Man Utd ‘one step away’ from major deal despite Aston Villa interest

Manchester United are reportedly closing in on their third major summer signing as Erik ten Hag prepares to step up his interest in Fiorentina midfielder Sofyan Amrabat.

The Red Devils manager has enjoyed a fruitful summer transfer window after he added Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount and Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana to his squad at a cost of around £100million. Further new additions are planned and reports in Italy have suggested United are progressing in their attempts to add a striker to their ranks after they entered into discussions with Atalanta over a move for Denmark striker Rasmus Hojlund.

Speaking of his attempts to secure a third summer addition earlier this week, Ten Hag said: “We’re making progress but we know how it works and when we have him, we will tell you directly. The only thing I can say is we’ll do everything in our power to get it done. If it was up to me, yeah, as soon as possible, the earlier the better, because we have to integrate him in the team and the way we play. In an ideal situation, he was already here. But you do not always get ideal situations as a manager and you have to deal with the situation.”

While that deal is believed to be for Hojlund, it appears United are making major progress in their attempts to sign Fiorentina and Morocco star Amrabat. A report by Sport Italia has claimed the 13-time Premier League champions have now met La Viola’s £30million valuation of the midfielder and have suggested Fiorentina have accepted the offer to move United just ‘one step away’ from landing their target.

It is also claimed Amrabat’s arrival could hasten Fred’s reported exit from Old Trafford after Fulham, Galatasaray and a number of Saudi clubs indicated their interest in signing the Brazil international.