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28th July 2018
08:57am BST
Manchester United's transfer activities have been pretty tepid so far this summer - Fred, Diogo Dalot and Lee Grant - but some serious wheels are being slung into serious motion.
Reports in Italy suggest United are poised to take Willian off Chelsea's transitional hands for €75m (£66m) while the club are determined to get in a new central defender.
Jose Mourinho's top two defensive targets are Toby Alderweireld of Tottenham and Leicester City's Harry Maguire. With Spurs' chairman Daniel Levy finally sanctioning the accountants to pay players closer to their market values, Alderweireld may well stick it out in London.
Maguire, who performed well for England at the World Cup, has jumped to the top of Mourinho's list and United are preparing a bid in the region of €67m (£59m).
To make room in the squad, and in the ledgers, United are set to offload some unwanted defensive assets. Matteo Darmian has stated his desire to return to Serie A but United are not up for loaning him out. It is a sale or another season as a bit-part player for the Italian.
Marcos Rojo's days at the club appear numbered, despite him being a regular for Argentina in the World Cup and scoring a crucial winner against Nigeria. He signed a contract extension with United in March but is not believed to be key to the club's plans over the next 10 months.
The Telegraph report that the 28-year-old is set for a switch to Premier League newcomers Wolves. Having already brought in Rui Patricio and Joao Moutinho, last season's Championship top dogs have also signed defender Jonny and Mexico forward Raul Jimenez on loan deals.
Securing a Manchester United player would represent an interesting piece of business but few at Old Trafford would miss a player who has been far too injury prone and erratic since he was signed from Sporting Lisbon by Louis van Gaal.Explore more on these topics:
