Bharath Rammr
Just as Manchester United are struggling to recover from the blow with regard to Victor Lindelof, and now the reports from the Express Sport has stated that the Torino striker Andrea Belotti has signed a new contract with the Italian club. Andrea Belotti has been viewed as a major transfer target for United, as they look to bolster their forward lineup. The 22-year-old has been one of the best forwards in Italian football. He made his name at Palermo before moving to Torino in the summer of 2015.
His first season with Torino was recently successful with 12 goals in 36 appearances. However, this record is put into the shadow with regard to his performances in the 2016-17 season. The striker has scored 11 goals in 15 appearances in all competitions. Most of his goals have come in the league with 10 in 13 games for the Italian club. Announcing the new deal, Torino president Cairo said:
“I am pleased to tell you that we have renewed the contract with Belotti until 2021.”
The young striker has agreed on a new deal with the Italian Serie A outfit and it now requires any interested clubs to come up with a whopping £84 million transfer fee in order to lay their hands on Belotti without permission from Torino. The player has renewed a contract with the club which will see him stay until 2021. The Italian press has been keenly observing the transfer interest from United in the young striker.
The last game in which Manchester United failed to score was in the goalless draw against Burnley back towards the end of October. Since then, they have gone on a run of seven games in which they have scored at least one goal. Despite this impressive record, manager José Mourinho is understood to be unhappy with the club’s current choice of forwards. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the only signing brought in by the Portuguese manager in terms of the strikers. Wayne Rooney, Marcus Rashford, and Anthony Martial were at the club before the arrival of Mourinho.
Despite spending more than £150 million last summer, Mourinho is once again expected to step into the transfer market in order to bolster the squad for the 2017-18 season. The manager already ruled out of club’s ability to win the Premier League this season, and it looks more like a case of the club being happy with the top four finish.
Torino president Urbano Cairo has confirmed that the €100 million or £84 million release clause in the contract of Belotti only applies to the foreign clubs. It is seen as a direct move to ward off any interest from United. He continued:
“We put in a release clause, only for foreign countries, at 100 million euros.”
The form of the young striker has propelled Torino into one of the Europa League contenders for the campaign, with the club 7th in the table after 15 games.
