Krishnan Sreekumar
Manchester United watching AS Roma star Nicolo Zaniolo but Jose Mourinho to have final word on transfer
According to Calciomercato (h/t Express), Manchester United are interested in snapping up AS Roma attacker Nicolo Zaniolo in the upcoming summer transfer window, but a move hinges on former manager Jose Mourinho giving the green light.
This season, United’s forwards have fallen short of expectations, which has seen the goals dry up and see the team struggling in the Premier League, sitting in sixth place in the points table and in danger of missing out on Champions League football next term.
Cristiano Ronaldo was re-signed from Juventus last summer in an attempt to add a goalscorer to the team and improve their fortunes, but the Red Devils have seen the club legend wane in his performances since the new year, after a bright start to life in his second spell in Manchester.
Given this, a new attacker is being eyed at Old Trafford ahead of the Erik ten Hag era beginning from the summer. The Dutchman is planning to build a ‘new and young’ side when he takes charge of the club, and it is said that the English side is monitoring the 22-year-old.
Scouts sent to watch Zaniolo
Mourinho’s men take on Leicester City in the Europa Conference League semi-finals on Thursday, and there is the possibility that a couple of Premier League clubs send their scouts to watch Zaniolo in action. However, the former United head coach is to have any say in a possible exit for the Italian player, given that his contract runs until 2024.
In bad news for the Red Devils, Juventus are in pole position to snap up the versatile attacking midfielder, who is also capable of playing as a winger. Furthermore, Roma have not set a specific price tag on Zaniolo’s head, but they will not accept offers from clubs lower than £46.5m.
The Premier League side is in desperate need of attackers next season, if standards set by the current crop of forwards this term are anything to go by. Apart from Ronaldo, no one else has really hugely contributed to the goals, but at 37, it is not known how much longer he has to offer.
Edinson Cavani and Marcus Rashford have barely made an impact on the pitch, with the former hardly turning up for match-days due to his recurring injury problems while the latter has looked a shadow of his former self.
Jadon Sancho was roped in from Borussia Dortmund last summer alongside Ronaldo, but the young Englishman is still finding his feet at the Theatre of Dreams. The team’s other winger, Anthony Elanga, has miles to go before he can be considered a player that the side can rely on in every fixture.
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Given the dire situation that the Old Trafford outfit finds themselves in, signing someone versatile like Zaniolo could address some of our issues up front. But for that, we will need to battle Juventus for his signature while also having to rely on Mourinho’s decision. Of course, he wouldn’t 100% guarantee goals. Apart from the most feared goal-getters and playmakers in Europe, signing attackers is, at times, a gamble.
How they will adjust to a new environment, or if they can fit in the team’s system are just some questions that fans would ask themselves when they are linked with players such as Zaniolo. But from what the Argentine has shown in Italy, he is a player that can make things happen in attack and at his age, he can only get better under the tutelage of a manager such as Erik ten Hag- if the two Unite in Manchester in the near future.
