Fabrizio Romano claimed that it is “realistic” for Manchester United to be linked with one highly rated player this summer amid “plenty of interest” from European clubs.
Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos team have opened the club’s war chest and released funds to bolster Erik ten Hag’s first-team squad.
Joshua Zirkzee became the first major signing of the Sir Jim Ratcliffe era at Old Trafford after he was signed in a deal worth £36.54m from Bologna.
United are continuing to strengthen key positions and have inched a step closer to beating Real Madrid in the race to sign Lille defender Leny Yoro.
French centre-back Leny Yoro flew to the UK on Wednesday for his medical after United agreed a deal worth over £50m with Ligue 1 side Lille.
United have also been linked with other defensive options, including Everton star Jarrad Branthwaite and Bayern Munich star Matthijs de Ligt.
The Red Devils are axing other players from the first-team squad, with the likes of Donny van de Beek signing for La Liga side Girona this summer.
Mason Greenwood will also leave Old Trafford and is set to sign for Marseille, while Willy Kambwala was sold to La Liga side Villarreal for an initial fee of £4.63m.
Romano talks Man Utd transfer stance on player
Speaking in his Daily Briefing column, Fabrizio Romano provided an important update on the future of highly rated Dutch prospect Xavi Simons.
Xavi Simons spent last season out on loan at RB Leipzig after Paris Saint-Germain re-signed him from PSV Eindhoven in 2023.
The 21-year-old Dutch attacker scored 10 times and registered 15 assists in 43 appearances across all competitions for RB Leipzig in the 2023-24 campaign.
Simons played a starring role for the Netherlands at Euro 2024 in Germany, with the PSG player scoring once and picking up three assists during the tournament.
The Netherlands international initially left PSG in 2022 and signed for PSV when Manchester United legend Ruud van Nistelrooy was in charge at the club.
PSG triggered the buyback clause in Simons’ contract after an impressive loan spell with PSV and brought him back to the French capital in 2023.
Romano has claimed that United are unlikely to land Simons this summer, with the PSG star “most likely to continue” his career in Germany next season.
“Xavi Simons continues to be linked with Manchester United and it’s something realistic because there has long been plenty of interest from him around Europe, including in England,” he said.
Romano continued: “I’ve been checking with my sources and they’re still saying the same thing – that Simons is most likely to continue in Germany next season.
“We know that Bayern Munich are trying to sign Simons, but RB Leipzig are also still absolutely in the mix.
“Nothing has been decided yet, but it’s between Bayern and Leipzig.”
Erik ten Hag talks Man Utd-linked Simons
Ruud van Nistelrooy, who is now part of Erik ten Hag’s coaching staff, raved about the exceptional talent that he saw from Simons during his time at PSV.
Ten Hag is also an admirer of Simons and praised his performance in the Netherlands’ 2-1 defeat to England in the Euro 2024 semi-finals.
“I enjoyed Xavi Simons in that game [against England],” he said.
“The drive he has, the passion with which he conquers balls and recognises situations are top.
“His enormous drive as well. That is almost un-Dutch. I think you can see that he was trained abroad. He almost has a southern European doggedness in his game.”