Shock Chelsea interest forces Man Utd to accelerate move for £65m star after talks ‘stagnated’
Chelsea becoming interested in Manchester United transfer target Diogo Costa is expected to ‘shake up’ Erik ten Hag’s side after their discussions for the goalkeeper had ‘stagnated’, according to a report.
Man Utd are in the market for a new keeper as current number one David de Gea will be allowed to move on. Last week the club announced their retained list and De Gea was not on it, with contract negotiations ongoing between the two parties.
The Daily Mirror soon reported that there is not much hope of the Spaniard remaining at Man Utd. He is unhappy after being asked to lower his salary from £375,000 a week to less than £300,000 per week.
There is now a real possibility De Gea’s 12-year spell at Old Trafford will end this summer as he will soon be free to speak with interested clubs about a free transfer.
Man Utd supposedly have four players on their radar as potential successors to De Gea. They are Andre Onana, Diogo Costa, Bart Verbruggen and David Raya.
But with Verbruggen close to joining Brighton and Raya heading elsewhere, it has left Man Utd pondering moves for Onana and Costa.
Portuguese newspaper Record have now revealed the latest information surrounding Costa, as cited by Sport Witness.
It is claimed that Chelsea have suddenly burst into the race for the Porto shot-stopper, despite them previously deciding on Onana as their main target.
Chelsea enter race for Man Utd target
With the Blues getting rid of several players including Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly and Hakim Ziyech, just to name a few, they should have the money to buy Costa without breaking Financial Fair Play Regulations.
However, Chelsea joining the race for Costa may only push him further towards Man Utd. That is because the rival interest has ‘shaken up’ Man Utd and they are now ready to accelerate talks for him.
Negotiations between Man Utd and Porto had previously ‘stagnated’ due to their different valuations of the Portugal international. While Porto want in the region of £65m for him, Man Utd have only said they will bid £30m so far.
But with Chelsea lurking, Man Utd will be forced to re-enter talks with Porto and will simply have to offer them more money to strike a deal.
While £65m seems like a lot for a keeper, there is good reason to suggest that Costa is worth it.
He is already the number one for both his club and country, despite being only 23, which is fairly young for a first-choice keeper. The Switzerland-born star kept 16 clean sheets in 33 league matches last term to help Porto finish second in the Primeira Liga, just two points behind champions Benfica.
Costa being 23 also means Man Utd could benefit from having him as their main keeper for over 10 years, which would make the £65m fee seem like better value for money.
