair providing 13 assists between them.
Now Amorim is said to be looking at adding even more goals with reports from Spain claiming a British record transfer fee has been offered to sign Barcelona ace Raphinha. He has been with the La Liga club for three years, scoring 54 goals and providing 50 assists for a total of 104 goal contribution in 144 games.
Man Utd ‘submit stunning £128m bid’ for Raphinha
According to Fichajes, United’s offer of £128m (€150 m) has caught Barca by surprise. Raphinha had his best season to date in Spain with 34 goals and 25 assists in 57 games as Barcelona won the La Liga title and reached the semi-final of the Champions League.
The report adds that Raphinha is viewed as a player who ‘can make a difference from day one’ having already experienced the Premier League with Leeds United. He scored 17 goals and provided 12 assists in 65 games for the Elland Road outfit and has only gone from strength to strength since making the move to Barcelona for a fee of around £55m three years ago.
Barca do not want to sell Raphinha following his impressive campaign but the sheer size of the reported offer from Old Trafford is said to have forced them to reconsider. The Spanish club are still not in the clear following well-documented financial issues over the last number of years.
Man Utd highly unlikely to sign Raphinha for British record fee - Manchester World view
While the report from Spain could certainly give cause for excitement as it suggests some major ambition from the club to back Ruben Amorim, United simply do not that kind of money to make such a splash in the market.
It is not an impossible deal to complete, as the Red Devils can split the cost of any transfer over five years which means it would cost just £25.6m over the next five summers with amortisation. But given Barca’s financial situation, they may be reluctant to lose such a key player without receiving a large chunk of the potential fee up front. The Red Devils’ budget this summer stands at around £100m and with Cunha already signed and talks continuing over a deal for Mbeumo, their budget will already have been used up to recruit those two players.
United will have more to spend on transfers once they sell some of their unwanted stars. Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Tyrell Malacia, Antony and Alejandro Garnacho could generate funds of well over £150m if all five players are sold this summer.
However, the Red Devils have other positions to strengthen and spending the majority of the potential £150m on one attacker would not be the best use of funds when they have already strengthened their attack with Cunha and are looking to further bolster with Mbeumo. While a deal for Raphinha would be cause for great excitement and highlight United’s pulling power, it certainly feels like a transfer that is highly unlikely to happen this summer.
The player’s desire would also need to factored in and there are few, if any, stars in world football who would leave a successful Barca side and give up Champions League football.
Continue Reading