Manchester United have been boosted by a ‘leak’ out of Serie A claiming the Red Devils can pay for a top striker target in ‘two instalments’.
The Red Devils have so far only managed to sign Matheus Cunha from Wolves for £62.5m and Diego Leon for £3.5m from Cerro Porteno, and are said to currently be focused entirely on prising Bryan Mbeumo away from Brentford.
They’ve seen two bids rejected for the 25-year-old, the latest of which is said to have matched the fee paid for Cunha, with the Bees holding out for £65m for the Cameroon international, who is keen on the move to Old Trafford but perhaps not as desperate as the United bosses would like.
Fans won’t have been hugely encouraged by reports on Sunday claiming the club is considering a move for free agent Dominic Calvert-Lewin to solve their striker woes, but Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport has provided them with a much-needed boost.
A report from the same publication last week claimed United are ‘always vigilant’ over former Everton striker Moise Kean and that the Red Devils ‘are regularly in touch to monitor the situation of the 2000-born player’.
In 44 appearances for Fiorentina last season, Kean racked up an impressed 25 goals and three assists, and that report claimed United are ‘one of the favourites’ to sign Kean and ‘the charm of the Premier League and Old Trafford could tempt the former Juventus player, who would also be guaranteed a top player’s salary’.
Kean has a release clause of £44m which previous reports have suggested United were considering triggering in a bid to beat Saudi Pro League clubs to his signing, but it’s now claimed they could pay that fee in two instalments, making the transfer even more appealing to the cash poor Premier League side.
‘Based on leaks from Fiorentina, it’s possible to pay the clause in two instalments. So, anyone who wants to buy Kean can spread the payment’, the report states.
That news may well be a timely boost for Red Devils fans, who are faced with the reality of their club missing their own ‘internal deadline’ to sign Mbeumo, assuming the deal isn’t done late on Sunday night or in the early hours of the morning before they begin pre-season training on Monday.
Fabrizio Romano’s last update of significance (if you can call it that) came a week ago:
“I can tell you that today, even if it’s Sunday, the contacts continue, even today, between Manchester United and Brentford.
“So constant contacts between the two clubs to reach an agreement for Bryan Mbeumo. There is still no here we go, but may United keep working on that, United keep advancing, United keep their confidence and their optimism to make the deal happen.
“So Manchester United are going very strong for Bryan Mbeumo, and now the feeling is quite positive on that one, once again.
“So don’t forget the Bryan Mbeumo deal for the next days, for the next week also, because may United will be pushing and pushing again to get it over the line, and so the here we go is still a strong possibility for Bryan Mbeumo as a new Manchester United player.”