Manchester United are reportedly interested in Paris Saint-Germain attacker Lee Kang-in, with the player suddenly available after refusing to sign a new deal at the Parc des Princes.
Caught Offside claim that the Red Devils are one of a host of clubs across Europe’s top leagues whose attention has been piqued by the breakdown in Lee’s contract negotiations.
Although his current arrangement runs until 2028 PSG are eager to tie him down for even longer, but the South Korean is refusing to play ball so could be on his way out.
According to the report, United are far from the only Premier League team to have “made a move” for the player.
Arsenal, Newcastle United, Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest are all credited as either having made contact or registered an interest in the 24-year-old.
Ruben Amorim, who is all set to welcome Wolverhampton Wanderers star Matheus Cunha to the squad in the coming days, is on the lookout for more attacking midfield options and has identified Lee as one of his targets.
Since moving to PSG from Mallorca, Lee has scored 11 goals and registered 11 assists in 81 games in all competitions, but has struggled for regular minutes in a well-honed attack.
This is reportedly the deal-breaker for the attacker, who “wants more playing time and a manager who will trust and build around him”.
He is not looking to force an exit and retains a “positive working relationship” with manager Luis Enrique but seems determined to depart in the summer.
No fee is mentioned in the report, but it is interesting that the player is believed to be “prioritising career development over a high-profile destination” – being part of a major United rebuild could go either way with that ambition in mind.
Caught Offside indicate, however, that the strongest interest is coming from outside the Premier League meaning United will have their work cut out to get a transfer over the line.
Atletico Madrid are well-positioned in the race for Lee’s signature and are set to reignite their “long-standing admiration” for him.
The report notes that Diego Simeone tried to bring him to Madrid at the point where he chose PSG, so sees an opportunity to sign him at the second time of asking.
Meanwhile Napoli are “pushing hard” to bring him to Serie A to complement the expected arrival of Kevin De Bruyne – what this might mean for their pursuit of Alejandro Garnacho is unclear.
Featured image David Ramos via Getty Images
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Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
