Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim is reportedly desperate to sign Francisco Trincao from Sporting. The Portuguese coach wants to raid his former club but may have to convince the Red Devils to splash out a higher fee than the winger’s current release clause.
Trincao has excelled since joining Sporting from Barcelona in 2022 and has bagged nine goals and 15 assists this season. The Portugal international was a key player under the current United manager and grabbed an assist during Sporting’s famous 4-1 victory over Manchester City in the Champions League in November just before Amorim left Lisbon to take over at Old Trafford.
According to The Sun, Amorim is convinced Trincao will be able to make a swift adaptation to the Premier League as he spent the 2021/22 campaign on loan at Wolves. And the 40-year-old wants to make the player part of a new-look attacking unit.
But Sporting may play hard ball over the transfer fee as they will have to pay Barcelona 50 per cent of it due a clause the Catalan giants negotiated when they agreed to sell Trincao for £6million.
Trincao is contracted to Sporting until 2027 and currently has a release clause of £50m. But the Portuguese team are prepared to offer the attacker a new contract to ensure they can get a higher fee for him if he does opt to head through the exit.
Sporting want to bank £35m from the sale of Trincao, which means they would have to sell him for £70m. And United may be forced to undertake a drastic summer sales policy to raise the cash they need for the transfer.
Amorim has struggled to turn United’s fortunes around since taking the top job at Old Trafford last November.
When Erik ten Hag was relieved of his duties, the Red Devils occupied 13th place in the Premier League. And with nine league matches remaining, United are still 13th in the table.
They were also dumped out of the Carabao Cup at the quarter-final stage and exited the FA Cup in the fifth round under their current boss.
Amorim has already spoken out about his summer transfer plans. And the manager has revealed that he is preparing to move players on to make room for fresh faces.
“I think that is not a difficult situation because everybody understands that in football - sometimes you stay, sometimes you have to move on,” he explained four weeks ago.
“When you are honest with someone, they can take it. In the beginning it is hard, but they will understand. So I'm quite honest with my players and they already know that sometimes they have to move on at the end of the season.”