Huge blow for Manchester United as top target is not for sale

Manchester United suffer bad news as top defender target is not for sale

22/01/2024, 03:23 PM +00:00

Central defender. A position that has been a popular topic within Manchester United the past six months. The club’s desire for a central defender is well known to everyone and the constant links to numerous central defenders shows how much the club needs one. The issue for central defenders resides also not just for incomings but also for outgoings, as the future for the current central defenders is unknown past this summer.

Other than Lisandro Martinez the future of other central defenders at Manchester United is up in the air due to the contract situation, or desire to move on for more playing time. Varane and Evans fall under the former category as both are set to be free agents this summer, and Lindelof and Maguire fall under the latter category. The two players had interest in them this past summer from top clubs, but it led to nothing. With the Euros this summer, and both players playing a massive role for their respective countries, serious interest could then materialize.

With that being said, it means United needs to go in the market for long term defenders. The likelihood is they sell two of the four defenders named above and keep the other two. This would mean that United needs to sign two central defenders this summer. And some names have been thrown around that the club could sign. You have some links that are more serious than others such as the Branthwaite links, and Todibo links as both players are huge targets for the clubs. However, there are some players linked that a move could possibly materialize such as De Ligt and Araujo.

Araujo is an interesting link, because the player had been previously linked with the club in 2022 before signing a contract extension with the Blaugrana. United have kept tabs and it appears they sense they have a chance this summer.

Barcelona’s stance on Araujo future

Barcelona’s sporting director Deco was firm on the clubs Araujo stance and said, “We are not considering selling him, we want him to be happy and this is shown on a day-to-day basis.” United’s new CEO Omar Berrada might use some contacts to help potentially.