Scouting mission rendered pointless as Man Utd learn Emre Can fate
Manchester United have been told by Juventus that midfielder Emre Can is not for sale.
United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is understood to be looking at adding a central midfielder to his squad this January due to the the injury to Scott McTominay.
Former Liverpool midfielder Can, who has a release clause of €50million, has been linked with United, but Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici has seemingly scuppered their hopes.
“He is staying with us,” Paratici told Sky Sport Italia. “He is one of the most coveted midfielders.
“He has some opportunities and so do we, but I think he can be an important player for our project.”
Can told Kicker: “I’m just an ambitious guy who always wants to compete at the highest level, but I’m also learning from this tough time when things are not going the way I was hoping.
“I’m not playing games from the start, so I’m not happy, but I will stay strong and keep working on myself. I’m often in the gym before or after training, doing extra shifts. I want to be ready.
“A lot can always happen in football.”
However, now it seems Juve are determined to keep hold of the German defensive midfielder, rendering United scouts’ trip to Turin on Monday useless.
United sent scouts to watch Juventus’ 4-0 win over Cagliari in order to track the performances of Merih Demiral and Can, according to Tuttosport.
Can only played for seven minutes as a second-half substitute, giving United officials very little opportunity to see him in action.
Solskjaer is understood to have other midfield targets in his sights and United are also following Inter Milan target Arturo Vidal via Corriere della Sera.
Chilean television station DirecTV said yesterday that United had suddenly jumped into the race for Vidal after making Barca a €20million offer for the player.
Another target for United is Sean Longstaff, who emerged for Newcastle last season, although Steve Bruce says he knows nothing about any move from United for the player.
