Patrick Rees
Manchester United are considering making a move for Santos star Lucas Lima on a free transfer in the upcoming winter transfer window.
Reports from the Sun claims that the midfielder is all set to leave Santos in January on a free transfer when his current contract expires. His contract comes to an end in late December and as the winter transfer window opens in Europe, he will be free to join any club. Manchester United, however, will certainly not be the only club vying for his signature.
Lucas Badia, who represents the 27-year-old, has confirmed that the likes of Inter Milan, AS Roma and Barcelona are in the hunt as well and was talking a bit about his client’s adaptability. Badia claimed that Serie A would suit him the best. He said,
“Inter, Roma and Barcelona are keeping close tabs on Lucas, Manchester United want him. “I think we would be well suited to the Serie A but we will see.”
Badia further claimed that Santos rejected the approaches of Crystal Palace and Fenerbahce to keep hold of Lima.
“His contract ends on 31 December and there are many clubs interested but I am not sure what Santos is trying to do. Crystal Palace made a €15 million offer while Fenerbahce made a €20million bid but for some reason neither has been accepted.”
Furthermore, Sun also claims that Lima, who used to date Neymar’s sister Rafaella, had already signed for Barcelona on a four-year contract back in June after Neymar asked his then new boss Ernesto Valverde to make a move. But nothing was made official at the time. Neymar, however, left Barcelona to join PSG and Barcelona ended up signing Paulinho from China instead.
It now remains to be seen what lies next for the 27-year-old. Manchester United, on their part, were eager to land an out and out winger and even though Lima’s versatility allows him to play out wide, his natural instincts come into play when deployed centrally. It’s not just that; at 27 years of age, it is safe to say that Lima is in his prime and certainly cannot be developed further. Signing Lima would be a gamble for any Premier League side, to say the least; be it Manchester United or Crystal Palace.
