Manchester United are reportedly keen on landing Ryan Sessegnon this summer, although Tottenham are the favourites to sign him.
According to a report by The Times, Ryan Sessegnon favours a move to Tottenham in the summer transfer window. The English teenage prodigy is also the subject of interest from Tottenham, and are aiming to steal a march on their Premier League rivals for the Fulham man.
Sessegnon has been on a tear since breaking into the first-team setup at Fulham last season. All of 17, the fact that he has won the Championship Player of the Season, in addition to the Young Player of the Season is unheard of for a player of his age group.
His numbers make for a staggering read as well, with Sessegnon the sixth highest scorer in the English second tier with 15 goals, while also making six assists in 47 appearances across all competitions. It is, thus, not surprising at all that he is attracting interest from the who’s who of English football. The front-runners in his pursuit though, are Manchester United and Tottenham.
At Manchester United, Luke Shaw’s inability to win over Jose Mourinho has forced the manager to deploy Ashley Young as a makeshift left-back this season. While the Englishman has largely excelled in the new role, he is no spring chicken at 32, and also views himself as a winger rather than a full-back.
With Shaw highly likely to depart from Old Trafford in the summer, the need to sign a left-back is urgent for Manchester United, irrespective of whether Young continues in the role or not, making Sessegnon a viable target.
Tottenham, on the other hand, are set to lose Danny Rose in the summer, with the Englishman coincidentally a target for Manchester United. Other than Rose, Mauricio Pochettino has just Ben Davies at his disposal, meaning Spurs also have the need to secure the services of a left-back this summer.
Tottenham do have a distinct advantage in pursuit of Sessegnon, with the player favouring the move to the North Londoners, as per the report. But, Manchester United intend to go all out in their bid to sign the 17-year-old, and are trying to steal a march on Spurs.
Meanwhile, Fulham intend to keep hold of Sessegnon, but those hopes could be seriously dented should they fail to secure promotion to the Premier League. The Cottagers currently do not occupy an automatic spot, meaning they face the prospect of going through the playoffs to claw their way back to the top flight.
The player might just opt to stay at Craven Cottage as well, if Fulham do end up in the Premier League. For now though, it looks like a straight duel between Manchester United and Tottenham for the player, and it remains to be where the player plies his trade next season.
