Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has identified Paris Saint-Germain star Marco Verratti as a key target for the summer transfer window.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has added PSG midfield metronome and Italian international Marco Verratti to his summer transfer wishlist, as per reports from the Sun.
The Mancunian outfit are on the verge of completing their first signing of the summer, with Brazilian midfielder Fred understood to be closing in on a move to the Old Trafford from Shakhtar Donetsk. However, Jose wants to beef up his options further in the middle of the park and has made Verratti a top target.
Manchester United will be losing two central midfielders ahead of the next season with Michael Carrick hanging up his boots and Marouane Fellaini set to leave once his contract expires by the end of this month. And Mourinho wants to address this issue as he sets out to prepare a team to challenge cross-town rivals and Premier League champions Manchester City.
Verratti has been hailed as one of the most gifted midfielders in the game currently and has constantly been compared to Barcelona and Spain legend Xavi, owing to his ability to control matches from the centre of the pitch. Having burst onto the scenes at hometown club Pescara in Italy, the 25-year old made the move to PSG in the summer of 2012 and has grown into an indispensable member of Les Parisiens’ squad.
Since moving to the French capital, Verratti has made 239 appearances for the club, scoring eight times and registering 43 assists, and has won five French Ligue 1 titles along with numerous domestic cup trophies. In the 2017/18 campaign, the 25-time capped Italy international featured 38 times across all competitions for the French champions, netting twice and laying on seven assists for his teammates.
Verratti has a contract with PSG that runs till the summer of 2021 and newly appointed manager Thomas Tuchel will be hoping to hold on to the midfielder at all costs, especially with seasoned campaigner Thiago Motta retiring at the end of the last season.
Manchester United were understood to be keen on landing Lazio’s rising star Sergej Milinkovic-Savic this summer, but the Italian outfit reportedly knocked back the £80 million offer put forth by the Premier League outfit. And with Serie A champions Juventus also showing interest in the Serbian powerhouse, United seem to have turned their attention towards Verratti, who is likely to cost them £75 million.
With Fred’s signing from Shakhtar understood to be imminent and the transfer of Porto full-back Diogo Dalot also in the works, Manchester United have started the summer transfer window on the front foot, as they look to reclaim the Premier League title for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement. And, if they manage to add Verratti also to their ranks ahead of the next season, it will be a huge statement of intent from Mourinho and a major coup for the club.
