Manchester United
Premier League • England
Man Utd reject shock Turkish bid for star Fabrizio Romano insists ‘will leave’ this summer
Manchester United midfielder Fred has been the subject of an official offer by Turkish champions Galatasaray, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Fred ‘will leave’ Man Utd in the current transfer window, Romano has stated, after five seasons and more than 200 appearances with the club. He is attracting interest from a number of suitors, but Galatasaray have made their move.
It is not clear exactly how much money Galatasaray put on the table for Fred, but their approach to Man Utd was genuine. However, the fee in question was ‘below expectations’ for the selling club.
Man Utd only have Fred under contract for another season. At the age of 30, it might be time for them to move him on – especially after adding Mason Mount to their midfield.
Galatasaray would not be the only destination Man Utd could send Fred to. Interest from Fulham has been well documented and Romano has reiterated it, while adding there are other contenders who could keep him in the Premier League.
Furthermore, Fred is one of the latest players to be attracting attention from suitors in Saudi Arabia.
Man Utd spent a fee in the region of £50m to sign Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2018. They will almost certainly make a loss on that investment, but evidently still believe he has a decent worth.
After all, last season was the busiest of Fred’s career. Across all competitions, Erik ten Hag gave him 56 appearances, which was the first time he had ever surpassed a half century of outings for a single campaign.
He also matched his career-best goal tally for a season by finding the net six times.
Fred falling down Man Utd pecking order despite last season’s gametime
However, in an ideal world, Fred might still be behind Casemiro, Mount, Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes in the midfield pecking order at Old Trafford.
If Ten Hag gets his wish of adding another midfielder to his squad, then – like some fringe options including Scott McTominay and Donny van de Beek – there may be less space for Fred.
The Brazil international was absent from their first pre-season friendly against Leeds United despite travelling with the squad. However, the club clarified in a statement that it was merely to manage his workload.
Nevertheless, there is a risk he may have played his last competitive game in a Man Utd shirt.
If he ends up joining Galatasaray, Fred would get the chance to compete in the Champions League after the Istanbul outfit’s title win. But it remains to be seen if Galatasaray will raise their offer after Man Utd’s initial negative response.