Finally getting a deal done for Bruno Fernandes on Wednesday, Manchester United can now focus on strengthening another area of their team: the striker role.
With Marcus Rashford injured for the foreseeable future, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has pleaded those in charge at Old Trafford to get him a number nine for the second half of the season, which is where Islam Slimani came in.
The Algeria international is currently on loan at Monaco from Leicester City, but his lack of minutes over the past month has made him want to find a new club, and he’s asked for an exit.
Both Manchester United and Tottenham have been heavily linked with the player, and while Spurs have so far refused to give the principality side the €2.5m they are asking for as compensation for cutting the loan short, the Red Devils are continuing negotiations to sign the striker.
Manchester United pousse les discussions concernant #Slimani (#Monaco / Leicester). Alors que le Lyonnais M.Dembele reste ciblé pour la saison prochaine, les Red Devils ont besoin d’un attaquant dès maintenant. #Mercato #ASM
— Ignazio Genuardi (@IgnazioGenuardi) January 30, 2020
This comes from French journalist Ignazio Genuardi, who claims the Old Trafford side are ‘pushing talks’ to acquire Slimani.
He goes on to explain that while Lyon’s Moussa Dembélé remains a target for next summer, Solskjaer and co. need a striker as soon as possible, which is why the Leicester man is on their radar in the dying hours of the January transfer window.
It seems that United’s plan here is to get Slimani to help out for the next six months or so and then send him back to the King Power Stadium in June in order to focus on the Ligue 1 star during the coming months.
They’ll have a lot of convincing to do for both deals, but everybody knows money talks.
Meanwhile, Sky Italia are reporting Inter are also interested in Slimani, having failed to convince Chelsea to let Olivier Giroud go on the cheap.
