Manchester United have reportedly ‘asked about’ a possible replacement for Alejandro Garnacho amid an ‘acceptance’ the winger will leave the club this summer.
Garnacho has struggled to adapt to Ruben Amorim’s philosophy and system at Old Trafford and amid interest from Chelsea and Napoli in the Argentina international, Atletico Madrid have recently emerged as his most likely suitors this summer.
TBR Football claim Diego Simeone’s side are ‘firmly in the mix’ for Garnacho and that the Red Devils are reluctantly ready to say goodbye to the 20-year-old.
It’s claimed ‘there is now an acceptance within Old Trafford that Garnacho will go this summer and they want him out early to enable them to begin their own business as soon as possible.’
The report adds that Atletico is viewed as one of Garnacho’s ‘favoured landing spots’ as he’s attracted to the prospect of playing under Simeone.
On Rio Ferdinand Presents, United legend Ferdinand suggested the winger should be looking to the exit, given his struggles playing in one of the inverted No.10 positions in Amorim’s system.
Ferdinand said: “If I was Garnacho’s advisors, I’d be off. I’d advise him to go because they’re not going to play him in a position where he’s best.”
It’s not clear what United’s asking price will be for Garnacho, though a recent report claimed Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS have decided to slash his asking price to just £34m in a bid to get him off their books and secure his ‘pure profit’ sale this summer.
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Thoughts at Carrington have turned to who could be brought in to replace Garnacho and transfer expert Graeme Bailey claims the Red Devils bossed have ‘asked about’ Real Betis star Jesus Rodriguez during talks with the La Liga club over Antony’s permanent transfer.
Antony has four goals and four assists in his impressive loan spell having joined from United in January, and Betis boss Manuel Pellegrini is keen to keep him at the club.
Bailey said: “The understanding is that during conversations with Betis, at some point, United have asked about Rodriguez.
“He is a young forward who can play both sides and as an attacking midfielder, and United have enquired about him during the talks centred around Antony.
“The teenager has also been linked to Chelsea and Liverpool. They’ve all looked at him. He’s an outstanding young player who United have asked about. “
Graeme added: “He reminds me of Francisco Trincao in a lot of ways. He’s tall, big, strong.”
Spanish outlet claim the possible swap deal is “curious” after Antony and Rodriguez engaged in an “argument” during their recent 2-1 defeat to Villarreal.
The report states:
‘The curiosity of the case is that Antony and Jesús were recently protagonists of a cross word during the match against Villarreal. An argument during a set ball action that, despite its visibility, was minimized by Manuel Pellegrini himself, who downplayed the incident.
‘The truth is that the sports management of United is very aware of the future of Jesús Rodríguez and does not rule out including his name in any future agreement for Antony. The summer market has not yet officially begun, but the manoeuvres are already underway in Heliopolis.’
