The rebuild of Manchester United could definitely take some time, so get ready and dig your heels in for that. The upshot is that we’ll have a summer transfer window filled with many comings and goings.
And with Manchester United linked to approximately 97,324 players already, the time is right for some Red Devils transfer talk. In this edition, we begin with the latest on the Romelu Lukaku situation, which saw a major development on Friday. (the second edition of United transfer talk can be found here)
It is thought that Lukaku will be the very first signing of the Antonio Conte era at Inter Milan. He could fill the void left by the potentially departing Mauro Icardi. Just hours ago, it became official that Conte is the new manager of Inter.
It has already been reported that Lukaku has agreed to personal terms with his new team, but the transfer fee has not been agreed upon as of yet. United are holding out for £80 million according to ESPN.
United paid £75m, before the figure rose in add-ons, in 2017 to acquire the Belgian from Everton.
Elsewhere, United have been heavily linked to Newcastle midfielder Sean Longstaff this summer, but the Manchester Evening News claim that Old Trafford’s interest has been exaggerated. (Gee I can’t imagine why?!?! Why would any news outlet make much more of a summer transfer window rumor than is actually there…hmmmmmm)
M.E.N. Sport also cites Magpies club legend Lee Clark in his Tribal Football column, where he explains why he thinks the time is right for Longstaff to move up to a bigger club.
Finally, and please take this one with the utmost grain of salt, United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is the driving force behind United’s interest in signing stellar youngster Reece James from Chelsea. This comes from Metro, who cites the Sun, so believe this bit of transfer gossip at your own risk. We cannot be held liable for anything that results from believing this signing is going to happen.
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.
Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, also contributes to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.