There are only 23 days left before the summer transfer window closes in England, and Manchester United still have plenty of business to attend to. Three days after the window closes, United will host Chelsea in the season opener. In other words, the silly season will soon give way to the season of substance.
Right now there are two names currently driving the news cycle in regards to Man United comings and goings- striker Romelu Lukaku and central defender Victor Lindelof. We’ll start with the latter, who has dismissed talk of a move to FC Barcelona.
The Sweden international, who finished runner-up to Luke Shaw in the team’s Player of the Year award this past season, has been linked with a transfer to the Catalan club this summer window.
However, the 24-year-old centre back maintains he’s happy at Old Trafford.
“I’m very, very happy to be a Manchester United player,” Lindelof told the media while on preseason tour with the club in Perth, Australia.
“I’m excited for the new season to start. That’s my answer. I’m very happy here.”
While he’s likely staying put, the future of Lukaku is up in the air. According to various media outlets today, Inter Milan have entered a bid of £60 million for the big Belgian. It remains to be seen whether or not United would accept such an offer, as they’re reportedly holding out for more money.
They paid £75 million, before add-ons, for him in 2017, so obviously they would take a major financial hit on this deal. However, Big Rom is on one list of footballers who have supposedly seen their projected transfer market value decrease. His devaluation is among the worst of anybody, so United may have take a haircut on the sale here.
If they indeed want to move him. Lukaku missed United’s first exhibition friendly in Australia this past Saturday (a win over Perth Glory) due to a minor injury, but he’s expected to feature in the next one tomorrow night versus Leeds United.
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 appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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