AS Monaco have reportedly rejected a €25 million bid by Manchester United for Benoit Badiashile, who is off limits for suitors.
According to a report by French outlet RMC Sport, Manchester United have had an offer for Benoit Badiashile knocked back by AS Monaco. The Ligue 1 outfit are not interested in entertaining any bids for the 19-year-old, who is also the subject of interest from German club Bayer Leverkusen.
Benoit Badiashile joined AS Monaco in 2016 and spent a couple of years in the club’s youth setup before graduating to the first-team squad in November 2018. Since then, the teenage prodigy has steadily grown within the senior setup at Stade Louis II and is already closing in on 50 appearances for the first-team.
At the onset of the 2020/21 season, the 19-year-old seems to be firmly in Niko Kovac’s plan, having started the opening game of the Monegasque club’s Ligue 1 campaign. His progress, though, seems to have been duly noted by some of the biggest clubs in the world, with Manchester United among his suitors.
The first instance of Manchester United’s interest in Badiashile appeared around the time he made his professional debut for Monaco. Since then, the Premier League heavyweights have been linked with the 19-year-old a number of times, with reports of a possible bid surfacing last year as well.
Manchester United, though, ended up signing Harry Maguire last summer, with the Englishman now the club captain. Alongside him, Victor Lindelof is the first-choice centre-back for United, but has not always been a reliable presence at the heart of the defence.
As for backup, the likes of Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo do not seem to be in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s plans, with Eric Bailly’s fitness issues also making him an unreliable option. As a result, the interest in Badiashile makes sense, seeing as he could potentially become a long-term solution at the back for Manchester United.
The Red Devils do seem to be keen on signing a young defender this summer, with Ben White also on their radar. However, it now looks like Badiashile might be one of their priority options, with the reliable Mohamed Bouhafsi claiming that Manchester United have lodged a €25 million bid for the 19-year-old.
A source close to Monaco now indicates that Badiashile will stay “unless Manchester make a Martial-like, unrefusable bid for him.” Bayer Leverkusen, who have been in talks to sign the player for weeks, intend to come back with a new offer regardless.
— Mohamed Bouhafsi (@mohamedbouhafsi) August 26, 2020
The offer, though, has been quickly knocked back by AS Monaco, with Kovac adamant that every bid for the teenager must be rejected. However, the report also goes on to mention that Manchester United could have a chance if they table an “unrefusable” bid for the player, like that for Anthony Martial in 2015.
Meanwhile, Bayer Leverkusen are also in pursuit of Badiashile and are likely to return with a bid of their own soon. What now remains to be seen is if Manchester United raise their offer for the 19-year-old, or if they turn their attention towards someone else.
