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03rd Jan 2018

Manchester United “interested” in player who turned Sir Alex Ferguson down

Would this be a good move?

Robert Redmond

Would this be a good move?

Manchester United are reportedly interested in reigniting a bid for an old transfer target. According to Jason Burt, writing in The Daily Telegraph, the club have a “strong interest” in signing Lucas Moura from Paris Saint-Germain.

The 25-year-old Brazilian is reportedly free to leave during the January transfer window. The Qatari-owned club need to generate funds, following last summer’s splurge on Neymar, and Lucas has slipped down the pecking order.

 

The winger has played over 200 times for PSG, but has arguably failed to fulfil the potential he showed before joining the club from Sao Paulo in 2012. He cost them £38m, a massive fee at the time, and more than what Chelsea paid Lille for Eden Hazard in the same summer. Like Hazard, he also rejected a move to United.

At the time, United were winning league trophies, but Sir Alex Ferguson wasn’t prepared to break the bank for players – the opposite of the current situation at Old Trafford.

However, according to the report, Jose Mourinho is “pushing hard for a winger” to be recruited this month, and is also impressed by Malcom – Bordeaux’s Brazilian winger, who is five years younger than Lucas.

PSG have also reportedly made former United winger Angel Di Maria available for a transfer, and Javier Pastore, as they seek to try comply with Uefa’s Financial Fair Play rules. Julian Draxler, another player who has long been linked with a move to the Premier League, is said to be staying at PSG.