Manchester United have four-man shortlist for reinforcements

Manchester United have a shortlist of four potential players as they look to add one central defender and another midfielder to their squad before the start of the 2021/22 Premier League season.

The first target is Villarreal’s central defender Pau Torres, who was part of the side that beat United in the season finale’s Europa League final. The 24-year-old has a release clause of around £60 million, which means that any transfer should be nice and easy for any club that actually wants him, of course.

The next is Rennes’ teenage midfielder Eduardo Camavinga. The 18-year-old midfielder is valued at around £85 million but that fee could come down to around £50 million, reports the Mirror.

There is interest from both Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain which may not help any club’s attempts at getting the final valuation reduced.

The sticking point for both these transfers is that Torres and Camavinga will be performing for their country’s Olympic teams, which reduces the window in which any deal can be finalised, though with Torres the release clause does make such an imposition a touch arbitrary.

There are alternatives for United if they cannot pull off either deal, though. The second choice for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at centre-back is Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane, with the 28-year-old French international’s future at Real still unclear, and he has been linked with United for a year or two. Elsewhere, reports have suggested that his wage demands would make any transfer difficult for the club to afford.

In midfield they are also linked with Bayern Munich’s 26-year-old Germany international Leon Goretzka. He is entering the last year of his contract with the current German champions, but he is still expected to sign a new deal to stay at the Allianz Arena for the next few years.