Manchester United’s ambition in the transfer market is being met with their financial reality as they’ve had to end their interest in one player over the asking price.
The negotiations for Matheus Cunha, or the lack of it, must be feeling like a dream for Man Utd right now due to his release clause.
The true pain of negotiating has hit them while dealing with Brentford for Bryan Mbeumo, with two bids being rejected for the player.
Although the latest contacts for Mbeumo seemed to hint that a breakthrough was coming, the same can’t be said for another forward United have had to end their interest in.
Hugo Ekitiké of Eintracht Frankfurt looks on during the Europa League Quarter Final match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Tottenham Hotspur.
Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Man Utd’s interest in Hugo Ekitike all but finished
Hugo Ekitike was a name who appeared on the horizon as a potential option for No. 9 after the club was dealt a dagger by Liam Delap and Viktor Gyokeres.
Question marks around Ekitike were many, but most importantly, Frankfurt’s asking price of £85m was the biggest obstacle.
Even though later reports claimed that the German side would do business for less, it was going to be difficult for United, considering they can’t even spend less than that fee to sign a far more proven striker in Gyokeres.
Now, Fabrizio Romano, speaking on his YouTube channel, has claimed that United’s interest in Ekitike is all but finished.
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He said: “In the recent weeks, Manchester United also were in it, but they are not going to pay €100m for the striker [Ekitike]. Either there is a development to drop the price, or this story is almost impossible.
“United are looking at different pricing also because they are confident of signing Mbeumo. They will not invest crazy money on a striker. It has to be a good deal, a good opportunity.”
Man Utd have made the right choice over Ekitike
Even putting aside the dreaded Frankfurt striker curse, Ekitike was just not enough value for money since he had only one bona fide world-class season in a top-five league.
Maybe he becomes worth it if he repeats his form of 2024/25 in the next season as well, but United can’t afford to splash that amount of cash on an unknown.
Moreover, if United had the means to pay £85m, then Ekitike wouldn’t even be an option. They would have simply secured Viktor Gyokeres’ signature by now.
All things considered, it is the right choice to move on from Ekitike, since they’ve already added 35 Premier League goals to the Man Utd squad with Mbeumo and Cunha.
A striker needs to be an “opportunity” signing now, not a necessity or panic-driven deal.