Manchester United are willing to consider offering Donny van de Beek to clubs this summer if it means they have a better chance of negotiating offers for their own goals, but gossipers from Italy claim that Juventus want to send Adrien Rabiot in the opposite direction.
Van de Beek was nominated for the Ballon d’Or in 2019 and United completed £ 40 million last summer, which was very famous at the time. But the Dutchman has struggled to establish himself and has only started twice in the Premier League all season.
Donny van de Beek has not been a success at Man Utd | Marc Atkins / Getty Images
90 minutes exclusively revealed last month that United are weighing up with Van de Beek as a weight this summer. The club is open to differing from the 23-year-old but is aware that selling in a straightforward cash agreement can mean taking a big hit on their first outlay.
This has led the Old Trafford hierarchy to consider including Van de Beek in the approach to its top goals this summer. United are keen on Jadon Sancho and Erling Haaland at Borussia Dortmund, while midfielder Manuel Ankanji was also interested before reducing that shortlist to either Jules Kounde in Sevilla or Villarreal’s Pau Torres.
With revenues depressed by the coronavirus pandemic, United were able to save some money on possible purchase prices by using Van de Beek in such a way. The Bundesliga side are even receptive to the idea of taking him in part.
United have only entered into specific talks regarding Van de Beek with Dortmund due to their interest in certain players at Westfalenstadion, but 90 Minutes also explained that there have been contacts with a number of other clubs across Europe to measure potential interest in Van de Beek.
Man Utd are interested in Jadon Sancho & Erling Haaland and have talked to Dortmund about Van de Beek | Quality Sport Images / Getty Images
But the crucial point is that they are not desperate to get rid of him and can still see the former Ajax star fulfill his potential at Old Trafford. It’s just that the expensive nature of their priority transfer targets combined with the financial climate has forced staff to think more creatively.
The Rabiot angle emerged from the Italian publication Tuttosport, with suggestions that Juventus are looking for a central midfielder this summer and are interested in Manuel Locatelli and Chelsea’s Jorginho, as well as Van de Beek.
The Serie A giants are said to admire Van de Beek and their own creative solution to try to get him would be to offer Rabiot to Manchester United in some form of exchange agreement. The Frenchman has not had the best seasons in Turin and Juve may be willing to let him go.
Juve explore ways to sign a new central midfielder | Valerio Pennicino / Getty Images
Any such deal would depend on whether United are even interested in Rabiot. Central midfield is on their deeper wish list, but other positions are still more prioritized. Rabiot also has a reputation for being a challenging character and Old Trafford staff have worked much harder to do due diligence in their recruitment to ensure that each player fits well in the squad.
For more from Jamie Spencer, follow him on Twitter and Facebook!
