Ten Hag is ‘huge fan’ of Liverpool, Man City target; pleads with Man Utd to make £70m signing
Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag is reportedly a ‘huge fan’ of Inter Milan midfielder Nicolo Barella amid reports linking him with Liverpool and Manchester City.
The 26-year-old has been an integral player for Inter Milan over the past couple of seasons. He was key as they won the Serie A title under Antonio Conte in 2020/21.
It is well-known that Inter Milan are struggling financially so they may be forced into selling some of their valuable assets to balance the books. Denzel Dumfries is consistently being linked with a move to the Premier League and Barella could join him in jumping ship.
Barella is one of the players being linked with Liverpool, which is unsurprising given their serious need for reinforcements in midfield.
Football Insider are now reporting that Man Utd also ‘want to sign’ Barella but they are said to face ‘serious competition’ from rivals Manchester City.
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Head coach Ten Hag is a ‘huge fan’ of the Inter Milan standout and he is ‘keen to lure him’ to Manchester United. The report notes that he is valued at around £70m and he remains under contract until the end of the 2025/26 season.
Man Utd are already stronger in midfield than they were before this campaign. They signed Casemiro and Christian Eriksen in the summer.
Both players have shone this term but Eriksen will be out of action until May with an ankle injury. They acted swiftly in the January transfer market to replace him as they brought in Marcel Sabitzer on loan from Bayern Munich.
United also brought in Wout Weghorst on loan in January. It is being reported that Ten Hag ‘wants two major signings’ in the summer.
Ex-United star Louis Saha feels that Sabitzer is more likely than Weghorst to join Man Utd permanently.
“I would say that Sabitzer gives a bit more of a guarantee for me. He understands his role, offers competition and has experience in the Champions League. Wout Weghorst is very hardworking but the quality is missing in quite a few elements at the moment,” Saha told Betfred.
“He’s definitely a good signing for the remaining months but he will need to prove himself a bit more. Both players are a good fit for the squad currently and will have an important part to play for the rest of the season.
“For a player that’s not scoring, then Weghorst has been given more time than any player I’ve seen in a similar position. He’s good enough to play in the side, for sure, but he needs to do much better.
“There are moments when he presses and enhances his workrate because he’s either miscontrolled the ball or not won a header that he should have won. He needs to score more goals as that would be important for his confidence.”
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