Bharath Rammr
Manchester United have been chasing after several high-profile attacking players in the last few months. Galatasaray winger Bruma is one of the club’s several targets going forward. They have received encouraging news on Bruma, who is reportedly keen on playing for United. In fact, Bruma intends to join any of Barcelona, Real Madrid or Manchester United. The confirmation came from none other than Galatasaray’s sporting director Levent Nazifoglu. He said ((Turkish Football):
“He has said he wants to play for Barcelona and Real Madrid. Bruma aims to play for Manchester United but if he wants to, he must change certain things.”
The transfer rumours surrounding Bruma do not come as a surprise, as he has been linked with a move to the Premier League for several months now. Tottenham were one of the early favourites to sign him from the Turkish club. However, Galatasaray have so far resisted attempts to sell their star asset and have slapped a €20m price tag on the player, despite struggling quite badly in the last couple of seasons.
Since winning the league title in the 2014-15 campaign, Galatasaray have slipped down the table rapidly. After starting the campaign in positive fashion, some poor form has left Galatasaray five points behind Besiktas.
This led to the club getting rid of their manager and bringing in Croatian Igor Tudor as their new coach. Apart from bringing in new ideas, Tudor is also expected to throw some challenges for Bruma before the Portuguese can establish himself in the first-team under a new manager. Bruma has been one of the best players at the club. The 22-year-old may have excellent statistics from the current campaign, but Tudor will be keen on ensuring commitment from the player more than anything else. There have been continued rumours surrounding the 22-year-old recently.
Tottenham were the first club to register an interest, which remains quite long-standing, as early as November. When it was expected that the North London outfit would be making a move in January, it never happened. However, Spurs are expected to be keenly watching the developments surrounding the player as we approach the summer transfer window. Galatasaray will certainly be worried about Bruma, as the player does not have a long contract. His current deal runs out in the summer of 2018, thus making it difficult for the club to avoid any offers that may come in the summer.
Manchester United chief executive Ed Woodward recently spoke about the need to the pragmatic in the transfer window. As a result, the club are expected to sign players with a ‘value for money’ approach, and Bruma would certainly fit in this regard.
