United reject £40m bid for Garnacho from Napoli with INEOS “ready to play hardball” – report

Manchester United have rejected a £40 million bid from Napoli for Alejandro Garnacho with the Red Devils unwilling to compromise on their valuation of the 20-year-old attacker.

The Serie A side are believed to have made Garnacho their “number one target” this month to replace Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, with the Georgian winger set to join Paris Saint-Germain in a deal worth in excess of €70 million.

Antonio Conte has reportedly identified the United youngster as the best candidate to take Kvaratskhelia’s place on the left-wing at the Diego Maradonna Stadium, with former Red Scott McTominay having been “in contact” with Garnacho in an effort to convince him to follow the Scot’s journey to Naples.

Garnacho is open to a move to Italy with Napoli currently atop Serie A and looking favourites to win their fourth league title.

United are reluctant to lose a youngster with such talent who has already made a strong impression since entering the first-team at Old Trafford.

However, the club’s precarious financial fair play situation means United will consider offers for players previously deemed ‘untouchable’, including Kobbie Mainoo, Leny Yoro and Garnacho.

Out of the talented trio, Garnacho is the profile most incompatible with Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-3 system. Both Yoro and Mainoo slot seamlessly into defence and midfield respectively, but the young Argentine lacks the defensive nous to play as a wingback, and the intricate ability to thrive as a number ten.

Garnacho is best deployed as a flying winger on the left in a 4-3-3 – the exact spot Napoli are envisioning he will play in under Conte.

Serie A is also a slower league with less physical demands, meaning Garnacho’s electric combination of speed and direct dribbling are likely to be even more effective than in the Premier League.

United will be desperate to buttress their transfer war chest this summer to allow Old Trafford officials to target players perfectly suited to Amorim’s system. A new left wing-back, a central midfielder and a forward will be high on the list, with potential options for each position unlikely to be cheap.

As such, if a club offers £60 million for Garnacho this month, United are expected to begrudgingly accept. But any deals below this valuation will be rejected with the club “ready to play hardball for the 20-year-old”, according to Jeremy Cross (Daily Mirror).

Garnacho’s status as an academy player means his sale would constitute a treasure trove from an FFP perspective, further incentivising a lucrative departure.

It remains to be seen whether Napoli will return with an improved bid for Garnacho but this feels like a transfer saga that will stay very much alive for the final two weeks of the January window.

Feature image Julian Finney via Getty Images

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