An Aston Villa player is ‘desperate’ to join Manchester United and has ‘knocked back some big hitters’ to push through a transfer, according to reports.
United have already completed the £63million signing of Matheus Cunha from Wolves and are actively pursuing Brentford winger Bryan Mbeumo.
Signing a wide forward and a striker are Ruben Amorim’s top transfer priorities this summer, with a midfielder and wing-back also wanted — though those pursuits depend on player sales.
Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho are surplus to requirements at Old Trafford, but their hefty wage demands are proving a crucial stumbling block amid interest from abroad.
Alejandro Garnacho is another player the Red Devils are actively looking to sell. The 20-year-old has been strongly linked with Chelsea and Italian champions Napoli.
Another position Amorim is reportedly keen to upgrade is in goal. Andre Onana was inconsistent again in 2024/25 after a nightmare maiden season and is certainly someone who can be upgraded on.
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Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has emerged as a target for United, with the Argentine expected to leave the Midlands club in the summer transfer window.
Villa’s asking price is believed to be in the region of £40million, but Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s side will need to sell Onana before making a bid for the Argentina No.1.
Martinez is clearly very eager to complete a summer transfer to Old Trafford. According to The Sun, he is ‘desperately trying to push through a dream move’.
The report states that head coach Amorim is ‘weighing up his goalkeeper options’ and is not ruling out replacing AS Monaco-linked Onana.
Eager to add ‘captains and leaders’, Amorim is described as a ‘long-term admirer’ of the Villa shot-stopper.
A source told the website: “Emi is big pals with Argentina team-mate Lisandro Martinez and is keen to move. He has already knocked back a couple of big hitters in the hope of joining United.
“Amorim is a huge admirer of his. He tried to sign him for Sporting in 2020 but lost out to Villa. He wants to fill the squad with captains and leaders and Emi fits the bill perfectly.”
Villa are currently searching for goalkeepers and are in ‘contact’ with Lille over the £40m signing of Lucas Chevalier. They are also interested in Nice’s Marcin Bulka.
United and Villa conducted business in January when the aforementioned Rashford made the loan switch to Villa Park.
The 27-year-old was a success, earning a recall to the England squad and contributing four goals and six assists in 17 appearances.
Rashford got his mojo back under Unai Emery but faces an uncertain summer — largely due to his £270,000-a-week wage.
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