Manchester United willing to splash £153m to sign Ansu Fati
According to Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo (h/t Daily Mail), Manchester United are ready to splurge a mind-boggling £153m (€170m), to sign Barcelona’s teenage wonderkid Ansu Fati.
The 17-year-old Fati, a product of the famed La Masia youth academy, enjoyed a breakthrough 2019/20 season with the Catalans. He ended the season with a return of eight goals and one assist from 33 matches in all competitions. (h/t Transfermarkt)
Fati became the youngest ever goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League at 17 years and 40 days when he fired Barcelona to a 2-1 win over Inter Milan in the group stages.
![Manchester United target Ansu Fati is set to stay at Barcelona](https://weallfollowunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/ansu-fati-banda-derecha-1024x683.jpeg)
This has seemingly put him on Manchester United’s radar, with the club now intent on signing him, so much so that the Red Devils are willing to splash £153m to complete the transfer this summer.
This is because Fati’s current release clause will rise to a mammoth £360m once he pens a new contract with Barcelona this summer. And United are keen on getting the deal done before that happens. (h/t Daily Mail)
This does come as a surprise considering that we have been unwilling to pay £108m to capture the signing of our primary target Jadon Sancho. (h/t Daily Mail)
Indeed, club officials are only willing to offer between £60m and £70m up front for the 20-year-old England international, and pay the rest of the fee in instalments.
![Jadon Sancho is a target for Manchester United](https://weallfollowunited.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Jadon-Sancho-1.jpg)
So the suggestion that United would be willing to break the transfer record and pay nearly £45m more than Sancho’s valuation to sign Fati, who has just one full season under his belt does seem a bit outlandish.
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Fati is surely a special talent. But shelling out big money for him when we can sign Sancho for a lesser amount makes absolutely no sense.
With all our rivals making overtures into the transfer market already, it is time Ed Woodward & co. also step up the transfer activity, as the new season closes in.