Manchester United are interested in Borussia Dortmund defender Manuel Akanji but may need to offer him mammoth wages to take him to Old Trafford.
That’s according to SportBILD, who say the defender is demanding as much as €10m a year in current contract renewal talks.
The newspaper explains that Dortmund would like to extend the defender’s contract, which is set to expire in 2023.
That means he will need to sign a new deal this summer or be sold, with Dortmund keen to avoid him leaving on a free transfer next year.
However, the defender has made a ‘whopping’ demand of €10m per year, which is double the €5m he currently earns at the club.
That’s considered a ‘brazen’ approach by the German club, who would be forced to make Akanji one of the highest-paid players at the club.
They’ve just given Niklas Sule €12m a year to sign from Bayern Munich, and there’s a worry that could prove a complication in negotiations with other players.
That applies to Akanji, and his demands could ‘force’ Dortmund to change their stance and sell him for €25m in the summer.
Should that happen, Akanji’s ‘alternative plan’ is to ‘fulfil his England dream’ and Manchester United are the club who are ‘interested in him’.
According to SportBILD, Manchester United boss, Ralf Rangnick initially wanted to sign Sule from Bayern and is said to have been ‘very disappointed’ that he elected to join Dortmund.
He could then turn to Akanji instead, but whether United would be willing to pay Dortmund’s asking price and then his €10m wage demands on top remains to be seen.
