Paris Saint-Germain have reportedly joined Manchester United and Manchester City in the race to sign Fabinho this summer
French publication L’Equipe have reported that Fabinho is the subject of interest from PSG, who are set to make a move for him in the summer transfer window. Manchester United and Manchester City are also reportedly interested in signing the AS Monaco player.
Fabinho has progressed by leaps and bounds since joining Monaco from Rio Ave in 2013. Although the move was initially a two-year loan, the Brazilian made the switch permanent in the summer of 2015, having impressed during the loan spell at Stade Louis II.
Four years after joining the club though, Fabinho has well and truly established himself as a mainstay in Monaco’s first-team setup. This season, Leonardo Jardim’s men stunned everyone in their successful Ligue 1 winning campaign, while they also reached the semifinals of the Champions League.
L’EQUIPE:
New PSG sporting director Antero Henrique wants #Fabinho (23). PSG has already contacted the player’s entourage. pic.twitter.com/6Uop8YMLf1
— Seleção Brasileira (@BrazilStat) June 4, 2017
But while the likes of Bernardo Silva, Radamel Falcao and Kylian Mbappe grabbed the headlines, Fabinho was the unsung hero for Monaco, notching up 12 goals and 6 assists in 55 appearances across all competitions.
And as he continues to go from strength to strength at Stade Louis II, some of the biggest clubs in Europe are starting to circle around the multi-faceted player. As per the latest reports, though, both the Manchester clubs in the Premier League are the front-runners in the race to sign Fabinho, with PSG being the latest entrants in his chase.
At Manchester United, Jose Mourinho is looking for quality midfielders for his squad, with Paul Pogba, Ander Herrera, Marouane Fellaini and the ageing Michael Carrick as his current options in midfield.
At the same time, Fabinho’s versatility could also see him provide a solution on the right side of the Manchester United defence in the absence of Antonio Valencia. However, he is, in all likelihood, being eyed by Mourinho a midfield reinforcement.
The same could be said for Manchester City as well, where Pep Guardiola is looking to bolster his options in midfield as well as right-back. The right side of his side’s defence, in particular, presented a lot of problems to Guardiola, and it is likely that Fabinho will be deployed as a right-back, should he move to the Etihad.
Meanwhile, the report by L’Equipe suggests that PSG have taken the decisive step in pursuit of Fabinho, with Sporting Director Antero Henrique is already in talks over a move.
Les Parisiens are also in a similar quagmire, with right-back Serge Aurier and midfielders Marco Verratti and Blaise Matuidi heavily linked with summer exits from the club. With the club aiming to rebuild after an underwhelming season, the signing of Fabinho will surely add a lot of value to Unai Emery’s squad.
As far as Fabinho is concerned, all three clubs present him the opportunity to take on a fresh challenge after four years at Monaco. Both the Manchester clubs can potentially offer more regular game time, and the two clubs seem to be leading the race to sign him.
Fabinho’s current contract runs till 2021, and the player has a release clause of €50 million. It now remains to be seen how things shape up in the coming months, as the race to land the versatile Brazilian continues to hot up.
