Euro Paper Talk: Man Utd send chief scout to watch Benfica duo
Man Utd sent their chief scout to watch two Benfica stars at the weekend while Liverpool have withstood an incredible Real Madrid proposal.
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Manchester United sent their chief scout to watch two Benfica stars at the weekend, while Liverpool have stood firm in the wake of an incredible €300m swap proposal from Real Madrid, according to Tuesday’s European papers.
MAN UTD CHIEF SCOUT EYES BENFICA DUO
Manchester United reportedly sent chief scout Marcel Bout to watch Benfica pair Ruben Dias and Joao Felix in their 4-1 victory over Braga on Sunday.
Dias, a 21-year-old centre-back, and Felix, a 19-year-old forward, have impressed over the course of the campaign in Portugal and are reported to be on the radars of a number of Europe’s top clubs.
United, who are facing a huge summer revamp, are looking to reduce the average age of their squad as they look to try and bridge the gap to Premier League frontrunners Liverpool and Man City next season.
Felix has scored 18 goals in 40 appearances for Benfica this season while Dias, who has won nine caps for Portugal, has notched four times in 53 games.
Portuguese outlet O Jogo claims that United deployed Bout to cast his eye over the pair after highly-respected scout Simon Wells, who reportedly scouted Victor Lindelof at the same club, returned his initial observations.
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LYON REVEAL MAN UTD APPROACH FOR TANGUY NDOMBELE
Manchester United’s intention to sign Lyon midfielder Tanguy Ndombele has been confirmed by the club’s president Jean-Michel Aulas.
The France midfielder is expected to leave the Ligue 1 giants this summer after catching the eye in the Champions League – and comes with a price tag of around €80m.
That’s unlikely to prove prohibitive to the giants of world football, and according to Tuttosport, United have made an undisclosed bid for the all-action schemer in a bid to lure him to Old Trafford.
But while Aulas is resigned to losing his star man, he insists he would, however, rather see the player move to Italy.
“It’s true that Juventus are after Ndombele,” he told Tuttosport. “But there’s also PSG, Manchester United and City.
“I’d honestly like to see Ndombele at Juventus with [Miralem] Pjanic, a player we launched at Lyon and who I’m still very attached to.
“We’ll see what happens. I won’t talk about money. Economic parameters are the priority when selling players, but I’d like to sell him to [Juve chief] Andrea Agnelli if all the offers were the same.”
It’s claimed United want Ndombele as a replacement for Paul Pogba – a player he has been likened to – but Aulas insists the Lyon man has been superior this season.
“Paul was the leading light of a great World Cup with France but, as is normal, he paid a bit for the World Cup this season.
“Ndombele has been more decisive this season and is more complete for me.”
Reports in Spanish paper AS, meanwhile, also claim Zinedine Zidane wants Real Madrid to sign Ndombele this summer – but it’s suggested he’s only their back-up option to Pogba.
AND THE REST
Inter Milan are set to open talks with Juventus over a huge summer swoop for forward Moise Kean (Corriere dello Sport)
Napoli have agreed a €20m deal to sign Fiorentina midfielder Jordan Veretout this summer (Il Mattino)
Rodri has told Atletico Madrid he wants to stay at the club despite claims Manchester City have triggered the €70m exit clause in his contract (AS)
Celtic have submitted a bid for Paris FC forward Silas Wamangituka, who has previously been linked to Barcelona (Calciomercato)
Real Madrid have failed with an undisclosed offer, which included the chance to sign €100m-rated Marco Asensio, to Liverpool for their €200m (£174m) rated forward Sadio Mane (Don Balon)
Atletico Madrid hope to beat off competition from Tottenham and Leicester City to sign SPAL striker Andrea Petagna this summer (Nuovo Ferrera)
Napoli have made an offer between €18m-€20m for Kieran Trippier – but Tottenham are holding out for nearer €30m (Gianluca Di Marzio)
Chelsea have been left disappointed after making an approach for Thomas Tuchel – only for the German to tell them he was ready to sign an extended deal with PSG (Get French Football News)
West Ham and Watford will rival AC Milan and Sevilla in the race to sign out-of-favour Colombia winger Juan Cuadrado from Juventus this summer (Tuttosport)
Neymar’s father has held a secret meeting with Manchester City officials to discuss a huge summer transfer for his son (Don Balon)
Miralem Pjanic admits he doesn’t know if he will still be a Juventus player next season amid talk of a €65m switch to PSG (Corriere dello Sport)
Nice’s €40m-rated right-back Youcef Atal is on a target list for Chelsea this summer (Le10 Sport)
West Ham youngster Reece Oxford is close to agreeing a permanent switch to Bundesliga club Augsburg (SportsBild)
Brahim Diaz, who joined Real Madrid from Manchester City in January, is expected to be loaned out next season despite featuring in four of their last six games (Marca)
Real Madrid want to loan Martin Odegaard to Ajax on a two-year deal rather than a permanent move (De Telegraaf)
Lyon are said to have held a series of talks with former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger over replacing outgoing manager Bruno Genesio (L’Equipe)
Neymar has admitted he would like to play with Eden Hazard in future years, with both players strongly linked to Real Madrid (Fox Sports Brazil)
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