It’s been radio silence over the last two weeks surrounding one potential Manchester United departure.
While talks to send Mason Greenwood to Juventus are heating up quickly, while Raphael Varane, Anthony Martial, Omari Forson and Brandon Williams have all departed on free transfers, there are a handful of other Manchester United player’s very much in limbo.
Not exactly ‘for sale’, per se, but not guaranteed to stay either.
Man United may not be encouraging offers but nor are they discouraging them. It may be telling that United have only triggered the 12-month extension clause in Aaron Wan-Bissaka‘s contract rather than hand the defender a more long-term deal.
There remains a feeling that, despite his well-documented defensive talents, the Red Devils are not really convinced that Wan-Bissaka is the sort of player who can help lay the foundations for the Ineos rebuild. Lest we forget that, when Erik ten Hag has his defence fit and available, it is Diogo Dalot who has featured more regularly from the off.
Manchester United may sell Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Tuttomercatoweb reported a fortnight ago that Serie A champions Inter Milan had opened up talks with Manchester United regarding a potential switch to the San Siro. The report said that Inter are willing to offer Wan-Bissaka an initial three-year deal worth £50,000-a-week.
£10 million may be enough to seal the deal with the former Crystal Palace ace due to become a free-agent 12 months from now.
Since then, however, it’s all gone a little quiet. Rumours of a move to Galatasaray continue to swirl in Turkey, but those Inter links? Not so much.
Italian reporter Paolo Bargiggia has now shed some light on the situation, two weeks on, while explaining why those discussions have not really progressed to any extent.
Inter, he says, will only move for Wan-Bissaka if Denzel Dumfries leaves first.
And with the Dutch interantional reportedly keen to stay and fight for his place, this looks like a pretty complex arrangement, with a lot of dominoes needing to fall before Wan-Bissaka can even consider purchasing an Italian dictionary.
Inter Milan must sell before they can buy
“Among those who can be sold are Dumfries and (Marko) Arnautovic,” Bargiggia tells Super News. “Inter will have to try to sign another striker, or even (maybe) two more. Then a wide player will be needed in case of the Dutchman’s departure.
“The names on (CEO Beppe) Marotta’s list are (Michael) Kayode from Fiorentina and Wan-Bissaka from Manchester United.”
Interestingly, Dumfries has been linked with Man United in recent transfer windows. The prospect of a straight swap deal cannot be entirely ruled out, then. Especially after Ineos confirmed that Erik ten Hag – Dumfries’ compatriot and reportedly an admirer – will be sticking around at Old Trafford for the time being.
Fotomac, meanwhile, claim that Galatasaray had an opening offer of £8.5 million turned down by Man United for Wan-Bissaka. The Turkish champions could return with a new and improved bid, however, after head coach Okan Buruk confirmed his desire to sign a right-back to replace Bayern Munich newbie Sacha Boey.
“Our president has authorised (us to sign) the best,” Buruk tells Sporx. “We will buy the best players we can. We will (sign) very important players. Very important transfers.
“A right-back will be signed very urgently. We are thinking of players who will support the forward line. We have identified very important players, (and) we will make transfers that will make the fans very happy, so everyone can be comfortable.”