Rohan Sengupta
Manchester United and few other clubs could be offered the chance to sign starlet Marco Asensio in the summer as Real Madrid attempt to land their top targets, according to reports. The 22-year-old has failed to light up Santiago Bernabeu following his twin strike against Barcelona.
The Spaniard is regarded as one of Europe’s top young talents but has endured a mixed campaign as Real have overall struggled under Zinedine Zidane this season. Zidane’s white army have found it difficult to defend their La Liga crown and are currently 4th in the table, 19 points off leaders and arch-rivals Barcelona.
The Real manager has failed to find a winning formula and has often overlooked Asensio. It is just lately that the young Spaniard has been offered chances from the bench. Otherwise, the 22-year-old with a staggering £442m release clause has found first-team opportunities very limited.
That has seen Asensio reportedly being linked with a move away from the Spanish giants. Real president Florentino Perez is reluctant to let the Spanish international leave the club but may be tempted to sanction a move in order to bolster the current struggling squad.
As per Don Balon, Perez believes Asensio is a future star for Real as well as Spain and therefore will only allow the player to leave if he gets his icy hands on a Galactico. That has seen the Real president consider offering Asensio in a swap deal to few clubs, including Manchester United.
The report adds Perez’s primary target would be to swap Asensio with United for star goalkeeper David De Gea. The £200,000-a-week goalkeeper has been Real’s chief target for a couple of seasons and it remains to be seen whether Jose Mourinho would allow his shot-stopper to leave in a swap deal for Asensio.
If the United goalkeeper is not available, Perez would turn his attention to Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane. Spurs will be reluctant to let go of their hitman as Mauricio Pochettino continues to build a promising squad. Should Spurs play a hardball over Kane, Real could apparently try to lure Eden Hazard away from Chelsea.
Coming to United, I don’t feel Mourinho would allow De Gea to leave the club. Our Spanish goalkeeper is one of the first names on the teamsheet and Mourinho by no means will sanction his sale.
