With three defensive reinforcements and a striker nailed down, Manchester United are turning their attention to the middle of the park in the remainder of this transfer window.
It looked certain that one acquisition in that area would be Paris Saint-Germain’s Manuel Ugarte, but the Parisian club’s recalcitrance in terms of a €70 million transfer fee has left the Red Devils having to look elsewhere for a holding midfielder.
The club has been linked with Monaco’s Youssouf Fofana and Burnley’s Sander Berge in recent weeks, among others, but now there is a new name to be added to the shortlist – Nottingham Forest’s Brazilian ace, Danilo.
This is according to TNT Sports Brazil, who posted on X late last night that:
“Danilo’s staff has received inquiries from Milan and Manchester United.
“There is interest, but no proposal has been formalized so far.”
DE SAÍDA PRA ALGUM GIGANTE EUROPEU? De acordo com informações de @reporterfragoso, o staff de Danilo recebeu sondagens de Milan e Manchester United. O Nottingham Forest aceitaria negociar o jogador por cerca de 40 milhões de euros. O interesse existe, mas nenhuma proposta… pic.twitter.com/tUXueC0Ggt
— TNT Sports BR (@TNTSportsBR) August 12, 2024
It is an interesting twist in the saga as Milan are also reportedly competing with United for Fofana. Clearly both clubs are fishing in the same waters.
Danilo, who is not to be confused with his namesakes at Juventus and PSG, joined the Tricky Trees from Brazilian side Palmeiras in January last year for €20 million (around €17 million) and immediately became the lynchpin of their midfield, playing 15 games and helping his side avoid the drop.
Last season he played 34 games for Forest as they managed to stay up again. He played in both Premier League matches and in the FA Cup against Erik ten Hag’s men and particularly caught the eye in the 2-1 victory at the City Ground, where he bossed the United midfield for large parts of the game.
According to TNT, “Forest are not opposed to a sale of Danilo, but demands that the amount offered be at least 40 million euros [£34 million].”
This is considerably less than PSG want for Ugarte and slightly more than Burnley want for Berge. However, it is considerably more than the €25m/£21m Monaco want for Fofana.
What plays in United’s favour, however, is that Milan are cash strapped, having just bought Emerson Royal from Spurs, and they are unlikely to come anywhere close to Forest’s asking price. Likewise they remain €5 million away from Monaco’s new and reduced figure for Fofana, leaving the door wide open for the Red Devils.
How resolute the Midlands side are on that price remains to be seen, but United would seem to hold all the aces in terms of both Fofana and Danilo and may be able to take their pick of the two stars.
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