Man United offer Facundo Pellistri in a swap deal for £69m Sporting Lisbon midfielder and Christian Erikson’s close friend

Man United offer Facundo Pellistri in a swap deal for £69m Sporting Lisbon midfielder and Christian Erikson’s close friend

Manchester United have offered attacking midfielder Facundo Pellistri in a swap deal for Sporting Lisbon midfielder Morten Hjulmand, according to the Sun.

However, the Portuguese club are not keen on such a deal and have told the Red Devils to trigger his £69 million release clause to land him.

Pellistri is out of favour at the Old Trafford club and has been linked with an exit during the January transfer window.

Man United want to bolster their options in defensive midfield and have identified Hjulmand as a target, offering the Ukraine international in exchange.

They will need to part with £69m to have a chance of landing the Denmark international from the look of things, as Lisbon do not see Pellistri as having equal value to Hjulmand.

Man United have scouted the 24-year-old Danish powerhouse at least six times already this season, seeing him in action in the Primeira Liga and Europa League.

Manager Erik ten Hag wants to bring in a new defensive midfielder as Sofyan Amrabat has failed to impress since joining on loan from Fiorentina, while the ageing Casemiro has struggled with his fitness.

Hjulmand is close friends with Christian Eriksen, who admires his qualities, and he regards the veteran midfielder as a mentor.

The chance to reunite with him and Rasmus Hojlund at the Theatre of Dreams could appeal to the Sporting star.

The 6ft 1in midfielder is solid when it comes to tackling and intercepting the ball, and he is renowned for his accurate long passes and a love for shooting from a distance.

Hjulmand has featured in 24 games across all competitions since joining Sporting from Serie A club Lecce for around £15m in the summer, weighing in with a goal and an assist.

He has impressed Man United enough for them to want to send Pellistri the other way, but a move is unlikely to happen if Sporting insist on selling him for £69m.

The Red Devils cannot spend that much right now as they look to remain compliant with Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules, and a summer deal for that fee is not feasible either given the bitter experiences they have had with recent big-money signings