Manchester United have reportedly entered the chase for Abdoulaye Doucoure and are set to rival Liverpool, Arsenal in pursuit of the Watford midfielder.
According to The Mirror, Manchester United are the latest entrant in pursuit of Abdoulaye Doucoure. The Red Devils join Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham and others in the chase for the Watford midfielder, who has been earning plaudits in what is serving as his breakout season in the Premier League.
Abdoulaye Doucoure’s Watford career truly started in the 2016-17 campaign after the player completed a half-season loan spell at Granada. His maiden season for Watford though, was disappointing, as he failed to make much of an impact, despite appearing 20 times in the Premier League.
The 2017-18 campaign and perhaps, the arrival of Marco Silva, seemed to unlock the Frenchman’s potential, with the player contributing to the team’s cause with goals and assists on a more regular basis – appreciable for a central midfielder.
While Marco Silva has departed Vicarage Road since then, Doucoure has shown that he has the ability to make it work under more than one manager, with a total of 7 goals and 3 assists in a combined 28 Premier League appearances under Javi Gracia and his predecessor.
His form has seen the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool be interested in the 25-year-old. And the report states that Manchester United have joined the chase as well.
At Manchester United, Jose Mourinho seems to be finally leaning towards a three-man midfield. But, the Portuguese lacks the personnel to field the formation, which has seen him deploy Scott McTominay as the partner for Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba.
While McTominay has been doing well, he has been given a more defensive role compared to the kind of profile that is needed for the third player. In a three-man midfield, one player generally holds the tip while the other two act as box-to-box midfielders. Doucoure is a natural box-to-box player and has shown his ability to contribute to the attack at Watford so far this season.
Liverpool need a player to replace Emre Can, whose exit looks more like a formality at this point, with the player not signing an extension at the club. Despite the impending arrival of Naby Keita, Klopp needs a dominating presence in midfield, something which Doucoure would provide, physically and otherwise.
Arsenal look set to conduct a rebuild in the summer, with Arsene Wenger unlikely to remain at helm, according to multiple reports. Doucoure would provide much steel in the midfield while also being a provider of goals from midfield, one of the main contributing factors of a quality squad.
Manchester United have already scouted the player out during Watford’s narrow 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion and chances are, they would have added Doucoure to the list of players they will target in the summer. Whether United are able to gazump Liverpool, Arsenal and others in pursuit of the 25-year-old remains to be seen.
But, given the level of interest, Doucoure does seem to be one of the players that will be on the move before the start of the 2018-19 campaign.
