Manchester United have reportedly tabled an offer of £27 million for Juventus winger Douglas Costa after no breakthrough in their pursuit of Jadon Sancho.
According to The Sun, Manchester United may have already moved on from the Jadon Sancho saga. The Red Devils have reportedly identified Douglas Costa as the alternative and have tabled an offer worth £27 million to Juventus for the Brazilian winger.
Jadon Sancho’s transfer saga has been the most talked about event in the summer market and a drawn out process. Manchester United seem unwilling to pay most of the £100 million upfront while Dortmund don’t look like a club that are in a hurry to complete a deal to sell Sancho.
Douglas Costa, on the other hand, is likely to be one of several players available at Juventus following the departure of Maurizio Sarri. Andrea Pirlo has taken over and will oversee a squad overhaul as the Bianconeri aim to provide a better competition for the Champions League trophy.
The Brazilian winger has failed to live up to the hype generated during his loan spell at Juventus in the 2017/18 season. Costa finished with 4 goals and 12 assists in the Serie A that season and was immediately signed on a permanent basis by the Italian giants.
However, the seasons that have followed have been extremely disappointing, with the 2019/20 Serie A season seeing the winger feature for 23 times but amass just 792 minutes on the pitch; all while boasting a return of a goal and 5 assists.
Manchester United are in need of a natural right-sided winger. More importantly, though, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needs someone with a good work-rate and ability to play across the attack to fit into his footballing philosophy of interchangeable attackers.
Douglas Costa will add to the speed quotient of the attack, thus accentuating the threat of counters while being equally vociferous with the ball at his feet. The Brazilian might be in need of a change of scenery to recapture his form and a move to the Premier League to be a part of the Manchester United revolution might just be it.
A £27 million bid has been tabled as per the reports, with Juventus holding out for £36 million. There is not much of a gap between the two valuations, which means we could see the Brazilian join his compatriots Andreas Pereira and Fred at Old Trafford.
