Door could open for Man United to seal £45m striker deal after David Ornstein 'most interest' claim
Man Utd need to add more firepower to the forward line with the clock ticking on a potential bargain.
Manchester United’s efforts to improve Ruben Amorim’s chances of being a success have ground to a halt recently with the squad rebuild struggling to get past the foundation phase.
The ongoing saga of the transfer fee negotiations for Bryan Mbeumo continue into another week, never has a deal been “imminent” for so long to the extent that United should have considered looking elsewhere.
A new name emerged in the last few days though with a new No.9 clearly a target for the Old Trafford outfit if the five players who handed in transfer requests can be moved on.
Manchester United given path to sign Moise Kean
Fiorentina striker and former Everton flop Moise Kean, who has a time sensitive £45m release clause, is a player who United are tracking, and they have been given a boost in the race for his signature.
According to transfer journalist Gianluca di Marzio, Kean has made a decision on his future already and it should make the Red Devils sit up and take notice: “With 48 hours to go until his release clause expired, Kean and his agent Alessandro Lucci discussed the best option for his career. This led the 2000-born player to dismiss Al Qadsiah 's offer, which remained on the table for weeks without a response.
“Even the contacts with Al Hilal in recent days have not changed the striker's mind, who has now made a definitive decision with his agent: at this stage of his career, he is not attracted to Arab football because he wants to compete in Europe. At this point, it's certain he won't be going to Saudi Arabia.”
Kean is far from the player who arrived in the Premier League as a teenager and has shown, with a consistent run of games, that he can be a prolific striker. Exactly the type that Amorim needs to lead the line.
What type of player would United be getting in Kean?
It was David Ornstein, in The Athletic, who confirmed United’s interest with an explanation as to how the 25-year old would be perfect in a system that has two support players operating off a central striker:
“United have been keeping tabs on Fiorentina’s Moise Kean, who has a €52million (£45m) release clause that can be triggered until July 15. United are the Premier League club to have shown the most interest in the 25-year-old Italy international, who has interest from the Saudi Pro League. Fiorentina’s acquisition of Edin Dzeko is not part of a succession plan. The evergreen Dzeko, now 39, was signed because he offers something different to Kean.
“My colleague Conor O’Neill says: ‘Since joining Fiorentina (from Juventus a year ago), Kean has developed into a true penalty-box striker. His 19 league goals last season trail only Atalanta’s Mateo Retegui (25), with all but one coming from inside the area. He averaged six shots on target per 100 touches — the highest ratio in Serie A — underlining how he’s now been deployed to lurk with intent rather than drop deep and get involved with link-up play.’”
The clock is ticking to land an elite-level striker for a relative bargain of £45m, however, given the time taken to negotiate Mbeumo’s signing, the recruitment team might have an offer ready for the 15th of July – next summer.