‘He really wants to be part of them’: Achraf Hakimi CONFIRMS his £40m international team-mate wants to join Manchester United before the weeks are out
Manchester United appear determined to continue their summer spending, highlighting a key new position that will significantly strengthen Erik ten Hag’s squad.
Will Sofyan Amrabat go to Manchester United?
The latest on the new pursuit comes via Foot Mercato journalist Santi Aouna, who hinted on Twitter that the Red Devils have taken a huge step to seduce Sofyan Amrabat from Fiorentina.
He would write:
“MU made a first verbal offer to Sofyan Amrabat’s agent. Al-Ahli also made an offer (15 million euros). But for now he has no interest and still dreams of a championship. He prefers to stay at Fiorentina if he doesn’t have a good club. Many top clubs are monitoring his situation.
Fabrizio Romano had given a reported price of around €40m (£35m) earlier in the month, suggesting it could end up being another lucrative deal for a side keen to make the additions needed to truly make them Premier League title challengers.
How good is Sofyan Amrabat?
As the Moroccan midfielder rose to fame for his outstanding performances at the World Cup, the 26-year-old continued to produce regularly for his club in the 2022/23 campaign, further underlining his desire for such promotion. In Serie A, his 90% passing accuracy shows his ability to dictate the game, while his 1.3 tackles per game help outline his defensive confidence, via Sofascore. He’s combative, relentless and extraordinarily intelligent in the engine room, launching into tackles only when the time is right and simply blocking the space otherwise.
With that, plus his colossal figure and unhinged physicality, it’s hard not to immediately draw comparisons to Ten Hag’s current defender, Casemiro.
The 31-year-old was signed last summer and made an instant impression at Old Trafford.
In the Premier League, the Brazilian has maintained an average rating of 7.21, supported by his passing accuracy of 79%, 3.2 tackles and 2.1 clearances per game, via Sofascore. Its solidity was just enough to make Ten Hag’s philosophy shine.
Although he is not getting any younger, the similarities between these numbers and Amrabat’s World Cup campaign should be encouraging as he could now be chosen as his successor.
His seven-game average rating of 6.83 in his historic run to the semis may have belied his importance. According to SofaScore, he had an 85% pass accuracy rate, but his tackles dropped to 2.3 per game and his clearances to 1.4 per game.
Such performances even led journalist Carlo Garganese to declare: “Amrabat is the best central midfielder in the tournament.” FREAK.”
Should he decide to move to Manchester now, he could enjoy a solid few years under the tutelage of such a legendary midfielder before finally stepping into his shoes and the former Real Madrid goalscorer moving on.
In particular, considering one-on-ones allows for further comparisons between the two, as they perform similarly on fouls per 90 (1.85 vs 2.33), dying passes per 90 (8.69 vs 9.71) and tackles won per 90 (37.81 vs 38.23). He could easily become the disruptive, progressive, defensive hero needed in such a system.
Casemiro could then leave knowing that his presence has helped bolster Ten Hag’s regime and provided the necessary platform for their Champions League return and ensuing success.
If Amrabat has a career half as successful as the aging general’s, it will prove to be a hugely successful signing for Manchester United.
Also….
‘I tried to get him to go to Barcelona but he insisted on a move to Man United’: Andreas Christensen CONFIRMED his £70m international teammate will join Manchester Utd at Barcelona before the window closes
On Thursday, TuttoMercatoWeb reported that Manchester United’s offer for Atalanta star Rasmus Højlund should arrive within hours.
The striker is a major target for Erik ten Hag and his side are in pole position to secure his services.
This was reported by Calciomercato.it, according to which Manchester United wants to close the deal “as soon as possible”.
The 20-year-old has signed a contract with the Premier League outfit and is waiting for the club to make a ‘concrete’ effort.
It is argued that Manchester United are expected to ‘formalize a new offer’ in the coming days to try and move in the direction of the Serie A squad’s demand.
Alfredo Pedullà also says the Danish international has a “total agreement” with the Old Trafford club. Aware that it will be “almost impossible” to keep the player, Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini has asked the Serie A leaders to find a solution by 31 July.
“Talks between the clubs have been finalized” and Manchester United have already made a “verbal proposal”. Pedullà adds that Ten Hag’s team ‘will get to work very quickly’ to satisfy Atalanta’s request for 60 million euros plus bonuses for the Dane.
The two reports indicate that Atalanta do not want players involved in the deal and only want cash.
Sky Italia interviewed Gasperini and asked if Højlund will be with Atalanta after this window. ‘If it stays? I don’t know, I honestly don’t know, the market is unpredictable, I don’t know the player’s value, he could be worth 100 million euros, but the market value is uncertain.”
“There are strong players who are struggling to find their place and other young players who are reaching certain numbers. Højlund is one of the first emerging players in Europe.”
