With England now out of the European competitions, and less than a month until the next Premier League season starts, we’re in full offseason mode now. Welcome to the silly season! Time to talk Manchester United transfer rumors.
We start with Diogo Dalot, a Portugese U21 international who was brought in under his countryman, Jose Mourinho, when the Special One was managing United in 2018. Dalot endured an injury-riddled period when he first arrived at Old Trafford, and he hasn’t been able to get much playing time under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
He’s a defender that can also be slotted up on the wing, but he wants a place where he can get regular first team football. He has previously been linked with Everton but now, according to Portugese newspaper O Jogo, Paris Saint-Germain could offer him an escape route.
Having played in only four Premier fixtures this season, Dalot is looking to leave the club after just two seasons. Elsewhere, Alex Sandro, a player long linked with Chelsea (and Manchester United too) could be available now as United look to upgrade their depth and options at left back.
Juventus are ready to let him go for €40 million, reports Corriere Dello Sport. With a new manager stepping in and lots of changes to come, Sandro could be on the way out. New boss Andrea Pirlo is looking to bring in guys who are better suited to his systems.
United have a solid first choice left back in Luke Shaw, but he can’t really be counted on to stay healthy for the duration. Back-up Brandon Williams is more potential than fully rounded out player right now, so he isn’t reliable as a first team regular.
This is a position of need for United, as is central defender. Harry Maguire is obviously a stalwart, although he’s in the news today for all the wrong reasons, off the pitch. His pairing mate, Victor Lindelof, improved this season, but his limitations have been exposed, yet again, in the Europa League semifinal loss.
One central defender linked with United quite a bit this spring was Lille’s Gabriel Magalhaes, who’s been recruited by Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain and Napoli as well.
There have been reports claiming a Gabriel move to Arsenal is nearly imminent, but Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio says United are trying to swoop in at the last minute. All four teams here have, or will soon have, strong needs in central defense.
PSG looks set to lose Thiago Silva (maybe to Chelsea on a free) while Napoli is expected to see Kalidou Koulibaly, a long time United target, move to Manchester City. So it appears that Magalhaes will make his decision, much sooner rather than later, and then a lot of transfer dominoes will fall into place.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly contributes to WGN TV, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Now and SB Nation.
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