Manchester United has already spent €71 million to secure two signings this summer. Jose Mourinho beat rival Pep Guardiola in the battle for Shakhtar Donetsk’s Fred (€59 million) and beat Bayern Munich to highly-rated Porto prospect Diogo Dalot (€22 million). Stoke’s goalkeeper Lee Grant is next in line. When the deal is made official, he’ll become Manchester United’s third-choice goalkeeper behind David de Gea and Sergio Romero.
Daley Blind
The acquisition of Diogo Dalot has made Daley Blind expendable. The Ajax academy product never really adapted to life in England. He came as a defensive midfielder, but mostly played as a left back or a central defender. He was good, but not great in all of those positions. Good is not enough for a team like Manchester United. His versatility is valuable, so there will be teams interested in his signature. The main obstacle for whoever decides to approach The Red Devils is his €135.000 weekly salary. Ajax are very interested in resigning Blind, but can’t afford to pay a transfer fee and his salary. The only way Blind would be able to join the Dutch club before his contract expires in 12 months is if Manchester United would waive the wage fee. For what it’s worth, Blind seems to be willing to go back to Holland:
“I can not say much about it, but everyone knows how I feel about Ajax.”
Marouane Fellaini
Fellaini put pen to paper on a new two plus one contract last week, ending months-long speculations about his future with the club. Even though Jose Mourinho was adamant he wanted to keep the tall Belgian and pushed him to sign a contract, Fellaini was reluctant to do so until now. His agent was waiting for a better offer and might have used talks with Arsenal as leverage.
“They never really offered something on paper. His agent tried to get the club interested in him but it never went that far.”
There was no actual offer by Arsenal, but perception was enough for United to cave in and agree to Fellaini’s terms in order to get the deal done.
Willian
Jose Mourinho has been in pursuit of the Brazilian for quite some time. For obvious reasons, Chelsea is not willing to let him go for cheap, especially to United. The Blues have recently set Willian’s asking price at €80 million, a fee that will deter most suitors.
Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale is another option. Mourinho has been a long-time admirer of the Welshman, but Bale’s price will be even steeper if Real Madrid decide to sell.
Leonardo Bonucci
Leonardo Bonucci has come up as another potential big name signing. The center back joined AC Milan last season in a shocking move from rival Juventus. However, the Italian club’s financial problems could force them to sell and Bonucci’s sale would fetch some much needed cash.
Anthony Martial, Ander Herrera, Juan Mata, Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Matteo Darmian are some of the players who are not expected to be on Manchester United’s roster come opening day.
