Manchester United have had a busy summer, bringing in players like Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Sesko, and Bryan Mbeumo to ensure that the team doesn't suffer from the same inability to score goals that they did last season.
Despite this extensive business, Ruben Amorim still has positions he wants to fill, including a defensive midfielder. Currently, the team has Kobbie Mainoo, Manuel Ugarte, Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro to fill these roles, but there have been question marks over Ugarte and Casemiro, and Mainoo and Fernandes' best qualities are mainly shown in attack.
There had been reports suggesting that youngster Toby Collyer could make the step up and fill this role, but he has since been loaned out to West Bromwich Albion. Over the recent weeks, United have been heavily linked with Brighton's Carlos Baleba, but the south coast side's asking price exceeded £100 million, which put the Colombian out of their budget.
With previous pursuits turning fruitless, Amorim has turned his attention away from the Premier League and back towards the Portuguese Primeira Liga as he considers reuniting with one of his former players.
Man Utd and Amorim target Hjulmand keen on move
Manchester United are considering signing Sporting Lisbon's Morten Hjulmand. The 26-year-old Denmark star was signed by Amorim from Lecce in 2023, and the club now see him as a potential solution to their midfield woes.
Morten Hjulmand for Sporting Lisbon
Morten Hjulmand for Sporting Lisbon
Fabrizio Romano spoke about the interest on his YouTube channel, via Stretty News, saying “he’s a player who has always been appreciated by Amorim”. He went on to reveal that this interest is mutual and that “Hjulmand will be interested in a move to Manchester United”. Amorim loved him at Sporting, and he played him on 65 occasions.
It's currently uncertain how much of their transfer budget Manchester United has left. Reports from The Athletic have indicated that United may have opened another Rotating Credit Facility in order to finance more deals this summer. It also looks likely that United will receive money from the sale of the remaining members of the so-called “Bomb Squad” (Antony, Tyrell Malacia, Jadon Sancho and Alejandro Garnacho), which can help them facilitate a move for Hjulmand.
The defensive midfielder currently has a release clause of £68 million, so unless United can negotiate Sporting down, they’ll once again have to spend big.
Hjulmand is an expensive gamble
While things look positive between two of the three parties, the sticking point in this deal will be Sporting Lisbon. The club have already sold Viktor Gyokeres, Marcus Edwards and Dário Essugo to Premier League clubs this summer, and Romano has expressed their reluctance to let go of any more of their first-teamers.
However, as Hjulmand has the previously mentioned release clause, United could go straight into negotiations with the player and circumvent Sporting if they were willing to pay the £68 million. Amorim's system involves playing out from the back, and United need players who are both capable of contributing defensively and connecting the defence to the attack.
While Hjulmand will likely be able to contribute defensively, the stats indicate that he won't do much in the way of connecting the team. Last season, he registered in the 19th percentile for progressive carries and the 13th percentile for key passes, meaning he would be a very similar profile signing to Ugarte.
The alternatives for United is that they try to find a new midfielder, or they wait to sign Hjulmand next summer, when they'll have a better chance of negotiating Sporting down from his release clause price. However, this would mean another season without midfield reinforcements, which could create major issues for United on the pitch.