According to latest reports, Manchester United have just had their £44m bid for Alessio Romagnoli rejected by AC Milan. The Serie A outfit are prepared to sell the centre-back but at a much higher price, especially with the player’s contract set to run for another four seasons. Jose Mourinho is expected to come back with a fresh bid which could beat out all their competitors for the 23-year-old’s signing.
Romagnoli is one of the best young defenders in the Italian top-flight with 3 goals and a single assist registered to his name in 42 total appearances this past season. He is a prominent figure for the Rossoneri and has already racked up over 100 appearances for the Italian side, ever since his transfer from AS Roma in the summer of 2015.
The Italian started out in the Roma youth ranks and was highly rated as a very composed and mature defender. He has 36 caps to his name for Italy’s U16, U17, U19 and U21 sides and even got called up to training with the senior squad when he was just 17.
The 23-year-old now has 7 caps for the Italian national team and is expected to succeed in the shoes of Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli. He impressed plenty of people during his loan spell away to Sampdoria in the 2014/15 season as well to earn a move to the San Siro.
He could be the answer that Jose Mourinho is looking for since the break of the new year. Chris Smalling and Phil Jones are simply not getting the job done and the Red Devils have been forced to heavily rely on Eric Bailly.
United should go all in for the Italian but if they fail to sign him, here are a few alternate options to consider.
Dayot Upamecano
Simply 19 years old and already touted as the world’s best young defender, Upamecano is a man of many talents. The RB Leipzig centre-back already has 53 senior team games under his belt for the Bundesliga outfit and has represented France at various youth levels.
Jonathan Tah
He plies his trade for Bayer Leverkusen with 3 caps to his name for the German national team. Standing at 6 feet 4 inches tall, the 22-year-old is one of the best ball-playing defenders and has a lot of athletic prowess and top-quality defensive abilities.
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Alfie Mawson
The Swansea City man is still up for grabs in the market, even after his team got relegated to the Championship. The 24-year-old has picked up a lot of value in the market after his dazzling performances last season.
