Man Utd confirm interest in Rennes midfielder Eduardo Camavinga
By Tom Gott
Manchester United have met with Rennes to confirm their interest in signing young midfielder Eduardo Camavinga.
The 18-year-old is one of the hottest prospects on the planet and was valued at closer to £100m last summer, when Rennes believed they could convince Camavinga to extend his stay at the club.
However, with just one season remaining on his contract, sources have confirmed to 90min that Rennes are prepared to drop that amount to closer to the £30m mark - a figure which has piqued the interest of United.
United met with Camavinga's representatives last week to discuss the possibility of a deal, and after receiving positive signals from those talks, the Red Devils have now formally registered their interest in signing the teenager with Rennes.
Rennes know that Camavinga has his heart set on leaving the club this summer and are prepared to listen to offers of around £30m. Both United and Paris Saint-Germain are pushing to get a deal done at that price, while Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid have made it known they are ready to make offers.
In England, both Liverpool and Arsenal are still in the equation, unlike Chelsea or Manchester City; neither of whom are expected to match United's interest at this moment in time.
Similarly, former suitors Real Madrid are not likely to bid for Camavinga this summer. While they remain incredibly keen on the teenager, they are prioritising a move for PSG's Kylian Mbappe and have therefore decided to postpone moves for both Camavinga and United's Paul Pogba, who they hope can be convinced to join for free next summer.
That hesitation has allowed United to force their way to the front of the queue. As 90min confirmed earlier in the year, signing a new holding midfielder is high on United's to-do list, and Camavinga has long been one of their favourite candidates for the role.
West Ham's Declan Rice was United's top priority heading into the summer, but despite the Englishman's refusal of a new contract, he is valued at closer to the £100m mark and is not seen as attainable in a window which has already seen a £72.9m spend on Jadon Sancho and perhaps more for Real Madrid's Raphael Varane.
They have since turned to Camavinga, whose cut-price value represents a real bargain for a player of his talent and potential.