Bharath Rammr
Manchester United are increasingly confident that they will be able to bring back centre back Michael Keane to Old Trafford in the summer. The Burnley defender is widely expected to leave the club at the end of the campaign with a number of top clubs reportedly chasing his signature but according to The Telegraph, Mourinho’s side are leading the chase for the defender.
Tottenham, Everton and Liverpool are some of the names looking to sign Keane, despite his transfer cost expected to run into £30 million. Despite being a newly promoted outfit, Burnley have managed to stay comfortable in the Premier League without being involved in the relegation battle throughout the campaign. And Keane, who was signed from United for just £2 million in the summer of 2015, has had a huge hand in the Clarets’ staying up.
United have shown that they do not have any issues with regard to signing former stars who are allowed to leave the club on a cheap when they were young. Paul Pogba was let go by United on a free to Juventus, but he was later brought back last summer for a world record fee of £89 million. While Keane will not be such an expensive mistake, he will still be regarded as a major mistake on the part of the club if he re-joins for around £30 million.
Keane’s contract runs out in the summer of 2018 and Burnley are resigned to losing the player, as he has reportedly refused to sign a new contract. Rather than lose him for nothing in the next summer, the club are prepared to accept any transfer offers that may come their way. United would have been able to sign the player for much lower considering that his contract has just over 12 months to run. However, the entry of several clubs into the picture has led to the price being jacked up.
Jose Mourinho has tried to defend the club’s policy of signing the former players, as he recently claimed that he would have never sold some of the players unlike his predecessor. Louis van Gaal was responsible for selling the likes of Keane and Javier Hernandez.
If United do bring back Keane, it could spell the end of the Manchester United career for either one of the centre-halves Chris Smalling or Phil Jones along with left-back Luke Shaw. The three players have been criticised for a lack of commitment by Jose Mourinho on numerous occasions this season. It is tough to see these names remain in the United squad, which is set to finish outside the top four once again, next season. The 2017-18 campaign will be defining in the club’s history, as it could be Jose Mourinho’s make-or-break campaign.
