Manchester United have leaked goals since Ruben Amorim’s arrival with the team keeping only a solitary clean-sheet in 15 games since the Portuguese rocked up to Old Trafford.
Which why it is natural to see the Red Devils linked with elite-level centre-backs like Bayer Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah. United are expected to move Victor Lindelof on in the summer which means there is space for a new defender.
The German’s contract is up in 2025 with Tah announcing that he will not sign a contract extension with Xabi Alonso’s side. But such is his importance and quality that Alonso has continued to pick him with Tah missing only two games this campaign.
Multiple clubs from Germany as well as England were eyeing a Bosman move for him in the summer but as per reports, Barcelona were in pole position.
Tah to Barcelona off?
That is no longer the case with the Catalan giants prioritising a contract extension for Ronald Araujo, which will in turn leave very little space to accommodate the Bundesliga winner.
Fabrizio Romano provided the contract update recently with the Uruguayan set to sign on the dotted lines imminently, which will mean he will stay at Camp Nou until 2031.
“Ronald Araujo’s new deal at Barcelona will be valid until June 2031, five year and half contract. Green light to the documents and it will be signed on Thursday, tomorrow. Barcelona director Deco got the green light from the player and his camp.”
That has handed the 20-time English league champions the perfect opportunity to try and steal the deal with Spanish media (via F365) claiming the 28-year-old already has “one and a half feet” inside Old Trafford.
United in pole position
“Despite Hansi Flick still considering Tah a very useful signing, Joao Laporta and Deco no longer have any intention of bringing in a player they believe is not needed at all, and this has left the path clear for Manchester United.
“United had also shown strong interest in the Germany international, but they had forgotten about him after his deal with Barcelona was leaked. Finally, thanks to Araujo’s continuity, the Leverkusen star will go with Ruben Amorim.”
Tah has helped keep nine clean sheets in all competitions and apart from his defensive solidity, he also brings goals to the table with the Germany international netting twice and registering one assist.
United were linked with a move for him last summer as well but ended up acquiring Matthijs de Ligt from Bayern Munich. It will be interesting to see if they can be second time lucky. Owing to Tah’s free agency status, he is a great fit given INEOS’ PSR concerns.
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
