The £50m striker who could sign for Man Utd and take Old Trafford by storm
Manchester United have been linked with a bid for a striker worth at least £50m - but can they get a deal done in the summer transfer window?
In a week’s time, the summer transfer window will open for business and Manchester United will begin the process of rebuilding their squad in Michael Carrick’s image – and a key part of the recruitment drive will be the search for a new striker.
With Rasmus Højlund leaving for Napoli on a permanent deal and Joshua Zirkzee now seen as surplus to requirements, the club only have one natural centre-forward on the books – Benjamin Šeško – and providing the Slovenian with some competition will be essential if the club want to cement their place in the top four or push on to challenge for the title.
Manchester United have, as such, been linked with several strikers already, but a new report from TEAMtalk suggests that one long-standing target remains firmly at the top of their shortlist: Inter Milan’s Francesco Pio Esposito.
Manchester United monitoring Francesco Pio Esposito – reports
According to TEAMtalk’s story, Manchester United had scouts in Greece on Sunday to watch Esposito score the winner for Italy in a friendly – a goal which took the 20-year-old’s tally to five international goals in just nine caps.
Manchester United were first linked with the young striker a year ago, when elite sides started to pay attention following an impressive loan spell in Serie B with Spezia. Even though he hadn’t yet played a game in the Italian top flight, there were rumours suggesting that Inter had turned down offers as high as €50m (£43.2m) – and their faith was repaid by an impressive debut campaign for their first team.
Esposito scored 10 goals in 48 appearances for Inter and his combination of physicality, hold-up play and sharp movement rapidly earned him a place in the national team. Earmarked as a potential star for years, Esposito thrived on the biggest stage.
Inter, for their part, made it as clear as possible that they had not intention of selling the striker, turning offers from unnamed sides down as the Italian media found themselves briefed that a huge new contract was being prepared. That story emerged last autumn, however, and no new deal has yet been signed.
While Inter still have their brightest young talent tied down until 2030, there will still be jangling nerves in Milan so long as that contract extension goes unsigned. United are still monitoring the young forward and could well pounce if there is any sign that Esposito wants to leave the San Siro.
Will Esposito leave Inter this summer?
The reporting doesn’t suggest that an offer has yet been made, merely that Esposito remains on United’s radar. Nor is there any word on an updated price tag, although a handful of the gossipier corners of the internet suggest £50m as a starting point.
In truth, there probably isn’t a pre-determined asking price as Inter are keen to do everything to avoid a sale. Esposito remains under contract for four more years, giving the club plenty of leverage to keep him around, and it’s likely that the only way that he leaves this summer is if he decides to force a move the hard way. As it stands, there is no sign of that happening, although the fact that the long-rumoured contract extension remains unsigned is concerning.
Unlike some Serie A sides, Inter are not in a sufficiently desperate financial position that they will be compelled to make a sale if the Premier League flexes its economic muscles at them, but there would be a price point at which Manchester United could force the issue. The likelihood, however, is that they will focus their fiscal attention elsewhere.
United appear to have opened negotiations over West Ham midfielder Mateus Fernandes and have already agreed a deal to sign Atalanta’s Éderson – a pair of deals which would set the back well over £100m. With at least one more midfielder, a left-back and a goalkeeper all minimum requirements for the transfer window, it’s unlikely that there will be enough transfer budget left over to make an offer for Esposito that was so compelling that they felt forced to change their stance on his availability.
Inter have made it very clear that they want to keep the youngster around and build their team around his attacking talents, and have only warned suitors off so far. There are no indications that will change over the coming months – for now, Manchester United may be forced to stick with a watching brief. But don’t expect them to be shy about making an offer if anything changes.