Man Utd centre-back Lisandro Martinez is ‘willing’ to reunite with Marcus Rashford at Barcelona with the Catalan giants eyeing a move, according to reports.
The Red Devils had a good summer transfer window with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS committing over £200m on new signings.
Man Utd improved their attacking options in particular with Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko all arriving to significantly boost Ruben Amorim’s attacking options.
The Red Devils only brought in young Paraguayan left-back Diego Leon in defence with Amorim having lots of options in central defence.
However, he did suffer a huge blow in February when Martinez suffered a cruciate ligament injury against Crystal Palace with the injury usually taking around 10 or 11 months to heal.
Martinez has been blighted by injuries since arriving at Old Trafford and managed just 31 Premier League appearances over the last two seasons.
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But, after a miraculous recover, Martinez is back in training for Man Utd and could return to the squad for their clash with Man City on September 14, depending on how cautious they want to be.
And now Spanish website Fichajes claims that Barcelona has ‘set its sights’ on Martinez and Hansi Flick ‘believes the Argentine would fit perfectly into a defense that needs options to compete in the Champions League and La Liga’.
Martinez is ‘willing to make the move to Spain to wear the Barcelona shirt’ and the Man Utd centre-back will enter the final two years of his contract at the end of this season, ‘a situation that would facilitate a more accessible negotiation’.
The report adds: ‘For Joan Laporta , the Argentine’s signing could be a market opportunity. His physical condition raises doubts, but it also reduces the cost of a potential transfer.
‘The Barça president sees Lisandro as a less expensive alternative to Flick’s great desire: Alessandro Bastoni of Inter Milan, whose departure would entail a much higher outlay.’
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Another player who could be leaving Old Trafford soon is Andre Onana with no clubs able to get a deal over the line for the Cameroon international before the deadline on Monday.
Onana, who is the subject of an offer from Turkish side Trabzonspor, has been out of favour this season and now new signings Senne Lammens and Altay Bayindir are ahead of him in the pecking order at Man Utd.
Former Red Devils chief scout Mick Brown – who is still well-connected at Old Trafford – insists Onana “has no future” at Man Utd and the Premier League are still trying to get a sale over the line.
Brown told Football Insider: “They still want to sell Onana if they can. He has no future at Man United, they’ve made that clear and the manager has made it clear by dropping him from his starting XI in the Premier League.
“Then they’ve gone and signed this new goalkeeper which should allow them to move him on. I think they’ll be working towards the January transfer window and trying to find a buyer.
“These things can come up, you get half way through the season and somebody realises they need a new goalkeeper or somebody gets an injury, then he can move.
“Onana has made far too many mistakes during his time at United, and they don’t trust him any more.
“I’m surprised they were unable to move him on during the summer but the interest hasn’t been there, nobody has come forward for him.
“But now they’re hoping Lammens can come in and be the right man for the job.”
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