Man Utd to be forced to put Brazil striker raid on hold as price hike quoted

Benfica want to make the most from the sale of Manchester United strike target Carlos Vinicius by keeping hold of him for a further year and increasing his value, according to reports.

The Brazilian moved to the Portuguese top flight from Napoli last summer and he currently sits top of the division’s scoring charts with 15 strikes – as well as seven assists – in 22 appearances.

Such form has raised reported interest in his signature from the Premier League, with Liverpool said to be interested in previous reports.

United have also been mentioned with interest and are reportedly ready to offer £35million to sign Vinicius, but according to O Jogo (via Sport Witness), Benfica will hold off from entertaining such interest for another year.

The newspaper says that while Benfica accept they could be forced into selling Vinicius next summer, they are “satisfied” with his current form and believe he can play a significant role for another season.

Such an approach is a two-pronged one – according to O Jogo – which will also allow Vinicius’ price tag to increase and therefore hand Benfica a bigger pot from his sale.

It is claimed that Benfica are preparing to offer Vinicius a new and improved contract in the hope that it will convince the player to remain in Portugal.

 

Among United’s top priorities for the upcoming transfer window is an attacking reinforcement, with boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer keen to add further firepower alongside Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.

Indeed, Solskjaer’s lack of depth was clear to see when Rashford suffered a serious back injury in January, forcing the manager’s hand in signing Odion Ighalo on loan.

Should United’s pursuit of Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho fall through, however, a report has claimed that rising Schalke star Rabbi Matondo is their back-up target.

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