Man Utd 'interested' in exciting move for £14.8m Newcastle & Arsenal 'target' after ‘agreement’ claim is made

Manchester United have emerged as one of the frontrunners in the race to sign highly-rated 19-year-old striker Stefanos Tzimas.

The Greece Under-21s star has been described as one of the hottest prospects the country has to offer and has been heavily praised for his considerable pace, dynamic movements and his excellent goal-scoring ability. The forward was named by The Guardian in October 2023 as one of the best players born in 2006 after consistently thriving above his age group at youth level.

"Let's all be calm. He's 17 years old and you can’t say now where he will end up,” his manager Razvan Lucescu said after Tzimas became PAOK’s youngest goal scorer back in 2022.

Manchester United ‘keeping tabs’ on striker

The talented teenage forward showed glimpses of his potential in the Greek Super League and is currently living up to his tremendous potential by scoring eight goals in 14 matches this season for FC Nurnberg in the second-tier of German football.

Tzimas is currently out on loan in Germany, from the Thessaloniki-based side, but has an intriguing clause in his contract which allows the Nurnberg to secure his services on a permanent basis for a figure of £14.8m during that loan spell. They are reportedly able to activate this before interested parties like United, Brighton & Hove Albion, Juventus, Inter Milan, Newcastle United or Aston Villa can interject.

Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg reports Nurnberg, who sit 11th in the Bundesliga 2 table are aiming to keep Tzimas on board until the end of the season to help aid their play-off push, before selling him on for an even greater profit in the summer. This is where a number of top Premier League and European clubs would come into the picture and perhaps spark a lucrative bidding war. According to reports from Tuttomercato, United, Arsenal and a number of clubs have “asked for information” on the player amid interest in a potential move.

How would Stefanos Tzimas fit into Manchester United’s plans

United have been one of the lowest scoring teams in the Premier League this season and the likes of Rasmus Hoijlund and summer signing Joshua Zirkzee have struggled to live up to expectations this season.

Tzimas, who is a strong dribbler, with exceptional work rate and an eye for goal, is seen as someone that has the potential to turn the club’s fortunes around, although he too is in the early days of his development. However, when Jim Ratcliffe arrived on the board at United, he claimed that the club’s new approach would be trying to find the next great thing rather than spending big on a ready made project. In an earlier interview, he explained: “I would rather sign the next Mbappe rather than spend a fortune buying success. It's not that clever buying Mbappe.”

United will prioritise player sales over new signings in the January transfer window as they look to address their 'tight' financial situation. It is understood there is effectively no real budget available for new additions this month with one source simply stating there is 'no money' available to Ruben Amorim during the winter window. United backed former manager Erik ten Hag with an investment of over £200 million in five signings during the summer transfer window and spent just over another £10 million to sack him only a couple of months into the current season. It cost a further £11 million in compensation to hire his replacement Amorim as well as his backroom staff. Given Tzimas’ age, he will not command a huge fee but United will likely need to sanction a handful of sales before looking at secure any permanent deals.