Manchester United are set to sign Villarreal centre-back Eric Bailly and have also made contact with Chelsea over Nemanja Matic, according to Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio.
According to his information, United will sign the Ivory Coast defender for a fee that could potentially reach €40m.
The English giants are believed to have agreed to pay €32m + €8m in bonuses for the 22-year-old centre-back. The club’s interest in the player has been heavily reported over the last few days and the transfer is widely expected to materialize in the near future.
Manchester United set to sign Bailly while pursuing Matic: the latest – https://t.co/nqdIQ22ceF https://t.co/zv2HvUpMSb
— David Amoyal (@DavidAmoyal) 6 юни 2016 г.
The report also suggests United have made a move to sign Nemanja Matic as Mourinho wants to bring the defensive midfielder to Old Trafford.
Matic, who was the best midfielder in the English Premier League during the course of the 2014/15 title-winning season for Chelsea, is understood to be keen to join Manchester United this summer.
The Serbian international was far from his best last season and was openly criticized on numerous occasions by Jose Mourinho while the Portuguese was still his manager at Chelsea.
United should prioritize the signing of a creative midfielder, as Mourinho should give Schneiderlin a chance to prove his worth in the Portuguese’s aggressive, counter-attacking system. However, if Matic could rediscover his 2014/15 form, he would be a brilliant signing and would be an upgrade on Schneiderlin.
Given Mourinho’s public comments about Matic last season, the transfer seems highly unlikely to materialize. Even if they’ve repaired their relationship, Chelsea would be reluctant to sell to a domestic rival.
Both teams had disappointing campaigns last season and didn’t challenge for the title, but next season things should be different and Chelsea are unlikely to agree to the midfielder’s sale.
