Manchester United will be leaving no stone unturned this summer to get the needed reinforcements and the huge transfer war chest sanctioned by the club for their manager, Jose Mourinho, is quite rightly indicative of that.
A lot of names have emerged of late, which are said to be featuring in United’s summer list, most of whom are the immensely-rated and household names across Europe. Reportedly, the latest to join them is AS Monaco’s winger Thomas Lemar. Like most other players in the squad this season, the 21-year-old has also hogged the limelight too, for being a fierce winger on that left flank and before you know it, United wants him.
However, United will have a difficult time landing him surely, as reportedly Premier League rivals Chelsea and Serie A defending champions Juventus are also keeping tabs on him. And if United miss out on Champions League qualification, which is a possibility given their league position and remaining Europa League opponents, they would probably miss out on the prolific forward.
United have hugely relied on Anthony Martial, Jese Lingard and Henrikh Mkhitaryan from wide areas and the players haven’t been very consistent. While Marcus Rashford was also pushed into the flanks occasionally, he couldn’t create that magic that he does as a centre-forward. To top that, the Red Devils are yet to find a replacement for Memphis Depay, whom they sold to French side AS Lyon in January.
Lemar’s attacking attributes would pretty much suit United. From that left flank, he is a flash of lightning. He possesses some serious dribbling skills and his incessant work rate compliments that perfectly. Not only that, but the Baie-Mahault born player can provide the most exquisite of balls from direct set-pieces. He has scored 12 times and assisted 13 times in all competition this season so far.
Chelsea have a danger of losing out on Eden Hazard next season with Real Madrid closing in on the forward and if that happens, the Blues have Lemar as their top priority as his replacement. Juventus, on the hand, will have a closer look at his abilities when Juventus meet Monaco in the Champions League semis.
An academy product of SM Caen, Monaco picked him up in 2015. And it is this season that he really became popular. He got a call-up in the France national team last year in November and played twice since then.
His contract with the club ends in 2020 and reportedly, Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev has waived off any possibilities of the player leaving the club this summer. Hence, if a move happens this summer at all, it has to be a huge sum.
