Real Madrid are open to selling Casemiro to Manchester United in a potential deal worth over £60m.
Talks are ongoing between the two clubs, with United receiving enough encouragement to make them believe a deal is possible.
The 30-year-old is highly regarded by Real boss Carlo Ancelotti. However, Casemiro wouldn’t be seen as indispensable given the multitude of options the Champions League holders have in the middle of the pitch.
Luka Modric has signed a contract extension until 2023 and Toni Kroos also provides genealogical experience to mingle with young talents, Eduardo Camavinga, Aurélien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde.
Real cannot guarantee a gap in minutes for the potential new signing from Manchester United. It will be seen as smart to take his salary off the books, while incurring a hefty transfer fee.
United have been desperate for a defensive midfielder for years and the Brazilian offers attributes that manager Erik ten Hag does not possess in his squad.
It’s unclear if Casemiro is actually willing to leave the Bernabeu for Europa League football at Old Trafford, even with the prospect of doubling his salary.
He is considering his options given he needs playing time ahead of the World Cup and was tempted by United’s offer.
Real stressed that the final decision rests with Casemiro.
The former Sao Paulo player played over 300 times for Madrid and was involved in five Champions League successes.
United remain interested in Caicedo
With two weeks to go until the transfer window closes, Man Utd are considering other midfield options with a move for Adrien Rabiot from Juventus now increasingly unlikely due to wage demands. However, they have increased their interest in Brighton’s Moises Caicedo.
United are deciding internally whether to formalize the interest given Brighton’s firm ‘no intention to sell’ stance.
The 20-year-old Ecuadorian impressed in Brighton’s 2-1 opening weekend win at Old Trafford as Graham Potter’s side beat new United boss Erik ten Hag in his first game in charge.
Caicedo only made his Premier League debut for Brighton at Arsenal in April. He has become a regular in Potter’s first team after starting his last 10 league games and has made 12 appearances in all competitions for the club.
United are long-time admirers of Caicedo – they were considering signing him when he joined Brighton from Ecuadorian club Independiente del Valle in February 2021.
However, Brighton’s transfer policy is that they will only sell at the right time and at the right price.
United will have internal discussions over whether to formalize their interest with an official offer.
Caicedo, whose contract at Brighton runs until the summer of 2025, also scored his first Premier League goal against United in the stunning 4-0 win at the Amex Stadium in May.
In October last year, he became the first player born in the 21st century to score in CONMEBOL’s World Cup qualifiers, with a goal in Ecuador’s 4-2 win over Uruguay .
Brighton have already sold two key players to Premier League sides this summer following the departures of Marc Cucurella to Chelsea in a £60m deal and midfielder Yves Bissouma to Tottenham for £35m .
Caicedo’s interest comes amid waning optimism over De Jong deal
Manchester United’s interest in Caicedo follows waning optimism in signing Barcelona midfielder Frankie de Jong.
Man Utd haven’t given up hope of signing De Jong as they feel Barca want to do a deal and have a wide deal worth £72m.
They also think the Dutch player wants to come over, but they know the potential transfer has taken much longer than they wanted or expected.
Sky Sports News have been told ‘the door hasn’t been closed’ on a deal to sign De Jong – but ‘confidence is not high’ a transfer can take place.
Man Utd considered other options throughout the summer given the problematic nature of the De Jong deal.
Alternate options may need to be triggered as soon as there are only 16 days left in the window.
Meanwhile, Man Utd are also in the market to sign a goalkeeper after Dean Henderson left on loan at Nottingham Forest.
Their target is a group of three ‘first-team capable goalkeepers’.
David de Gea is currently the number one choice with Tom Heaton number two.
United interested in signing a striker this summer
Man Utd also remain in the market for a striker, along with PSV Eindhoven Cody Gakpo a player of interest.
They respect PSV’s involvement in the Champions League qualifiers and are likely to pursue the 23-year-old in the final week of the window.
that of Stuttgart Sasa Kalajdzic is also a player they watch. The Austrian can be priced reasonably as he has entered the final year of his contract and wants to come to Old Trafford.
Man Utd have been offered the chance to sign with Atletico Madrid Alvaro Morata the former Chelsea striker becoming an interest in Ten Hag’s squad.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is another striker who came on for United in talks with Barcelona but as things stand their interest hasn’t gone any further with Chelsea pushing to sign him.
Ronaldo could get wish to leave Man Utd | Chelsea and senior Atleti officials unconvinced
Cristiano Ronaldo could be allowed to leave United this month if Ten Hag decides his departure would be better for the club in the future.
United’s position has not changed and Ronaldo is not for sale. He still has a year left on his contract and United have the option to extend it for a further 12 months.
Sky Sports News reported on Monday that Atletico Madrid and Chelsea were still two possible destinations for Ronaldo should United change their stance and let him go.
However, there are senior officials at both clubs who are unconvinced that they should sign Ronaldo.
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