Manchester United are reportedly on the verge of signing Andrea Belotti from Torino in the summer transfer window.
According to a report in the Daily Mirror, Manchester United are “closing in” on signing Andrea Belotti from Torino in the summer. The Italian striker is also being targetted by the Premier League leaders Chelsea.
Belotti has enjoyed a spectacular rise to prominence in 2016/17, storming right to the top of the goalscoring charts in Serie A, often waging a lone battle for Torino. The 23-year-old has 25 goals in addition to 6 assists in 30 Italian top flight matches, thus making more than one direct contribution per game on average.
His scoring rate of 105 minutes per goal is only eclipsed by Dries Mertens of Napoli, and the young striker has rightly been billed as the future of Italian football, alongside the likes of Domenico Berardi and Federico Bernardeschi.
With some impressive numbers to boast of this season, it is no wonder that Belotti has been attracting the attention from the who’s who of European football. In fact, the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal have all been linked with him in recent months.
But, Manchester United have now emerged as the possible front-runners in the chase for Belotti. According to Mirror, the Red Devils are “closing in” on the signing of the Torino front man. In fact, Belotti has been on Manchester United’s radar all season long, and they are now ready to launch the offensive for him.
Indeed, Jose Mourinho has been reported to be on the lookout for top strikers in recent months, and the long-term knee injury suffered by Zlatan Ibrahimovic will only accelerate his process of identifying viable targets for the summer.
Ibrahimovic is set to miss several months of action after sustaining the aforementioned injury. And with Manchester United veteran, Wayne Rooney likely to leave the club at the end of the season, Mourinho has just Marcus Rashford as the recognised option to lead his side’s attack, making Belotti one of the priorities for him.
Judging by his performances this season, Belotti is just the kind of player who is needed at Manchester United, a side that has created a lot of clear cut goalscoring opportunities but have often struggled in their ability to convert the aforementioned.
The 23-year-old striker is the quintessential poacher, a player who is always alert inside the box and pounces at the slightest of chance that comes his way. And in a side that has stalwarts such as Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Juan Mata and Paul Pogba among others, he can be sure to get a few coming his way.
It is important to note, though, that Manchester United will have to shell out the £84 million release clause that was inserted in Belotti’s contract with Torino in December in its entirety. But, with Mourinho so keen to sign a top striker in the summer, it is unlikely that they will be deterred by the amount.
