Sir Jim Ratcliffe gives green Light To Sign Bargain Casemiro Upgrade For Man United

Sir Jim Ratcliffe gives green Light To Sign Bargain Casemiro Upgrade For Man United

Manchester United have the chance to sign a long-term midfield target as Sir Jim Ratcliffe plans to sell Casemiro.

Man United are in for a summer of major change with Erik ten Hag tipped to be sacked as manager and several players expected to follow him out the exit door.

One area Sir Jim Ratcliffe is determined to bolster is midfield, with the Ineos chief determined to get stars who are past their best and on big contracts off the books – with Casemiro and Christian Eriksen being two examples.

Sofyan Amrabat is also set to return to Fiorentina once his loan from Fiorentina so there will be a major void in the Red Devils’ squad that will need to be filled.

One midfield target Man Utd have had their eye on for some time is Monaco star Youssouf Fofana, who has also been linked with Arsenal in recent weeks.

The French international can play as a defensive, central or right midfielder with his versatility being one of the things Ratcliffe is reportedly fond of.

Man Utd tried to sign Fofana on a loan-to-buy deal last summer but their proposal was swiftly rejected.

Fofana has scored four goals and made four assists in 35 appearances for Monaco this season and the French club ideally want to keep him, but the 25-year-old is ready for a new challenge elsewhere.

Fabrizio Romano tips Man Utd to seal bargain deal
Despite Fofana’s importance to Monaco there seems to be an acceptance within the club that he will leave this summer amid interest from the Premier League.

As relayed by Fabrizio Romano, Monaco director Thiago Scuro has been quoted saying Fofana is a player who will ‘probably’ be sold if ‘the right offer’ is put on the table.

“He is probably one of the players that we are open to selling this summer,” Scuro said in a recent interview.

“We will see the opportunities that he has, same for Guillermo Maripán,” he added.

Romano has told Caught Offside, that Man Utd could sign Fofana for as little as €20m (approx. £17m) – which has to be considered a major bargain.

That is because the midfielder is only under contract until 2025 and he seemingly has no intension of signing an extension with Monaco.

It will be interesting to see if Ratcliffe sanctions a concrete offer for Fofana in the coming weeks, as reports suggest.