Man Utd making progress with Eduardo Camavinga transfer talks
By Tom Gott
Manchester United have made progress in their pursuit of Rennes midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, who is expected to be sold this summer after entering the final year of his contract.
United are on the hunt for a new midfielder and quickly set their sights on 18-year-old Camavinga, who is also wanted by both Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.
Talks were held with Camavinga's agent last week, and according to Fabrizio Romano, things went pretty well.
Progress has been made with both Camavinga's agent and Rennes, who are willing to listen to offers of around £26m for the young midfielder - a bargain when you consider he was valued at over £80m just 12 months ago.
With United's other priority target, West Ham's Declan Rice, expected to cost £80m himself this summer, the Red Devils appear to have set their sights on Camavinga and are pushing ahead to get a deal done.
United have already struck a £72.9m deal for Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho and are believed to be close to landing Real Madrid centre-back Raphael Varane, in addition to pursuing Camavinga.
It's hard to see United having a problem with the figure Rennes have quoted. Camavinga is a full French international with 82 senior appearances across Ligue 1 and the Champions League, and he is widely seen as one of the most exciting young midfielders on the planet.
In recent years, United have established a transfer plan to try and create the next £100m player. They have paid big money for youngsters like Hannibal Mejbri and Amad Diallo, the latter of whom sealed a £37m move to United despite only having a little over an hour of senior experience to his name.
If United are prepared to pay that much for an unproven player like Amad, you'd imagine they'll jump at the chance to shell out £25m for Camavinga.
Sancho, Varane and Camavinga would be an excellent haul for United, who also have plans to add a new right-back to the fold as well. Atletico Madrid's Kieran Trippier is an option, although his price tag has proven problematic thus far.