Sometimes, opportunities arise that just feel too good to miss. Manchester United want at least one new midfielder this summer, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Sofyan Amrabat expected to depart.
And what if we told you there is a player with the physicality of Casemiro and the poise of Amrabat available on the market for a reported fee of just £17 million, his contract expiring in 2025? A player with 17 caps, and still young at just 25.
A player who possesses the physicality required for the Premier League at 6ft 1ins, as well as the technical ability to fit into a possession-based gameplan. The dynamism, the ground-covering and ball-carrying prowess Manchester United have so sorely lacked during a campaign in which their formation has looked almost donut-shaped, with a gaping big hole in the middle.
Manchester United could sign midfield star for £17m
Usually, at this point, we’d tell you that there is a catch. That it’s simply too good to be true.
But, in truth, we really cannot see a drawback to spending £17 million on bringing Youssouf Fofana to Old Trafford from Monaco.
Not with the Ligue 1 side’s CEO Thiago Scuro admitting that Les Monegasques are ‘open to selling’ due to Fofana’s contract situation. And not with the man himself going public with his desire for a new challenge.
“My future? I have spoken about it with the hierarchy. (What I want) isn’t a secret,” Fofana, who has been included in France’s Euro 2024 squad, tells Get France Football News. “We had exchanges and they agreed to accompany me in this new stage (looking for a club).”
“If it (a move) doesn’t happen, I still have a year left and I will be happy to stay.
“We were in agreement that we would accompany each other in this process in which everyone should be a winner, be it me or the club.”
Fofana may not be a true ‘master’ of any position. But what he is, is an all-action, all-rounder. The sort of tenacious, tough-tackling powerhouse who could be the key to getting even more out of Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo.
“Youssouf Fofana is an attacking midfielder, box to box I would say. (He has) work-rate,” former France defender Olivier Bernard tells the BBC.
“We compare him to N’Golo Kante at times because he does defend hard and he always wants to win the ball.”
The next N’Golo Kante
Fofana, per WhoScored, averages more interceptions per game than any current Man United midfielder He also provided four goals and four assists across the 2023/24 Ligue 1 season, highlighting his ability to get forward and make valuable contributions in the final third a la Casemiro at peak fitness.
According to Romano, Man United had a loan bid rejected by Monaco last last summer before Amrabat’s arrival. One year on, with Casemiro, Eriksen and Amrabat likely to be on their way and United screaming out for a midfielder of his presence and power, it would seem a little foolish not to go knocking on Monaco’s door again.
“Youssouf Fofana’s exit in the summer window is almost guaranteed,” Romano wrote on X on Thursday. “He’s not even negotiating a new deal at AS Monaco. There’s interest from England, Italy and not only (those leagues).
“One to watch in the upcoming weeks.”