Manchester United
Premier League • England
Man Utd steam back into race to sign classy Amrabat replacement available at price Ratcliffe will love
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is keen to sign Youssouf Fofana for Man Utd
Manchester United have reportedly reignited their interest in signing a quality replacement for disappointing loan addition Sofyan Amrabat at the end of the season.
The Red Devils snapped up the Morocco international last summer and have a permanent deal in place if they want to take up that option, something that Erik ten Hag has decided against.
In truth Amrabat has been a disappointing signing for a player who has been coveted by Premier League clubs for a couple of years and who also had an outstanding World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
In fairness to the 27-year-old his situation probably wasn’t helped by the fact that he needed to fill in as an emergency left-back early in the season due to injuries to United duo Tyrell Malacia and Luke Shaw.
It did not exactly give Amrabat the chance to make an immediate impression in his favoured holding midfield role and things have turned sour from there really.
And will Amrabat on his way back to Italy in the summer and Casemiro also likely to move on, Ten Hag is well aware his midfield will be in need of some major surgery at the end of the season – if the Dutchman can survive at Old Trafford himself.
That is where the latest reports on Monaco midfielder Youssouf Fofana come in, with the 25-year-old French international having excelled in Ligue 1 this season.
The midfielder has the physical and technical attributes to do well in English football and is considered a significant upgrade over Amrabat.
What’s more, it’s previously been reported by transfer insider Rudy Galetti that Monaco are willing to accept a fee of around €30million (£26m) for his services.
Fofana keen on Old Trafford switch
It’s also reported that the player views a move to United as an attractive proposition and is likely to be tempted if a concrete approach is made for his services.
Fofana can operate as a defensive midfielder or in more of a No.8 role and would certainly give Ten Hag dynamism that has been lacking in his engine room this campaign.
The Monaco man could become one of a number of signings under Sir Jim Ratcliffe, with the summer likely to be when the boyhood United fan’s impact will be felt the most.
January additions are likely to be difficult to come by, with loan deals a more realistic option – as they were this time a year ago.
United have already begun the process of offloading players who are not contributing under Ten Hag, with Donny van de Beek and Jadon Sancho both offloaded on loan – and there is a strong chance neither will be seen in a United shirt again if those temporary moves go well.
The Red Devils are back in action on Sunday when they host Tottenham in the Premier League and can close the gap to the fifth-placed Spurs to five points with a win in the race for Champions League football.