Manchester United are reportedly preparing a £54 million bid to lure Barcelona defender Jules Kounde to Old Trafford. The move is seen as one of the first steps under new manager Ruben Amorim.
The Red Devils parted ways with Erik ten Hag in late October following a dismal start to the season. Interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy briefly took the reins, but Amorim is now set to lead the club.
Amorim, known for his 3-4-3 formation, is tasked with reviving United’s fortunes. His first match in charge will be against newly-promoted Ipswich Town this weekend.
A possible system change has raised concerns that Man Utd will have to dip back into the transfer market in January after spending big sums over the summer on Matthijs de Ligt, Joshua Zirkzee, Manuel Ugarte, Leny Yoro and Noussair Mazraoui.
And reports in Spain claim that ‘on Amorim’s orders’ Man Utd have ‘reached’ €65m (£54m) for Barcelona defender Kounde with the France international one of Amorim’s ‘first requests as soon as he arrived at Old Trafford’.
Man Utd have ‘already prepared a first offensive’ worth €65m but Barcelona president Joan Laporta and sporting director Deco ‘consider him essential’ to their plans.
Although last summer they ‘did consider selling Kounde if they received an interesting offer, they now want absolutely nothing to do with this possibility’.
Barcelona want his termination clause if they are to let him go and ‘considering that Kounde’s release clause is set at a prohibitive €1billion, it seems unlikely that he could end up at United or anywhere else, so it is an option that can be said to have been completely ruled out.’