Fabinho to Manchester United has probably been one of the most interesting transfer stories of this summer window so far.
The versatile Brazilian was, between January and June, heavily linked with a move to the Premier League, with the Red Devils constantly thrown into the mix because they need someone in his position.
It was either a case of either/or when it came to Fabinho and Tiémoué Bakayoko, and with the latter of the two allegedly edging towards teaming up with N’Golo Kanté at Chelsea, that left Fabinho as the Monaco player Manchester United could sign.
After all, the Ligue 1 side became *the* place to sign players from this season after their great campaign, or at least that’s what the narrative would have you believe, seeing as only one (Bernardo Silva) has left so far.
Still, Fabinho at Old Trafford next season was looking like a distinct possibility, until that fateful day on the 15th of June when it appeared the club had briefed English journalists with the information Mourinho had very little interest in the Brazilian.
The five stages of grief set in.
Denial was the first, with many refusing to believe Mourinho could not be interested in such a great, versatile prospect.
Anger, as fans saw the names Eric Dier and Nemanja Matic linked with Manchester United.
Bargaining, as they looked at alternatives for Fabinho that weren’t named Eric or Nemanja.
Depression, when some account claimed Fabinho had chosen Paris Saint-Germain instead.
And just when acceptance was rearing its underwhelming yet weirdly satisfying head, Corriere dello Sport wade in with a brief yet to the point article, reigniting all the hope that Manchester United fans had worked so hard to suppress in one swift act of typemanship.
On Thursday, the Italian outlet published an article on their website claiming that Fabinho was ‘getting closer and closer’ to Manchester United after the Red Devils and Monaco had agreed on a fee of €35m + €5m in bonuses that could be triggered through both personal and team achievements.
As tends to be the case, we were skeptical.
After all, up until now, the only man convinced that Fabinho to Manchester United was still a thing was Emanuele Giulianelli.
However, it appears that the man behind the article, Davide Russo de Cerame, is very confident about his claims, and we can’t blame him.
If you have your info, you stick by it, even if it’s you against the world.
Hounded by a handful of Manchester United fans, the Italian journalist even went as far as replying to a couple of them the deal was ‘definitely’ close, and that the deal would happen ‘next week’.
We know that, ideally, José Mourinho wants all the new players signed before he leaves on pre-season, so Fabinho signing next week would fit that time scale.
Furthermore, €35m + €5m sounds about right for a player like Fabinho, and the idea of bonuses being thrown in there is very Manchester United.
Just look at the breakdown of Victor Lindelöf’s deal.
Still, we have a deadline now.
‘Next week’.
