After asking about the transfer of a new wing back from Ligue 1, Manchester United lost out, with their target agreeing to move to Inter Milan instead.
United have had struggles in adapting to Ruben Amorim’s back three system. They went backwards from where they were when he took over, finishing 15th in the Premier League.
The wing-back positions were seen as a particular area which needed improvement, given none of the players he inherited had ever really played the roles.
Of late, Amorim looked into the signing of a player who has played that role on the right-hand side. TBRFootball reports that United, Newcastle, Nottingham Forest and Everton have all ‘asked about’ signing Marseille wide man Luis Henrique.
He has played both as a winger and a wing-back in his career, and United wanted him for the latter of those roles, while the other clubs wanted Henrique to purely be a winger.
He played both roles this season for Marseille, for whom he was directly involved in 19 goals in all competitions.
It’s reported that Henrique was ‘intrigued’ over the prospect of a move to England, but he has instead chosen Inter Milan.
Indeed, it’s believed he has agreed to move there, and will cost the Champions League finalists around £20million.
The report states Henrique was ‘quick to accept’ once Inter had made their move. Should United still want to find a new right wing-back, they’ll have to look elsewhere.
They have previously been linked with Denzel Dumfries, and there is a chance he becomes available now Henrique is heading to Milan.
Dumfries frequents the right wing-back spot and Inter, and has done so to good effect, scoring and assisting 17 goals in all competitions this term, including some electric Champions League displays on the way to the final.
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He is clearly still at the top of his game, but he’s 29 and Henrique is 23, so if Inter were willing to sell, they’d know they had a quality replacement already lined up for years to come.
That said, Henrique also played often as a left-winger this season, so that might be where Inter use him.
With another option, though, sides like United could test the water to see if a move is possible for a player Gary Neville has advocated for them signing.
He said after a Champions League game: “Do you know what I kept thinking, I was thinking with United playing with their back five and the wing-backs, I was thinking about that right wing-back Dumfries, for United.
“I’d like to see him in the Premier League. Dumfries, how good was he? Unbelievable. He’s so good.”
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