It is incredibly likely to be a summer of notable change at Manchester United, as new minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos group continue working on improving and stabilising the football structure at Old Trafford, and although the 71 year old recently spoke about not wanting to overspend during transfer windows – with him wanting a better focus on developing talent – naturally that does not stop the transfer rumour mill from speculating and linking us with potential summer targets.
One of the latest rumours to do the rounds with the March international break in full flow, is our possible interest in Juventus attacker Federico Chiesa, and should we get there, he would certainly improve our Champions League odds.
The 26 year old, 45 capped full Italian international, initially made his name at Fiorentina, but he made the switch to Juve back in 2020 when they paid a reported 10 million Euro fee to secure the winger to a two year loan deal. Given how successful he was for them, they paid a further 40 million Euros to make the deal permanent at the end of the loan spell.
His stock reached its peak in the summer of 2021, as he backed up a great domestic campaign and then more than played his part in helping his country to success at the European Championship finals. However, the versatile talent then spent a long time on the side lines as he suffered a tear to his Anterior Cruciate Ligament in January 2022, but he has returned to form in the 2023/24 campaign with seven goals in 24 Serie A matches so far.
With him proving his fitness and form this year, naturally we are one of a few clubs linked with having a potential interest in him come the summer, especially as it is widely believed that Juventus will be forced to sell at least one high profile name this summer to ease their own financial concerns.
Italian journalist Fabio Santini has claimed that Juventus have already received a number of firm ‘offers’ for the player, but he did not reveal whether or not the offers were being taken seriously, or even if they reached what is believed to be Juve’s valuation range for the player – a claimed 40 to 45 million Euros.
With the emergence of the Chiesa rumours, it is also being reported that United have now cooled their interest in fellow attacker Johan Bakayoko. The 20 year old, eleven capped Belgian international right winger has been excelling for Dutch club PSV Eindhoven this season after fully establishing himself in their first team set up, and in 77 games for them now, he has scored 14 times with 18 further assists. In 2023/24 40 appearances have returned eight goals and 13 assists, so he is clearly on an upward curve.
Despite his clear potential, it is being claimed that we have now turned out attentions to Crystal Palace’s 22 year old Michael Olise, as we see him as a safer option in terms of him more quickly adjusting to life at the club, given he already has a good working knowledge of the challenges of the Premier League.
However, according to German media who are making the claims, this extra experience would come at the cost of potentially a £60 million price tag.
The rumours and speculation will not end here, but we will simply have to see what Ratcliffe actually plans to do when the summer does arrive.
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