The name Nicolo Barella might not mean a lot to your average Premier League football fan, but Manchester United are very aware of the young Italian’s potential.
Back in January, it was reported the Red Devils were ready to trigger the 21-year-old’s release clause, which stood at €50m, but nothing came of it.
Perhaps they thought it was too soon to spend such an amount on a young midfielder, or they were never really that interested in the first place, simply keeping an eye on him for the time being.
However, it appears certain offers did land on Cagliari’s table in the summer, even if Barella wasn’t interested in entertaining them.
Picked by Roberto Mancini for the latest Italy squad, the midfielder was asked by Corriere dello Sport about the interest from Manchester United and Inter, among others, this summer.
He said: “The truth is that I feel good in my city, and we decided on it together with the president, so I stayed. I didn’t consider the offers that arrived. Better: we didn’t take them into consideration”.
Barella also stated he decided to pick game time over glamour, wanting to make the final step in his development, feeling happy where he is right now.
Next summer? He’ll probably be gone, but this is the season for him to really establish himself as one of the young talents in Serie A.
