Transfer Rumor Roundup: United eye quick deal for Mount, Serie A pair, and more

Transfer season is nearly upon us, and with it the never-ending cycle of news linking Manchester United to every player on the planet. Perhaps one day it will slow down, or perhaps the discovery of new life in the universe will expand the number of beings to photoshop into a red shirt, but until then we’re carrying on.

For the sake of not cluttering your timeline with each transfer rumor, we’ve decided to condense the latest news into one piece as United’s summer gets under way.

Mason Mount and United “agree personal terms” as Reds look to lock up deal quickly

It’s been no secret that Mason Mount is heading towards the exit door of his boyhood club, Chelsea. The Blues have transformed into a clusterf**k of epic proportions as they’ve burned through three managers in a calendar year and spent roughly £540m in transfer fees. Owner Todd Boehly has not held back on spending, but the club now have to clear the squad a bit for the sake of balancing the books as well as the squad.

Mount is one of the likely names to clear out, and according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein the player prefers a move to Old Trafford out of the many Premier League teams interested in him. That report led the way to multiple outlets this week reporting that the club and Mount have already agreed on personal terms, and the only business left is to negotiate a fee with Chelsea.

While Chelsea will want to get as much as possible for Mount, they don’t have a ton of leverage in this situation. They need to find some cashflow before July if they’re to go ahead with transfer plans, and even if they value Mount highly any decent fee will help out their with their finances.

As for the fit, that remains to be seen. Mount is known as a more advanced midfielder/attacker, but Erik ten Hag has supposedly followed him for some time and has a role in mind. Mount of course played on loan with Vitesse in the Eredivisie, and has made a nice career for himself since with Chelsea and England.

United eye Serie A pair Rasmus Højlund and Guglielmo Vicario

Despite being linked with Sergej Milinkovic-Savic for half a decade, it’s rare that United register much interest with Serie A players. That appears to be changing, with Atalanta and Denmark striker Rasmus Højlund and Empli goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario now on the Reds’ radar.

Højlund, a graduate of FC København’s academy, has turned heads recently with performances for club and country. He registered 9 goals in 31 appearances for Atalanta this season, and scored five goals in two games for Denmark, including a hat-trick against Finland in a UEFA Euro 2024 qualifier.

Because of the rising stock, Atalanta are likely looking to capitalize by demanding a big fee. the player is under contract until 2027, so there’s no rush or major incentive to sell without a sizeable offer.

Vicario on the other hand may not be so expensive.

The Empoli goalkeeper has been the no. 1 for two seasons now, keeping seven clean sheets in each Serie A campaign to help keep the Gli Azzurri above the drop zone. In particularly he’s impressed with his on ball presence and ability to challenge crosses.

Vicario has been monitored by several Italian clubs as well as United, with the usual suspects like Juventus, the Milan clubs, Napoli, and Roma all keeping tabs. The Reds would have the upper hand in those negotiations however with the ability to outmatch any Serie A team in wages.

Clearly a move to Manchester United would be quite the step up for the 26-year old, but it appears that David De Gea will likely stick around a bit longer on a new contract. It could be an opportunity for Vicario to ease into a no. 1 role and challenge from behind De Gea on the depth chart.

United willing to offer players in exchange for Declan Rice

Now for some of the usual player suspects.

As Declan Rice’s contract with West Ham winds down many Premier League clubs are eager to court him. It’s been assumed that Arsenal are the favorites to sign him, as they’ve not hidden their pursuit of midfielders since January and have strongly pursued both Rice and Moises Caicedo. United have also been mentioned recently, and could pull out a few extra stops to help finance their offer to the Hammers.

As Rice is valued somewhere close to £100m by West Ham, it seems unlikely that the Reds could pull off such a move given their current financial situation. They could however see which players are of interest to West Ham in an attempt to smooth over any potential deal. Younger players like Anthony Elanga or experienced players who are out of favor like Scott McTominay or Harry Maguire could sweeten the deal, but this valuation still seems far out of reach with United’s current budget.

Gonçalo Ramos and Lautaro Martinez emerge as Harry Kane alternatives

It’s been no secret that United are desperate for a no. 9. They can’t go into the season with just Anthony Martial again, and there’s no way Wout Weghorst should become a permanent signing based on his performances on loan. Harry Kane has been heavily linked with United, but there’s no certainty that Tottenham executive Daniel Levy would even negotiate with other Premier League sides, let alone name a reasonable price.

And so it’s good to have some backup options, and there certainly are some decent ones. Benfica and Portugal striker Gonçalo Ramos has picked up a lot of interest since his World Cup heroics, and continued his performances in Liga Nos. His 19 league goals were second only to Mehdi Taremi’s 22 as Ramos led Benfica to another league title, replacing the production of Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez with ease.

United are also reportedly keeping tabs on Internazionale and Argentina striker Lautaro Martinez. The recent World Cup winner still has a UEFA Champions League final left to play this season, and it remains to be seen how much he would actually want a move away considering the success he’s had in Italy.