Manchester United are close to completing a move for Napoli left-back Faouzi Ghoulam after the Serie A side brings in a replacement.
The 26-year-old has been linked with a move away from Stadio San Paolo for quite some time, with Chelsea, Liverpool, Juventus and even Manchester United heavily linked with him. However, it now looks like Manchester United have been given the green-light to sign Faouzi Ghoulam, as the Serie A side are closing to signing a replacement.
With Jose Mourinho looking for a brand-new left-back, who can help him improve his position in the league table, the former Blues boss has the likes of Danny Rose, Alejandro Grimaldo, Layvin Kurzawa, Alex Sandro and Ghoulam on his shortlist to replace Ashley Young. However, while he does have both Luke Shaw and even Daley Blind, the Portuguese international has preferred Young over the two defensive players, despite the fact that the England international is traditionally a winger.
While Ashley Young has impressed Jose Mourinho playing as a makeshift left-back, the 54-year-old wants a more permanent replacement and will have to fight Liverpool and Chelsea for Faouzi Ghoulam. Both Jurgen Klopp and Antonio Conte are looking for new left-backs but it looks more likely that they will lose out on the Algerian international, with United in pole position to land him after a report from Italian outlet Tuttosport.
It now looks like the Red Devils are close to agreeing to a move for the Algerian international and Mourinho has made the 26-year-old his top priority. According to reports from Tuttosport, Mourinho has been given the go-ahead to approach and match Ghoulam’s £53 million release clause, despite him signing a new 5-year contract at the beginning of December.
The report further adds that Napoli are close to securing a replacement in the form of Alejandro Grimaldo from Benfica and the deal to bring the 22-year-old to Italy is nearly complete.
Author’s take:
Faouzi Ghoulam is not the only Serie A star that the Red Devils have been linked with, as Jose Mourinho has expressed his interest in Juventus stars Paulo Dybala and Alex Sandro, Ac Milan’s Gianluigi Donarumma, Napoli’s Lorenzo Insigine among others. However, given Manchester United’s current left-back situation, the 54-year-old has made Ghoulam his top priority and the 26-year-old would be a quality addition to the Old Trafford side.
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