Manchester United are ‘preparing an offer’ to sign Lens midfielder Mamadou Sangare, according to French outlet Foot Mercato.
The Red Devils are expected to make multiple midfield signings, and they have already reached an agreement to land Atalanta ace Ederson.
Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson is another top target for United, but a deal looks improbable at the moment due to the staggering price tag.
Manchester City recently failed with an offer worth £106 million plus £14m in add-ons for the 23-year-old. Forest want at least £125m for a sale.
This could compel United to change their strategy. Foot Mercato claim that United are now weighing up an offer for Sangare, who is on the radar of more than a dozen clubs.
Sangare has a Transfermarkt value of £35m, and the French outlet highlight that the Mali international is expected to cost a much higher package.
Sangare would be a good Anderson alternative
The 23-year-old signed for Lens from Rapid Vienna last summer and had a fine debut season.
The Malian ace had statistics almost identical to Anderson’s.
He won an impressive seven duels per league appearance with three tackles and seven recoveries. In comparison, Anderson won eight duels per outing with three tackles and eight recoveries.
The Bamako-born star lost possession on 11 occasions per outing, significantly lower than Anderson (17).
Both players possess a tireless work rate and can make goal contributions too (seven to eight last term). Hence, United may consider Sangare as an alternative to Anderson.
Sangare may need to adapt to the Premier League’s higher intensity, but his potential and debut season in Ligue 1 suggest that he could prove a quality acquisition for United.
Lens are unlikely to sell their midfielder on the cheap, having qualified for the Champions League. It could take a fee between £40m and £45m to persuade Les Sang et Or into a deal.
Stats from Sofascore.com