Manchester United are reportedly in talks with Blaise Matuidi over a move in the summer transfer window
French publication Le Parisien have reported that Manchester United are in contact with Blaise Matuidi over a move in the summer transfer window. The French midfielder is believed to be unsettled at Paris Saint-Germain.
Matuidi has been a stalwart for both club and country for several years now and is regarded as one of the best box-to-box midfielders in Europe. A tireless presence in the centre of the park, the 30-year-old brings a lot of dynamism to his side, keeping things ticking at all times.
However, after being ever present in midfield in the last few seasons, Matuidi has had to share game time with other midfielders since the arrival of Unai Emery at the helm at PSG. The French international has made 23 starts in Ligue 1, and has chipped in with 4 goals and 3 assists for Les Parisiens.
With Matuidi no longer being one of the first names on the team sheets, he is believed to be in search of a new challenge at a club where he can be a regular and help his prospect for next year’s World Cup in Russia.
PSG, though, are eager to keep hold of the Frenchman and have tabled a new contract that will run till 2020. However, Matuidi is also weighing up a potential move to Manchester United, who have been in talks with his camp for months.
Indeed, Jose Mourinho is in need of a central midfielder, with Paul Pogba, Ander Herrera, Marouane Fellaini and Michael Carrick as his only options currently. However, Carrick is fast approaching the end of his glittering Manchester United career while Fellaini is being linked with a summer exit from the club.
That leaves the Portuguese manager with just Pogba and Herrera as his long-term options, and with the Red Devils set to play on four fronts next season, the need for one – if not two – new central midfielders just can’t be emphasised enough.
While Matuidi will certainly not provide a long-term solution in the centre of the park, he is proven quantity who can add a lot of value to Mourinho’s squad for the next few seasons. A player of Matuidi’s quality will also complement the tenacious Herrera and the powerhouse Pogba.
So, Matuidi has two options in front of him at the end of the season – renew his deal with PSG or reject it and move on to a new club, with Manchester United retaining an interest in him.
It will now be interesting to see if PSG are able to keep hold of Matuidi like last season, when president Nasser Al-Khelaifi blocked his move to Juventus.
