The longer Manchester United struggle to tie down Tahith Chong to a contract, the more the rumours about a possible exit on a free next summer are going to circulate.
As you well know, it doesn’t take much for the Italian media to get carried away when they latch onto something, and following Monday’s article claiming the Dutch youngster wouldn’t mind a move to Juventus if it presented itself, Corriere dello Sport have another update.
They say there are now two ways the Turin club can acquire the Manchester United starlet, and they would both be ‘free’.
The first one is the simpler and more patient approach, which involves waiting for the 19-year-old to run down his contract at Old Trafford and scoop him up on a free.
The second one, and this could benefit both clubs, is to include him in the deal taking Mario Mandzukić to the north of England.
They don’t say when that would take place, but as has been widely reported, it’s believed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would like some offensive reinforcements in January, which is when the Croatia international would be expected to arrive.
Inserting Chong in the negotiations six months before the end of his contract would allow United to lower the price for Mandzukić, and maybe even cancel out a fee altogether (this is just us speculating over the two players’ valuations).
We’re not convinced they would go along with that, considering they are trying to tie the winger down to a new deal (without success so far), but crazier things have happened in football in the past.
