From Spain: Ander Herrera intends to leave Manchester United on a free transfer when contract ends

Athletic Club Bilbao bringing in €80m from Chelsea for Kepa very quickly led to questions of what they can do with all that lovely money.

The Basque club have a strict recruitment policy which means they can only sign players from the region or with very close links to it. This means the same names are repeatedly linked, often for several years.

Ander Herrera was always going to be one of those linked, with the Manchester United player arriving from Athletic in the first place.

AS cover possible signings for the Basque club and they have a claim on Herrera that’s interesting. It’s stated there’s been transfer approaches to the midfielder this summer but he’s not been interested. He’s content at Manchester United, in the city, and in English football.

Herrera’s contract expires in June 2019 and AS say he intends to fulfil the deal but won’t renew it, and will then look to join a club of his choosing as a free agent.

If Manchester United could bring in a replacement then it may not be the worst idea to see just how much Athletic would be willing to offer, and then the clubs could try and persuade the player.