Search icon

Football

06th Apr 2019

Manchester United ‘struggling to convince’ Ligue 1 star of club’s elite status

Wayne Farry

manchester united

United are reportedly competing with a number of elite European clubs

Manchester United are said to be in contact with the representatives of Lyon’s highly coveted midfielder Tanguy Ndombele, but are competing with a number of Europe’s top clubs to recruit the former Amiens player.

Lyon paid €10 million to sign the 22-year-old in 2018, including €2 million paid for an initial season-long loan, and Ndombele has been a revelation for the former Ligue 1 giants since making the move permanent.

Such has been his form since joining the club that he is now on the radar of the vast majority of Europe’s top clubs, with a report in L’Equipe stating that Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici has been in touch with the Frenchman as a possible replacement for Miralem Pjanic or Sami Khedira, each of whom could leave the club this summer.

According to L’Equipe, one of the barriers that could prevent United from signing Ndombele is whether the club can convince the player – whose main ambition currently is said to be to make France’s Euro 2020 squad – that they are capable of once again competing at the highest level again.

Should Lyon qualify and, as it looks in current league standings, Manchester United fail to do so, it will be incredibly difficult for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to convince the player to move to Old Trafford.

The same report states that, unsurprisingly, Paris Saint-Germain are also keen on the player, who is believed to have grown close to Kylian Mbappe during recent national team meet ups.

PSG manager Thomas Tuchel is also said to be a long-time fan of the player, dating back to his time in the dugout at Borussia Dortmund.