Manchester United linked with Ben Yedder

Reports in France and England have suggested that Manchester United could be ready to add France striker Wissam Ben Yedder to their squad.

France Football and the Mirror suggest that he could cost around £36 million, with the 28-year-old forward also attracting interest from French champions Paris Saint-Germain and Spanish champions Barcelona. Manchester United can offer him a different challenge then, because they are emphatically not the champions of their domestic league.

Ben Yedder became a full international for the French national side in 2018, and spent most of his career in France with Toulouse until 2016, when he moved to Sevilla. In three seasons, he has 70 goals in 136 appearances, and scored 30 goals in 51 appearances last season.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has reportedly identified him as a potential replacement for current striker Romelu Lukaku, who has made it clear that he is not particularly keen to stay at Old Trafford, with the striker linked with a move to Inter Milan, where he is wanted by the club’s new manager, Antonio Conte.

United are willing to sell Lukaku if they can recoup the £75 million they paid Everton for the player in 2017, but there are suggestions that Inter cannot afford, or will not meet, that valuation. They have valued the striker at around £55 million, so it remains to be seen if they will be able to agree a deal. While Ed Woodward ums and ahs about that, United could make a profit on the position overall by replacing him with a cheaper striker, expect other more seriously run clubs to actually buy the chuffing players they want to play with next season instead.