Manchester United may have suffered pain in their early transfer efforts so far, but reports in Portugal suggest all that is about to change with a £118.4m double raid on Sporting Lisbon now in the works – with England destroyer Morten Hjulmand their top target.
British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe is looking to transform the Red Devils’ fortunes this summer after buying a 27.7% stake in Manchester United to the cost of £1.3bn and in a deal that grants him full sporting control. However, his reign at Old Trafford is not off to a glorious start, with the club already beset by a number of issues.
For starters, his plan to draft in Dan Ashworth as sporting director has failed to get over the line with Newcastle having rejected their final offer of compensation, while the back-him-or-sack-him saga surrounding Erik ten Hag did not reflect well on the INEOS chief.
Furthermore, their early efforts to strengthen their squad have not gone to plan either, showing Ratcliffe – who has certainly talked a good game since his minority purchase in the club was ratified in February – that it is easier said than done when it comes to the running of one of the world’s biggest football clubs.
To that end, their opening offer worth £35m plus bonuses for Jarrad Branthwaite has been instantly batted away by a somewhat-unimpressed Everton, who value the 21-year-old defender at double that amount.
And United have also drawn another blank after seeing UEFA rulings preventing them from pushing through the signing of Jean-Clair Todibo from Nice – a verdict which could yet result in the British businessman selling off his shareholdings in the Ligue 1 club.
Man Utd transfers: Ratcliffe wants Inacio to replace Varane
Thankfully for Ratcliffe, he does have a third option in mind to fill the void left in central defence by the departure of £340,000 a week Raphael Varane, in the form of Sporting Lisbon defender Goncalo Inacio.
The 22-year-old star has emerged as one of European football’s most outstanding young centre-halves, winning the Primeira Liga title twice in the last three seasons.
Averaging two clearances and 1.5 tackles per game, as well as having an 89.1% pass accuracy, Inacio is currently away with the Portugal squad in Germany for Euro 2024.
Following his meteoric rise, Sporting Lisbon are growing increasingly fearful that Inacio will be lured away given the tempting €60m (£50.8m) exit clause in his contract.
Understandably, Sporting are now trying to renegotiate that deal in an attempt to raise the buyout even higher.
However, Ratcliffe now looks increasingly likely to meet that clause as it stands now, and TEAMtalk understands that Inacio now looks like the defender that United are most likely to sign this summer with Todibo taken off the table and with the cost of Branthwaite beyond what they are wlilling to spend.
Given the costs involved too, there appears a realisation at Old Trafford that Inacio represents decent value for money when taking into account the additional sums needed for the Everton man.
Man Utd to trigger mammoth double raid on Sporting Lisbon
While signing a new centre-half undoubtedly remains priority number one for United this summer, the club does have two other targets in mind this summer with a new midfield partner for Kobbie Mainoo and another striker – to provide cover and competition for Rasmus Hojlund – also in their sights.
Hojlund was in action for Denmark against England at Euro 2024 on Thursday evening and now A Bola reports that United are ready to trigger a colossal double raid on Sporting for one of the United striker’s teammates.
As a result, the Portuguese paper claims the Red Devils are set to also meet the €80m exit clause in the contract of midfield star Hjulmand, with the Dane underlining his capabilities with a brilliantly-struck 25-yard equaliser for his nation against the Three Lions in Frankfurt.
Hjulmand has enjoyed an outstanding season at Estadio Jose Alvalade, thriving under the coaching of Ruben Amorim and emerging as a hugely-dominant defensive midfielder.
Now his performance for Denmark on Thursday has seemingly convinced Ratcliffe to launch a double raid for both players, having made clear his willingess to trigger the exit clauses needed to sign both players.
The combined double deal will cost Ratcliffe a whopping €140m (£118.4m) but given the costs involved for some of their peers, it is felt represents decent value for money.
Hjulmand recently earned praise from United skipper Bruno Fernandes, who of course made the same move to Old Trafford from the Portuguese giants back in January 2019.
