Man Utd close to admitting defeat with new snub prompting cut-price sale
Manchester United are edging closer to being resigned to losing a first-team star after his latest contract snub prompted a bargain January sale to be considered, per a report.
Manchester United made the headlines with their triple acquisition of Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer. However, much of their focus in the transfer world since then has centred around who could leave.
Both Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard are in the final years of their deals at Old Trafford. The Red Devils are understood to be keen to tie both stars down to new, long-term deals.
But per online outlet Caught Offside (citing Claret and Hugh), progress with Lingard has hit a wall.
They cite sources that claim Lingard has recently ‘rejected the club’s latest offer of £150-000-per-week’.
That reportedly represented a 50 percent increase on what the attacker currently earns. But with regular game-time far from assured in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, Lingard snubbed the offer.
As a direct result, it’s stated Manchester United are now ‘willing to sell Lingard’ for just ‘£10m in January’.
That figure represents a fraction of the amount the club were said to be seeking this summer.
£30m was often touted in the press with West Ham the likeliest suitor after a stellar loan spell. The article cites that figure, along with claiming the Hammers were later quoted £20m.
But with Lingard reportedly content to run his contract down, Man Utd are seemingly open to recouping what little they can before it’s too late – assuming a planned ‘final offer’ is also rebuffed.
Claret and Hugh cite a source that stated: “Jesse has not budged, he is enjoying being back at United but the club want his contract sorted, purely in terms of now protecting the asset.
“Lingard is still holding all the cards but United would now rather get £10m in January than zero in July. It’s hoped an agreement can be found but United believe a number of clubs would be takers at the major discounted price.”
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Man Utd chasing phenom likened to Harry Kane
Meanwhile, a striker sensation following in the footsteps of Jude Bellingham and already likened to Harry Kane has caught the eye of Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City.
Emre Tezgel is the player in question, with the Stoke City phenom already on the radar of England’s elite sides per the Daily Mail. Tezgel only turned 16 in September, but is already developing a fearsome reputation within the game.
He has bagged seven goals in his first four matches at Under-18s level this season. Among that was a hat-trick against Liverpool and a brace against the Red Devils.
For his displays with England’s Under-17s in September, Tezgel received the Player of the Tournament award in the Syrenka Cup. He followed in the footsteps of fellow England sensation Bellingham who scooped the gong in 2019.
The head coach of England’s Under-17s, Tom Curtis, has already likened the starlet to Tottenham talisman Kane.
Predictably, the Mail article claims Stoke are up against it to retain his services for much longer. Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City are all credited with interest.
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