Manchester United are reportedly lining up a move for Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde as a potential replacement for Paul Pogba.
According to a report from Spanish publication Diario Madridista, Manchester United are plotting a summer raid on Spanish heavyweights Real Madrid for the services of Uruguayan midfielder Federico Valverde.
Manchester United are staring at the prospect of losing star midfielder Paul Pogba in the summer transfer window. The Frenchman, who had been heavily linked with a transfer to Real Madrid last summer, continues to be in the news, with agent Mino Raiola talking up a potential exit for the World Cup winner.
While manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has reiterated that Pogba will remain at Manchester United, there have been reports claiming that the club are ready to offload him and are even prepared to slash their asking price for the midfielder.
And, as per the aforementioned report, they are already preparing for life without Pogba, with Real Madrid star Federico Valverde being identified as a replacement for the France international.
Valverde joined Real Madrid in 2016 from Uruguayan outfit Penarol, initially linking up with the club’s Castilla side. After spending the 2017-18 campaign on loan at Deportivo La Coruna, the Uruguayan broke into the Merengues’ first-team in 2018-19 and hasn’t looked back.
The ongoing campaign has seen Valverde become a pivotal member of the Real Madrid side with some highly-impressive performances in the middle of the park, pushing Luka Modric out of the starting XI. So far in 2019-20, the 21-year-old has featured 32 times in all competitions, scoring two goals and assisting four more.
Valverde has shown great maturity in his performances, while also displaying the versatility in his game, having played as a holding midfielder as well as a No. 8 over the course of the season. And this has put him firmly on the radars of Manchester United.
Valverde is contracted with Real Madrid till the summer of 2025 and has a whopping €500 million release clause in his contract. Given how important he has become for the team, Los Blancos are unlikely to want to lose him any time soon. Manchester United will have their task cut out to convince Real Madrid to part ways with the youngster.
