Man Utd Target Dropped As He Refuses To Join Club After £26M Bid Is Accepted

BACK David Tully Feb 20th 2026 Man Utd transfer target Karl Etta Eyong was “being pressured” to join CSKA Moscow by Levante, according to journalist Ben Jacobs. The Cameroon international was benched for the 1-0 defeat to Villarreal on Wednesday night, with Levante keen for him to leave for Russia. A bid of €30m (£26m) had reportedly been accepted for Eyong, but he was not interested in making the switch to Moscow. With the Russian transfer deadline having now passed, the move is officially dead. It remains to be seen what the fallout will be between the player and his club. It may not be resolved until the summer when the transfer window reopens. Man Utd are one of 6 clubs pursuing the forward Jacobs has confirmed that Eyong is “on the radar” of the Red Devils, along with the likes of Arsenal, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Everton and Fulham. With the striker aware of the interest from teams in other countries, he was not prepared to leave for CSKA Moscow. Why is there so much interest in Eyong? The striker started the campaign in excellent form, having scored 5 goals in his first 7 league games for Levante. That prompted speculation about his future, despite only recently moving from Villarreal. A release clause in Eyong’s contract means he will be on the market in the summer, and United are among those who are said to be tempted to trigger it. It is likely that the 22-year-old will only be targeted if the Red Devils decide to offload Joshua Zirkzee. The Dutchman was heavily linked with a transfer away from Old Trafford last month, and if he doesn’t get regular game time between now and the end of the season, it is expected that he will request a transfer. Want more news on Man Utd? Add Man U News as a preferred source on Google David Tully David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for the Football News Network.