Manchester City are hopeful of beating Man Utd to the signing of Velez Sarsfield youngster Thiago Almada, according to reports.
Man Utd boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is reportedly looking to bolster his options in midfield with Paul Pogba’s future up in the air.
Solskjaer is believed to be looking at young players to add to his squad and 19-year-old Almada is on his shopping list.
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On Monday, TuttoMercatoWeb claimed that Velez Sarsfield’s Almada has emerged as a target for the Red Devils as they look for more creativity in midfield.
The headline on the Italian website said ‘Manchester United, contacts have started for Almada…’ who has a €25m (£22m) release clause in his contract.
However, the report adds that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his team want to land the Argentinian for €18m (£16m) despite reported interest from neighbours Man City.
And now The Sun has poured cold water on United’s chances of beating City to the youngster with Pep Guardiola ‘aiming to win the race’ for Almada.
Guardiola sees him ‘becoming David Silva’s long-term successor’ at the Etihad Stadium and now Man Utd’s interest has sparked an ‘auction’ with the cost likely to ‘be around £15million, plus extras’.
Almada counts Argentina legend Tevez ‘among his idols’ and it is his time at Man City that ‘fired his imagination’ in a move.
The report adds that Almada is ‘keen on City and wants to go there this summer’.
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