From Italy: United at the front of the queue for lethal £44m hitman seeking revenge in England – report

The two-week window for Moise Kean’s release clause is open from today with Manchester United continuing to monitor the Fiorentina striker amid serious interest from Saudi Arabia, according to a report from Italy.

La Gazzetta dello Sport reveals Kean’s €52 million (£44m) release clause will be active from July 1 to July 15 with the Red Devils having tracked the 25-year-old “for some time now”.

But the report states Al-Qadsiah are ready to pay the £44 million fee now having already tabled a three-year contract to Kean worth around £13 million a season. The Saudi Pro League side are simply waiting for Kean’s “approval” before proceeding with the deal.

But La Gazzetta dello Sport contends the terms of Kean’s contract with Fiorentina means the entire release clause must be paid up front and “cannot be paid in instalments”.

United have already triggered one release clause to sign a forward this summer after agreeing a £62.5 million deal to sign Matheus Cunha from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

But, crucially, the Black Country side allowed United to stagger the overall fee across three payments over two years, equating to a £20.8m hit this summer.

This has enabled the Red Devils to pursue other targets with negotiations ongoing with Brentford over a deal for Bryan Mbeumo and the hunt for a new number continuing, with Kean having been placed on the wish list before the summer window opened.

But if Wolves had demanded United pay the release clause in full up front, these other targets would likely have proved beyond the club’s reach without a number of sales to fund it.

Fiorentina’s absolute stance explains, therefore, why United’s pursuit of Kean “does not seem to be a priority,” according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Al-Qadsiah, by comparison, would have no issues fronting the money for the deal. But it remains to be seen whether the striker would accept a move to the Middle East at this stage of his career, following his best campaign to date.

If Kean rebuffs the advances from Saudi Arabia in favour of holding out for a move to a major European club, United could reignite their interest by offering Fiorentina a higher sum than the release clause in exchange for receiving a more favourable payment structure.

This would mirror the Reds’ capture of Joshua Zirkzee last summer from Bologna. The Dutch forward had a release clause in Italy worth £34.4 million with United agreeing to pay £36.5 million in order to stagger the fee across multiple windows, rather than all up front.

Kean has previously played in England during an unsuccessful stint with Everton. But the Italian striker would undoubtedly be keen to rewrite the script on his time in the Premier League by leading the line at the country’s biggest club.

Featured image Timothy Rogers via Getty Images

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