Manchester United have submitted a second bid for Bryan Mbeumo as a report reveals the Red Devils also see an Aston Villa star as a ‘serious option’ this summer.
United have already secured the signing of Matheus Cunha from Wolves after they triggered his £62.5m release clause, but manager Ruben Amorim wants further attacking recruits in response to their worst season in living memory.
Mbeumo is said to be keen on a move to Old Trafford despite interest from Thomas Frank’s Tottenham, and having had an opening bid of £45m plus £10m in add-ons rejected by Brentford, they’ve now returned with a second offer ‘in excess of £60m’, according to the Daily Mail.
It’s claimed United bosses ‘have been working in the background to find an agreement with Brentford’ as they ‘did not want to be dragged into repeated bids’ for the 25-year-old.
Despite those supposed close conversations with their Premier League rivals ‘it remains unclear whether that latest offer has been accepted’ as the Red Devils look to ‘accelerate’ the deal to get the Cameroon star on board for pre-season with the players due to report back to Carrington from the week commencing July 7.
A report on Monday claimed United have also opened talks with Chelsea flop Christopher Nkunku over a move having initially approached the France international in January as Amorim ‘wants to recruit at least two offensive players’ this summer.
But having lost out to Chelsea in the race to sign Liam Delap from Ipswich, Amorim would surely prefer to sign a proper No.9 after Rasmus Hojlund’s poor season has seen him heavily linked with a move to Serie A.
And Spanish outlet Fichajes claim a move for Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins has ‘gained strength in the offices of Old Trafford’.
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Arsenal saw a £40m bid for Watkins rejected in January as Villa held out for £60m before instead sanctioning Jhon Duran’s move to Al Nassr for £65m, and the 29-year-old has now emerged as a ‘serious option to reinforce the attacking front’ for the Red Devils.
It’s claimed the ‘loss of prominence’ last season as Marcus Rashford often started ahead of him, as well as the ‘unclear technical decisions’ of Unai Emery may have ‘sown doubts’ in the mind of Watkins amid United’s interest.
A number of forwards look set to leave Old Trafford this summer, with Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Alejandro Garnacho and Antony all told that they will not be welcome on their tour of the USA in July, while the Red Devils are also open to offers for Rasmus Hojlund amid interest from Serie A.
Garnacho is also on the radar of Italian clubs, with Napoli thought to be most keen on his signing, while Antony wants to remain at Real Betis after his successful loan spell and Rashford does everything possible to force through his ‘dream’ move to Barcelona.
Jadon Sancho could be part of a swap deal with Juventus, though a report claims Fenerbahce have also made ‘serious progress’ over his transfer.
