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Man United Transfer Talk: Amrabat, Maguire, Matic

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Manchester United are looking to add at least one more player this summer transfer window, and the top target is ACF Fiorentina defensive midfielder Sofyan Amrabat. However, United have hit a major snag when it comes to selling one of their surplus players, polarizing central defender Harry Maguire.

We’ll cover all that and more in today’s edition of Man United Transfer Talk.

Starting with Maguire, even though he agreed personal terms to join the Hammers awhile ago, he’s still a United player. He was even in the squad yesterday, as an unused substitute, in the 1-0 win over Wolves. So is this deal really dead? What’s the hold up here?

Money of course, as anyone would expect, but it’s not about the $38 million transfer fee. That is agreed. Slab Head is on a massive contract at United, and his sky high salary would/will diminish substantially if/when he makes the move to East London

harry-maguire

Or anywhere for that matter. Thus, his agent expects United to make up the difference with a big, lump sum payment. The situation got worse with his receiving a salary bump from United having qualified for Champions League.

According to a piece a couple days ago from The Guardian:

“the lack of clarity has led to concern at West Ham that Maguire is stalling and unsure over the move. They do not want to wait much longer and are assessing other targets. There is also a feeling within the recruitment department that West Ham could do with a quicker centre-back.”

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It appears the Irons will now move on from the embattled English international. And now, United have a little over two weeks to try and find another suitor. Let’s move on to Amrabat

According to TuttoMercatoWeb, Old Trafford are set to offer Fiorentina a new Amrabat proposal this week. While they already have improved the defensive midfield this summer, via the signing of Mason Mount, they still want to revamp/improve the position group.

Fred has left for Turkey, and Donny van de Beek could be exiting soon as well. While Scott McTominay is and will remain fringe, he is expected to stay put this summer.

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Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth provided an update on the situation to Football website Give Me Sport.

“It looks like Amrabat is ten Hag’s key midfield target. United are really interested in him. They like him a lot. Erik ten Hag really likes him, more importantly. He has played under Erik ten Hag before, when ten Hag was the manager at Utrecht and Amrabat was a player there.

“Everyone knows his qualities because he showed them on the world stage for Morocco in that fantastic run at the World Cup at the back end of last year.

“There’s definitely interest there and Fiorentina are aware of the interest. I think United are in that position where they are ready to make a move for Amrabat, but they just want to streamline their squad and maybe recoup some money first of all.

And finally…..

While Nemanja Matic hasn’t been a Manchester United player for some time, and he isn’t coming back to the club, you still have to see this official announcement video from his new club, Rennes! Wow! Just wow! Now this is how you officially announce the signing of a new player. (Make sure your sound is up)

United are off until Saturday, when they’ll take on a Tottenham Hotspur side that has recently begun life after Harry Kane.

Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”

He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.