While Manchester United’s clear first choice for a central midfield recruit this summer still appears to be Paris Saint-Germain’s Manuel Ugarte, they are exploring alternatives in case the French club do not come down on their €70 million asking price for the Uruguayan.
One of those, and the least expensive option, is AS Monaco’s Youssouf Fofana.
Pursued by AC Milan, Fofana turned down the chance to move to West Ham United after Monaco accepted a €35 million bid from the Hammers.
With the player desperate to leave, Milan have left €20 million on the table, with the Ligue 1 side holding out for €25m.
This puts the classy midfielder well below Ugarte and other shortlisted stars, Burnley’s Sander Berge and Nottingham Forest’s Danilo in terms of price.
Milan remain confident, with former United star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who now speaks for Milan owner Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird, saying “God created the world in seven days: today is the first.”
“Will the midfielder arrive on the sixth day? It could be. We want to build a team that is as compact as possible.”
Gazzetta dello Sport notes that Milan manager Paulo Fonseca also confirmed yesterday that “the midfielder we are looking for is Fofana, we all know that”.
Milan are still aware that United are lurking, however. GdS confirms that “The scenario for the Monaco player could change if Manchester United were to enter the scene in a decisive manner,” which in itself suggests that the Red Devils have not done so thus far.
What seems to be the case is that Monaco are holding on to Fofana in the hopes of generating a bidding war.
Gazzetta says that “the white smoke for the Uruguayan to the Red Devils would be another assist for Milan in the race for Fofana,” but of course the reverse is true; if United don’t seal the Ugarte deal then they could come calling for Fofana and there could be another €5 to €10million in it for the club nestled on the French border.
If Milan continue to wait patiently, this one is likely to drag on for a while yet, which is good news for United as Fofana is a more than adequate substitute for Ugarte at a fraction of the price.
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