Exclusive: Man United fail with cash-plus-player transfer offer as club could offload four first-team players
Manchester United have failed with a bid for Benfica striker Goncalo Ramos which included Brazilian left-back Alex Telles as part of the deal, CaughtOffside understands.
As previously reported, Man Utd were planning last week to step up their interest in both Ramos and Atalanta forward Rasmus Hojlund, but it seems they’ve struggled so far to come up with a suitable offer for the former.
Ramos had a prolific campaign for Benfica last season and also impressed at the World Cup with Portugal, with United not the only top European team believed to be interested in him. Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United have also been linked with Ramos in the past but are not believed to be actively pursuing him at this moment in time.
It remains to be seen if the Red Devils will try again for Ramos, but Telles is understood to prefer a move back to his former club Porto, whilst also having suitors back in his native Brazil, sources have informed CaughtOffside.
United could also try to offload other members of their squad this summer in a bid to balance the books after spending big on Mason Mount and closing in on a deal for Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana. Harry Maguire is on the market, as has been widely documented, while midfielders Fred and Scott McTominay also face uncertain futures.
Fred is wanted by Fulham, with manager Marco Silva already speaking directly to the player about his project, CaughtOffside understands, while McTominay has interest from Newcastle and Brighton, along with Serie A giants Roma. Although United are not actively looking to sell the Scotland international, a fee of around £30m could be enough to tempt them into letting him go.
Maguire’s asking price is thought to be in the region of at least £35m, but this is viewed as too high by current suitors. West Ham and Everton have a concrete interest in the England international and could continue to monitor his situation until later in the window. Talks over the club captain’s future are yet to take place, but he is expected for a key meeting with Erik ten Hag soon.
MUFC fans will no doubt hope that Ten Hag can continue to trim down this squad and offload the players who are not really contributing enough, as it could also be key to making room for other much-needed signings, particularly in attack, where someone like Ramos or Hojlund could make a real difference.
As reported by CaughtOffside columnist Ben Jacobs yesterday, there remains some distance between United and Atalanta in terms of Hojlund’s valuation, but one imagines player sales could help the Premier League giants to make up that gap.
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