Alejandro Garnacho faces little prospect of a future with Manchester United following his explosive fallout with Ruben Amorim and a switch to Saudi Arabia could potentially be on the cards
Manchester United misfit Alejandro Garnacho could be offered an escape route from Old Trafford by Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr. The Argentine is being discussed as an alternative target to Liverpool winger Luis Diaz after the Premier League champions made it clear that the Colombian is still part of Arne Slot ’s plans when they were sounded out by Barcelona about their intentions for the 28-year-old.
Al-Nassr have told former Kop favourite Sadio Mane that he can leave the club this summer – and want a top-class replacement. With Diaz now appearing set to stay at Anfield, the Saudis are now exploring the possibility of offering Garnacho the chance to link up again with his boyhood hero Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Reds have also had interest from Saudi about Jadon Sancho after Chelsea sent the former England winger back to Manchester following his season-long loan at Stamford Bridge. And with United boss Ruben Amorim looking to clear the decks for a summer rebuild, Inter Milan have made contact with United about the possibility of taking misfiring £72million striker Rasmus Hojlund back to Italy.
The beaten Champions League finalists want to take the 20-year-old former Atlalanta forward on-loan next season but are willing to agree to a £38million obligation-to-buy next year. That would save on Hojlund’s £90,000-a-week wages.
After telling Amorim that his budget for new players will be beefed up by cash generated from sales, there is also another potential money-maker in the pipeline.
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Former boss Erik ten Hag remains a big admirer of Antony and is weighing up whether to take the £80million Brazilian winger with him to Bayer Leverkusen after his successful loan spell with Real Betis.
Betis don’t have the £35million it will cost to keep Antony permanently, while Leverkusen will bank in excess of £110million for Florian Wirtz once they have settled on a fee with Liverpool. But it’s Garnacho who is likely to give United their biggest pay-day.
The Old Trafford club rejected a £40million bid from Napoli in January. But Amorim told the Madrid-born Argentina international to find a new club following a row in the aftermath of the Europa League Final defeat by Tottenham last month.
Handing United their asking price will not be a problem for Al-Nassr – and the prospect of playing alongside Ronaldo would be a huge draw for Garnacho.
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Al-Nassr are currently in talks with Ronaldo about extending a contract that expires at the end of the month – and senior officials from the Saudi government have now entered the negotiations in a bid to keep the country’s £3.2million-a-week poster boy in the country.
They want the 40-year-old Portuguese’s future signed and sealed before cranking up their summer recruitment drive. Garnacho grew up idolising Ronaldo – and even risked the wrath of Argentine legend Lionel Messi when he first broke into his country’s senior squad as a teenager by name-checking the Portuguese as football’s greatest-ever player.
United have already started splashing the cash with the £62.5million capture of Matheus Cunha from Wolves and will have to get close to that fee if they are to prise Bryan Mbeumo away from Brentford.
The Reds missed out on a £100million pay-day when captain Bruno Fernandes turned down a £700,000-a-week contract with Al Hilal last week. Getting maximum value from the sale of Garnacho and others would enable them to pursue Sporting Lisbon striker Viktor Gyokeres.
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