Erik ten Hag’s main objective this summer has been to strengthen Manchester United’s midfield, with several years of neglecting that area leaving them weak.
Furthermore, Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba have already left the club this summer, with Donny van de Beek, Scott McTominay and Fred left as the only senior midfielders.
Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong and former Brentford star Christian Eriksen have been linked with a move this summer but now, a new name has been paired with a transfer.
Leandro Paredes, the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder, has two years remaining on his contract at Paris Saint-Germain and according to L’Equipe, United enquired about his availability.
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As per the report, United registered their interest in the Argentina international but were immediately put off by PSG’s €35m asking price – deemed to be far too high for the Old Trafford side.
Additionally, it is claimed that when United learned of PSG’s valuation, they walked away from the negotiating table.
SN’s verdict…
It’s not lost on anyone that United are in desperate need of adding bodies to their midfield but as their pursuit of De Jong has shown, they counting on making every last penny count as they try to work around the loss of Champions League revenue.
Furthermore, there are doubts over whether Paredes is good enough and Ten Hag cannot afford to get his midfield reinforcements wrong – they will be the lynchpin of his team.
James Garner, who impressed at Nottingham Forest last season, will fancy his chances of breaking into the side this season amid United’s difficulties in signing players in his position.
The 21-year-old was named in Ten Hag’s 31-man squad for this summer’s tour of Thailand and Australia.
