Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Man Utd transfer news: Leicester plot enticing bid for costly flop whose exit could gift Liverpool or Arsenal a midfield coup

Man Utd stars Donny van de Beek and Harry Maguire

Leicester have formulated a bid they hope will convince Man Utd to sell Donny van de Beek in January, and a green light could steer a bigger prize to Liverpool or Arsenal, per reports.

The arrival of Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford was expected to breathe new life into Van de Beek. Ten Hag managed the midfielder during their time at Ajax, while the exit of Paul Pogba removed one obstacle from his path to regular minutes.

However, Manchester United signed two new midfielders last summer – Christian Eriksen and Casemiro.

Eriksen has slotted straight into the starting eleven alongside Scott McTominay. Casemiro has had to be patient, but his chances will come.

The end result is Van de Beek still struggling for minutes, with just 19 racked up in three league cameos this season.

Ten Hag reportedly blocked a Van de Beek return to Ajax over the summer. However, it quickly became apparent the 25-year-old wasn’t the player he was used to seeing.

A dramatic loss of confidence shocked Ten Hag who it’s claimed is now open to sanctioning a January exit.

According to French outlet JeunesFooteux, Van de Beek’s next stop could be Leicester.

Foxes formulate loan-to-buy deal

The Foxes have limped out of the gate this season, though did produce a morale-boosting 4-0 victory over Nottingham Forest on Monday night.

They still remain entrenched in the relegation zone, but signing fresh blood in the winter window would give them a timely boost.

The report states they’ve formulated a loan deal with an option to buy. The option would reportedly be set well below the £35m Man Utd paid to sign Van de Beek at just £13m.

That structure of deal is said to be ‘under study’ at present and if a deal were to be made, it’d offset the potential departure of Youri Tielemans.

Van de Beek and Tielemans futures intertwined?

The Belgium international is in the final year of his deal at the King Power. There is little hope he’ll sign an extension, meaning January is Leicester’s final chance to cash in.

JeunesFooteux explicitly state Van de Beek would be signed with a view to replacing Tielemans. The fact Leicester seemingly have a replacement in mind will alert the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal.

Both clubs are known to be hunting midfield reinforcements in 2023.

Arsenal were heavily linked with Tielemans over the summer but decided to keep their powder dry. He was valued around the £25m mark at the time, though that figure will drop come January.

Liverpool too have been linked and their midfield issues are well documented.

Fabrizio Romano weighed in on Tieleman’s future earlier on Tuesday and claimed there are no concrete updates as yet.

However, he did confirm an extension at Leicester is out of the question and the player hopes to decide his future either during or after the World Cup.

“At the moment there are still no concrete updates for Youri Tielemans,” Romano explained (via CaughtOffside).

“For sure, he’s not extending his contract with Leicester. But at the moment there are no advanced talks with any club. It will start during or after the World Cup.”

Tielemans may wish to determine his future at the back end of 2022. However, if the French report is accurate, Leicester may make the decision for him.

It stands to reason any Tielemans exit will only be signed off if they can sign a replacement first. Van de Beek looks to be the frontrunner in that regard right now.

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