Manchester United are continuing to try and land a new midfielder this summer to bolster their squad.
Midfield targets
The exact list of targets for the midfield has been a lot murkier than any other position this summer but there have been links to players such as Wilfred Ndidi and Javi Guerra.
One player they have also been linked to throughout the year is Sporting CP’s Morten Hjulmand.
The Dane played under head coach Ruben Amorim in Portugal and is said to have a very close relationship with him.
United interest
It has been reported that United and Manchester City hold an interest in the player but that Amorim is keen to reunite with his former midfield enforcer.
Juventus lurking
Nonetheless, Italian side Juventus have been the most active player in a Hjulmand transfer to date and they have already seen a swap deal involving Douglas Luiz rejected.
Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport have reported that “the lure of Italy remains strong, and Morten Hjulmand would gladly return to Serie A.”
It is said that one of the main reasons that the player would be very tempted to a return to Italy is that he could also expect a higher salary in Turin than he is currently receiving in Lisbon.
Obstacles
The deal is far from simple as Sporting do not intend to give any sort of discounts on the Danish international.
The paper adds that “the problem for Hjulmand and Juventus, at least for now, is the other pieces of the deal. Sporting doesn’t want to negotiate with Hjulmand at this stage and is defending themselves by flaunting his €60 million release clause. That’s too much money for (almost) everyone, not just Juventus.”
Nonetheless, Hjulmand’s representatives are said to be “convinced they can reach a more reasonable compromise with Sporting: around €40 million” before the end of the window.
Another problem is wantaway midfielder Douglas Luiz and it “will be difficult for the Old Lady to unlock Hjulmand or another midfielder” while the Brazilian remains at the club.
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Alex Browne
Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Proud owner of such niche shirts such as Kleberson, Eric Djemba-Djemba and Gary Neville. Grew up pretending to be Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the back garden, with little success.
