Manchester United are set to place a £31 million bid for Italian midfielder Bryan Cristante to replace the position of Marouane Fellaini, who might possibly leave by the end of the season. Reports claim that he has rejected the new terms provided to him, even though he is favoured by current manager Jose Mourinho.
The 22-year-old will be excited to play for the English side alongside his idol Paul Pogba.
Cristante is currently serving a season-long loan spell in Atalanta from Benfica with an option for the Italian side to sign him permanently for £10 million at the end of 2017-2018 season. They will be set to profit a whopping £21 million if they activate the clause and sell him off to United.
Th Italian ace has been in sensational form recently, netting in 8 goals in 17 appearances. 3 of those goals came against Everton in Europe to help them secure a knockout place already in the competition with 11 points and 1 game remaining to play.
He appeared only 7 times since his move to Benfica and has been on loan since January 2016. He played a short spell in Palermo and then the previous season for Pescara.
The Italian is amongst the many youngsters like Keita Balde Diao and Nicola Barella, who are impressing a lot of scouts in the Serie A.
Cristante’s ball distribution quality, coupled with his strength and attacking prowess, will sit well with Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera in the Manchester United midfield.
Cristante is well versed with aerial duels too, a quality prevalent in Fellaini’s game, which is highly regarded by Jose Mourinho. He referred to the 30 years old Belgian as “fantastic” and praised his work ethic to recover from a recent injury. Fellaini has done well under Mourinho for Manchester United coming off the bench in the crunch time of closely fought games.
Manchester United was the only club to meet the asking price for the Italian, as Juventus, Atletico Madrid, and Inter Milan fell short in their bids.
While Manchester United are scouting for possible replacements, Fellaini has been offered a contract by the French giants, Paris Saint-Germain. According to reports, he might receive offers from Arsenal and Besiktas.
Reports claim that United are interested in Dele Alli too, who has a hefty asking price put on him by Tottenham Hotspur. The Englishman is currently playing for the title challengers. They will be hesitant to part ways with one of their best young player.
