According to The Sun, Manchester United are watching Christoph Buamgartner ahead of the summer transfer window.
The 21-year-old Hoffenheim midfielder has shown in the Bundesliga this season with a move expected for him at the end of the season, but he is not familiar to a lot of United fans.
Central midfield may not be a priority for the Red Devils right now, but that could change if Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic were to leave, so the club are preparing as though that could be the case when the Premier League campaign ends.
Pogba has been in impressive form of late but Matic has hardly played this season — especially in comparison to other campaigns — but Fred and Scott McTominay have stood up.
So if you’re new to Buamgartner, here are 5 snippets of information about the midfielder:
- Baumgartner joined Hoffenheim’s academy in 2017 and has since risen to the first-team.
- He has 45 appearances in the Bundesliga to date, as well as six in the Europa League, racking up a total of five goals and seven assists from 25 appearances across all competitions this term.
- Austria international.
- Renowned for playing a deep-lying role in midfield and also from the left.
- The report claims Hoffenheim want £16m for Baumgartner’s signature.
Apparently, the midfielder’s contract expires in 2023 but United are expected to make a big for the player this summer. I would be surprised if they didn’t up their price for the Austrian in the summer because that sounds very cheap for a player attracting interest from United.
Baumgartner has been compared to Michael Ballack and Kai Havertz in the past.
Let’s hope he’s better than the Chelsea flop!
“(He) is an extremely talented player with strong technical skills and a good sense for space in attack,” said Hoffenheim sporting director Alexander Rosen, as per the official Bundesliga website.
“As a result, he always develops solutions in tight game situations and is also dangerous around goal.”
