Faouzi Ghoulam to Manchester United has reared its ugly head in Italy once more, and it’s all because of the English press.
Il Mattino are the ones covering José Mourinho’s alleged interest in the Algeria international, with left-back a position many feel needs improving at Old Trafford, but let’s make one thing clear, this isn’t their own information.
We normally wouldn’t cover this, but they make such a deal about it in their Wednesday newspaper that someone else is bound to pick up on it and go with “IL MATTINO CLAIM MOU READY FOR £53M LEFT-BACK SUMMER SPENDING SPREE EXTRAVAGANZA TO RIVAL MANCHESTER CITY’S SPENDING BECAUSE HE DOESN’T LIKE GUARDIOLA’S BEARD”.
Or something like that.
Either way, there’s a clear mention of “From England” in their article, which is headlined ‘Mou Calling’, and they mention ‘tabloids’ too.
Also, if Manchester United were to spend £53m on Ghoulam, they’d be wasting money, because Il Mattino reiterate his “variable” release clause is maxed out at €50m (or approximately £44.4636229m), which is an amount they’ve been reporting consistently since he renewed his contract.
There’s also the inevitable Jorge Mendes mention, as he’s the agent of both José Mourinho and Ghoulam.
What is interesting, however, is a new bit of information, and that’s the fact the Red Devils actually enquired about the left-back in the summer, prior to his renewal with the club.
The 27-year-old is still recovering from a knee injury sustained back in November, which made a transfer in January very difficult, but with a return expected ahead of schedule, the summer could be very different.
There isn’t really any ‘fear’ he could leave per se in Il Mattino’s article, but they know that if Manchester United want him, they’ll pay up, and they’ll pay Ghoulam a lot more than what he’s currently earning in Naples, even after his renewal.
