Man Utd to replace mega-money flop with £1bn-rated Barcelona star as stunning triple raid takes shape
Manchester United have big plans for the summer transfer window and reports suggest they are planning a stunning triple raid on Barcelona.
The Red Devil’s new shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe is determined to take the club back to the pinnacle of European football and has several exciting targets on his shortlist.
Barcelona continues to face significant financial difficulties, which will likely force them into selling several players this summer. Now, it seems that Man Utd are looking to take advantage.
According to reports from Spain, as cited by Caught Offside, they are considering summer moves for Frenkie de Jong, Alejandro Balde and Ansu Fati.
The Catalans are allegedly willing to sell the three players for the right price and all of them have the quality to play at the highest level.
Man Utd get their chance to sign De Jong
De Jong was heavily linked with a switch to Man Utd when Erik ten Hag took the reigns at Old Trafford in 2022.
Reports suggested at the time that a €75m transfer was agreed with Barcelona, only for the deal to eventually collapse.
De Jong and Ten Hag know each other well from their time together at Ajax and remain on good terms and the manager is still interested in him.
The Dutchman signed for Barcelona in 2019 and has become one of their most important players. He’s made 27 appearances so far this season, scoring two goals in the process.
With Man Utd possibly losing Casemiro and Christian Eriksen this summer, signing a new quality midfielder to pair up with young prodigy Kobbie Mainoo certainly makes sense.
With that in mind, it’ll be interesting to see if they try again for De Jong in the coming months, as the report suggests.
MAN UTD LATEST: Man Utd staggered as Chelsea surge into race for classy defender with tempting release clause
Red Devils consider move for Barca left-back
The report adds that Man Utd are also considering a move for Balde and that tallies with Ratcliffe’s plan to sign a top quality left-back this summer.
The INEOS chief has made bolstering the position one of his priorities due to the lack of cover being exposed by injuries to Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia.
Girona’s Miguel Gutierrez, Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez and Borussia Monchengladbach’s Luca Netz are three left-back targets Man Utd have their eye on.
Balde would arguably be a better option than all three of those players when fully fit. However, the 20-year-old is injury prone and suffered a serious hamstring injury in January.
With that in mind, signing Balde would be a big risk given the fact that Shaw and Malacia’s issues this term.
Ansu Fati to replace Antony?
The report claims that Fati is another option the Red Devils are looking at. The 21-year-old doesn’t seem to be part of Barca’s long-term plans and has shown flashes of brilliance while on loan with Brighton this season.
Fati has made 23 appearances for the Seagulls so far, scoring four goals and making one assist in the process.
The winger would undoubtedly be an upgrade on Antony at Man Utd, who they are reportedly considering selling in the summer after he’s failed to live up to his £85m price tag.
It’s thought that Barca would be willing to sell Fati for €30m this summer despite him having a €1bn release clause in his contract.
It will be interesting to see if the Man Utd do make offers for him, along with De Jong and Balde in the coming months.
DON’T MISS: Tottenham leapfrog Man Utd at front of queue to sign £30m-plus Brazilian midfield general
