Manchester United are looking to strengthen their midfield department. The club is uncertain with the future of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen. Red Devils has also not decided whether to offer Sofyan Amrabat a permanent contract or not. Along with all those doubts, the club is monitoring possible incomings in midfield department. They have been linked with Manuel Ugarte, Amadou Onana and Morten Hjulmand. United were also linked with Benfica’s Joao Neves and even submitted a bid of €70 million. However, Benfica want €120 million for the 19 year old Portugese and hence United have now pulled out of that race. In addition, United were targetting Monaco’s midfielder Youssouf Fofana. However, AC Milan have now spoiled United’s plans as Fofana is very close to join the Italian giants.
AC Milan close to French midfielder
AC Milan are looking to take down their city rivals Inter Milan and win the Serie A title in 2024/25 season. Milan have made Paulo Fonseca their new head coach and offered him three year contract. The 7 times Champions League winners are looking to sign centre back, midfielder and striker. For the midfield department, Rossoneri have monitored AS Monaco’s Youssouf Fofana.
Fofana will cost AC Milan around €30 million. The Frenchman’s current market value is €30 million too according to Transfermarkt. The 25 year old midfielder will be offered a five year contract by the Italian giants and earn around €2.5 million per year. Fofana’s current salary at Monaco is €1 million and hence the Milan deal will be a big achievement for the Frenchman. The 25 year old midfielder’s current contract will expire at the end of next season. Milan have no problem waiting another year for Fofana and are confident that the player will join them. However, Monaco will not like to let Fofana go for free and hence will push harder to get the deal over the line.
Fofana only wants AC Milan
Youssouf Fofana has interest from Premier League clubs too. However the 25 year old only wants to join Milan. Currently Fofana is on three week holiday granted by Monaco due to his participation in Euro 2024. However, he might not return to Les Monegasques as he desires to join Milan. AS Monaco has given Fofana permission to leave the club if their demands are fulfilled. Fofana wishes to join a team which is ambitious to win trophies. In addition, joining Milan will provide him Champions League football which United are unable of providing in the 2024/25 season.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Fofana has agreed personal terms with AC Milan. The Italian journalist tweeted that negotiations are ongoing between Milan and Monaco. In addition, Romano said that Nottingham Forest submitted a bid of €30 million for Fofana but it was quickly rejected by Monaco. Fofana now need to pass the medical examination at San Siro and sign the contract. The transfer process is expected to speed up as France are now eliminated from Euro 2024. The 25 year old midfielder will be the first major signing under Paulo Fonseca.
Youssouf Fofana in the 2023/24 season
The 2023/24 season was the best season of Fofana’s career. The 25 year old midfielder played crucial role for Monaco and helped their achieve the Champions League spot. Fofana played in 32 Ligue 1 fixtures and scored 4 goals along with providing 4 assists. The midfielder averaged 48.1 passes per game as he completed 1444 passes throught the tournament. Fofana completed 1.30 dribbles per 90 with 60% success rate. The French international was solid in defending too as he won 1.30 tackles, 5.00 ground duels, 0.57 ariel duels and 1.23 interceptions per 90. To conclude Fofana made impressive amount of 7.66 recoveries per 90. All stats according to FotMob.
A trusted source on ManUNews.comFor more football updates, make sure to follow us on:
