Manchester United aim to ‘seduce’ Lucien Agoume into snubbing Arsenal in favour of a move to Old Trafford with two promises to the Sevilla star.
Agoume has emerged as a target for Arsenal this week as the Gunners look for a replacement for Thomas Partey.
Contract talks with the Ghanaian have ‘collapsed’ after he asked for an increase in his £200,000 per week salary to extend his deal at the Emirates.
PSG’s Warren Zaire-Emery, Barcelona’s Marc Casado and Real Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga represent unlikely options thought to be of interest to Mikel Arteta and Andrea Berta, with Agoume a more realistic option along with Lille’s teen sensation Ayyoub Bouaddi.
A report from Spanish outlet Fichajes has confirmed that Arsenal see Agoume – whose game has been compared to N’Golo Kante – ‘as an interesting option for its balance between physical, tactical criteria and projection’.
The report claims ‘Arsenal seems to be the closest destination’ but with ‘nothing closed yet’, both Tottenham and Manchester United have entered the race.
‘Tottenham see in Agoume an opportunity to add a young and versatile profile in the centre of the field’, while United ‘consider the Frenchman an alternative to rebuild an area of the team that showed many shortcomings last season’ after a less than impressive first campaign for £42m Manuel Ugarte.
It’s claimed that without European football the Red Devils will ‘seduce the player with minutes and a solid project’…
United are also desperate to land a new striker after a poor season for Rasmus Hojlund, who’s been heavily linked with a move to Serie A, and after top target Viktor Gyokeres confirmed he has no interest in a move to Old Trafford, a very surprising move for Everton’s Beto – who moved to Goodison Park for £21m from Udinese in 2023 – has been mooted by the president of Uniao Tires, the striker’s first club.
“Everyone thought Amorim would sign Gyokeres as he had him at Sporting, but the Premier League is completely different to Portugal,” Lopes told The Sun.
“Teams are more physical and compact at the back, it is quicker and more competitive. Gyokeres would struggle to play as a lone No 9 waiting for service.
“Beto’s a more physical player, who fights with defenders and doesn’t lose duels. He is a real headache for opponents — if he gets the service. In their golden era, United always scored a lot of goals from set-pieces but haven’t had a proper striker for many seasons. Nowadays, teams have small, quick strikers or a false forward because there is an obsession for possession of the ball.
“Beto represents the typical old style, because of his physique, power and work-rate — plus he is very fast. When Moyes went to Everton he showed what a handful he is for defenders to stop. He’d be like Amorim’s ace up his sleeve in a game of poker.”