Manchester United reportedly made a late move to sign Lyon winger Malick Fofana on deadline day after agreeing to sell Alejandro Garnacho to Chelsea.
Ruben Amorim endured a miserable first season in charge at Old Trafford, guiding Man Utd to a 15th-placed Premier League finish and a Europa League final defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
Despite missing out on Champions League football – and the £100m windfall that comes with it – INEOS still backed Amorim heavily in the summer window.
Man Utd spent more than £200m, with Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko strengthening the attack, alongside goalkeeper Senne Lammens and young wing-back Diego Leon.
Going into the window, Amorim had decided that Garnacho, Marcus Rashford, Antony, Jadon Sancho and Tyrell Malacia were not part of his long-term plans.
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By September 1, only Malacia remained. Antony, Garnacho and Sancho all departed on deadline day after months of speculation.
Garnacho’s £40m move to Chelsea could have freed space and funds for another forward, especially after Cunha picked up an injury against Burnley on August 30.
And according to Foot Mercato, Man Utd tried to do exactly that by approaching Lyon’s Malick Fofana.
The Belgian winger had already been linked with Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool and Nottingham Forest earlier in the summer, and Man Utd entered the race late on.
It’s claimed that ‘behind the scenes’ the Red Devils ‘pushed to try to snatch’ the Lyon forward.
Though not his direct agent, Jorge Mendes is said to have acted as an intermediary between United and Fofana’s father.
The report suggests Fofana was ‘tempted by the idea of joining’ United, but the club ‘waited for a signal from the player’s father’ to begin negotiations.
That signal never arrived, and with it, Fofana’s immediate future was sealed at Lyon.
As Foot Mercato put it:
We obviously start with Malick Fofana. While the name of the Belgian nugget from OL has been circulating at Everton, Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Chelsea, another club behind the scenes pushed to try to snatch the Lyon striker in the last two days of the transfer window when Garnacho left Manchester United and Matheus Cunha was injured against Burnley on August 30th.
Under the impetus of Jorge Mendes who played the intermediary between Manchester United and the player’s father, the Red Devils tried their luck. While the Belgian international was tempted by the idea of joining MU, the English club was just waiting for a signal from the player’s father to start hostilities. A signal that never came and which sealed Fofana’s future between Rhône and Saône.
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