At this point, everyone and their dog knows that Manchester United need a new midfielder as well as a new striker, and that’s why it’s no surprise to see them linked with Nicolo Barella on Tuesday.
The news comes from Gazzetta dello Sport, who explain that multiple Premier League clubs are after the Italian.
Manchester United are one of them, and are seen as a ‘far more attractive’ destination than Newcastle, even if the latter are also in the Champions League.
Not only that, but the Red Devils have already made the first move, with the newspaper claiming that ‘interested phone calls’ originating from Old Trafford have been made to those in charge of Inter Milan for their star midfielder.
On an official basis, ‘everything is silent’, but there’s no denying the ears of his agent, Alessandro Beltrami, are ‘inevitably pricked towards the Premier League’.
Inter, down their end, would never sell the player of their own volition, but they could be forced to depending on how much money lands on their table.
Their ‘rigid self-financing regime’ could mean that if ‘English maxi-offers’ were to arrive, it would be start to say no.
For that to happen, though, it’s made clear that Barella ‘costs from €80m and up’, which is €20m more than what Liverpool recently paid for Alexis Mac Allister.
The fact Manchester United are also going for Mason Mount means that they ‘want to make a leap in the middle’, something Barella would inevitably give them.
