Manchester United are currently devising a master plan to sign an “elite” midfielder, with director of recruitment Christopher Wivel revealed to be “definitely” a fan.
Manchester United aim to improve engine room options
After failing to sign a new central midfielder in the summer, it has become increasingly clear that Man United will look to strengthen their midfield options in January, with Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton recently named as one of their targets.
However, Palace owner Steve Parish recently made it clear that he has no intention of selling Wharton to the Red Devils, and the Eagles remain in a good negotiating position with the 21-year-old’s contract running until the summer of 2029.
It has previously been suggested that the south London outfit could be seeking £100m for the England international, meaning Reuben Amorim’s side could have to pay a club-record sum to get the deal over the line.
So, with Man United’s well-documented financial problems, it could make sense to switch focus to more affordable targets, and they have now devised a master plan to sign Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouadi.
This comes as TEAMtalk reports that United are considering a move for Bouadi, who is currently making a name for himself in France, and transfer official Dean Jones has revealed that Vibel is a personal favorite of his.
Jones said: “I think he’s a very interesting player to keep an eye on. He played the full 90 minutes in midfield in the recent game against PSG and a lot of scouts came to the game and watched him.
“Manchester United and Christopher Vibel (in charge of identifying emerging talent) definitely like him.”
It has previously been reported that Lille may be seeking a £40m transfer fee for the 18-year-old, which would be a reasonable amount to pay for such a young player.
‘Elite’ Bouadi could be Manchester United’s future star
Despite his age, the youngster has already emerged as a regular in Lille’s first team and scout Ben Mattinson has been very impressed with his performances this season.
The Frenchman has featured in all seven of Lille’s Ligue 1 games so far, but perhaps his best performance came in the 1-0 win against AS Roma in the Europa League, in which the starlet showed both his defensive and attacking qualities.
statistics | completed number |
Duel (win) | 18(13) |
clearance | 3 |
tackle | 2 |
dribbling (successful) | 4 (4) |
Given that Bouadi is already attracting attention in the Europa League, it’s exciting news that Vibel and others are considering a move, as he could break into Man United’s midfield from the off-season.
