Manchester United are ‘shopping in a different market’ after missing out on Champions League football and have ‘positioned themselves’ to sign a £30m Liam Delap alternative as one of four ‘fallback’ striker options.
Brennan Johnson scored the only goal of the game for Tottenham in the Europa League final on Wednesday to deny United a trophy and qualification for the Champions League next season.
It’s a huge blow for Ruben Amorim as he and the club decision-makers have a major rebuilding job on their hands this summer, and the decreased draw and limited funds as a result of missing out on Champions League football means they are now ‘shopping in a different market’, according to The Sun.
Matheus Cunha still looks set to join from Wolves after the Red Devils agreed to trigger his £62.5m release clause, but having been linked with Sporting’s Viktor Gyokeres and other top tier strikers, it’s now claimed they are looking at those players on their ‘fallback’ shortlist.
They still hope to beat Chelsea to the £30m signing of Liam Delap, though the Blues bosses are said to be confident of getting that deal done, particularly if they qualify for the Champions League on the final day of the Premier League, with victory over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground enough for them to achieve that goal.
The report claims ex-Everton star Moise Kean, Atalanta’s Mateo Retegui and Udinese’s Lorenzo Lucca are among the B-list candidates.
Liverpool are also reportedly interested in Retegui, who’s scored an impressive 23 goals in 31 games this term, while Kean has revived his career with 17 Serie A goals in 30 games for Fiorentina and 6ft 7in Lucca has netted 11 league goals for mid-table Udinese.
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The report adds that ‘Amorim’s scouting team have also identified Crystal Palace star Jean-Philippe Mateta’ as an option after his 14 Premier League goals for the FA Cup winners, with L’Equipe claiming United have ‘shifted focus’ to the 27-year-old and ‘have already positioned themselves’ to sign him.
It’s thought Palace are asking for £30m for the striker, whose contract expires at the end of next season, with Mateta thinking carefully about his future in his bid to play for France at the 2026 World Cup.
The L’Equipe report states:
‘For Jean-Philippe Mateta, the choice of the next club will be essential. The striker still dreams of joining the French team and playing in the 2026 World Cup with the national team. He knows that his choice – stay or leave – will have important consequences to give Didier Deschamps more arguments to be called.
‘Should he stay at Palace and play in the Europa League, aim for a Champions League club or accept a challenge like Manchester United’s without competing in the European Cup? Mateta will wait to see what concrete tracks will be unlocked in the coming weeks before making her choice. A return to France is not totally excluded.’
The Sun further claim that ‘United are also big fans of Marcus Thuram’, who’s valued at €75m [£63m] by Transfermarkt, ‘but a deal could be tricky as his agent does not get on with Red Devils CEO Omar Berrada’.
