Manchester United are reportedly monitoring AS Saint Etienne star Kevin Malcuit and could be set to hijack West Ham United’s pursuit of the full-back
TalkSport have claimed that, as per reports in France, Manchester United are monitoring AS Saint Etienne star Kevin Malcuit. The player was heavily linked with West Ham United in January, with Hammers seeing two of their bids rejected for the fullback. And it seems they will now have competition in the summer pursuit of the star.
Kevin Malcuit has reportedly caught Jose Mourinho’s attention owing to his displays against Manchester United in the first knockout phase of the Europa League over two legs. The 25-year-old commanded the position with aplomb and impressed everyone, including the Portuguese boss it seems.
Malcuit can play both as a right-back and on the right side of the midfield. And, since joining AS Saint Etienne in the summer of 2015, the player has established himself as one of the first names on the team sheet for the Ligue 1 outfit.
This season his influence is beyond debate as AS Saint Etienne have managed to win just 1 out of the 8 Ligue 1 matches that the player has not featured in. Malcuit has recorded a total of 28 appearances in all competitions for the club, with 4 assists to show for his efforts on the attacking front.
Jose Mourinho has ordered scouts to keep track of Saint-Etienne right-back Kevin Malcuit [So Foot] #MUFC pic.twitter.com/AMfFD1cO6D
— RedReveal (@RedReveal) February 28, 2017
West Ham United are expected to come back in for the 25-year-old in the summer after the failure to land the star in January. The Hammers are eyeing additions to the defence, which has struggled this season. But, they will find competition in Manchester United.
Jose Mourinho has also earmarked the right-back position as a priority area of recruitment in the summer, which has seen them linked with various right backs like Nelson Semedo. And, it seems he has now included Kevin Malcuit in the shortlist of potential summer targets to fill the aforementioned role.
The 25-year-old is contracted to AS Saint-Etienne till 2019, which has more than two years left on it. The right-back could command a decent fee, which would mean massive profits for the Ligue 1 outfit, having signed him for a sub-€1 million fee from FC Niort.
Manchester United and West Ham United, though, would not be too distracted by the fee and are likely to be prepared to shelve out the cash for the player, if they decide to go in for the player in the summer.
