Jose Mourinho is eyeing a Man Utd player he’s a “big, big fan of”, while there’s a major question mark over a star West Ham like following the Mason Mount agreement, per a report.
At the fourth time of asking, Man Utd struck an agreement to sign Mason Mount on Thursday. The Red Devils were forced in to upping their bid to £60m (£55m plus £5m in add-ons) to prevent the deal from collapsing. However, they did bring Chelsea’s £65m asking price down by £5m as both sides agreed to meet halfway.
It’s expected Mount will be deployed in a central midfield role at Old Trafford, though that is an area of the pitch Erik ten Hag doesn’t lack for options.
Indeed, even after Marcel Sabitzer’s loan spell concludes, Ten Hag can call upon Casemiro, Scott McTominay, Fred, Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes even before Mount factors into the equation.
Donny van de Beek is also on the books, though is a virtual non-factor at Old Trafford these days.
ESPN recently reported money is tight for Man Utd this summer with the club paying the price for a slew of bad decisions in the Ed Woodward era.
Making David de Gea the world’s highest paid goalkeeper on £375,000-a-week and forking out £73m for Jadon Sancho despite a lack of rival interest were cited as key examples.
As such, and with Ten Hag eyeing dream moves for Andre Onana and Harry Kane on top of Mount, saleable first-team assets must make way to free up funds.
Fred and McTominay on the chopping block
With Mount adding another body to central areas, the Sun bring news of Fred and McTominay potentially being turfed out.
McTominay was listed as being up for sale by ESPN, while the Telegraph previously reported the same about Fred.
The veteran Brazilian, 30, had emerged as a target for Fulham. A £20m move was touted, though news on that front has since gone quiet since breaking over one week ago.
Instead, the Sun highlight a potential escape route to Italy with Serie A giant Roma. They’re managed by Jose Mourinho who is the person who brought Fred to Old Trafford back in 2018.
A source is quoted by the Sun as saying: “Jose signed Fred for Manchester United and he remains a big, big fan of the player.
“He will not be a regular starter next season which has put Jose and Roma on red alert.
“For Mourinho, Fred would be a key player and someone he’d be looking to build a midfield around. Roma’s midfield is aging and is in desperate need of new faces”.
McTominay to replace Declan Rice?
Regarding McTominay, a move within the Premier League to West Ham was touted.
The Hammers are on the cusp of losing captain Declan Rice to Arsenal in a mammoth £105m transfer.
McTominay could conceivably fill the void left by Rice in West Ham’s engine room, with the Sun’s source adding: “Both players (Fred and McTominay) want to be regular first team starters.
“But Mount, Casemiro, Fernandes and Eriksen are all ahead of them in the pecking order.
“Erik Ten Hag doesn’t want to lose either Fred or McTominay because he wants a squad that can compete on all fronts next season.
“But, ultimately, if a big offer comes in and the players want to go then the club will have a difficult decision to make.”
On West Ham’s interest specifically, the source concluded: “David Moyes is a big fan. Rice is irreplaceable but McTominay would tick lots of boxes for West Ham.”
