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Manchester United will consider a move for Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe this summer should a big-money takeover materialise, according to a report.
The Red Devils are expected to delve into the summer market to recruit a new centre-forward, with Erik ten Hag keen to find a permanent replacement to Cristiano Ronaldo following his acrimonious exit in November.
Wout Weghorst was brought in on loan from Burnley in January, but the Dutchman has only scored once in 11 appearances across all competitions and United allegedly have no plans to sign him on a permanent basis at the end of the season.
Ten Hag’s side have instead heavily relied on in-form attacker Marcus Rashford to find the net, with the 26-year-old scoring 16 goals in 19 games across all tournaments since the World Cup break.
United are now said to be interested in another elite goalscorer in the form of French sensation Mbappe, who has been strongly linked with a move away from PSG over the last 12 months or so.
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Mbappe, who has also been linked with Real Madrid and Liverpool, has scored 27 goals in 28 games for the Parisian giants in all competitions so far this season, while he came away with the 2022 World Cup Golden Boot after finding the net eight times at the Qatar tournament, including a hat-trick in the final.
The 24-year-old has scored an abundance of goals throughout his PSG career since joining the club from Monaco in 2017, netting a total of 198 goals and providing 94 assists in 245 matches, while he has also won 11 trophies with the French giants including four Ligue 1 titles.
Despite penning fresh terms on his PSG contract last summer until June 2024, including an option to extend it by a further 12 months, speculation continues to swirl surrounding Mbappe’s next career move.
The forward has allegedly threatened to hand in a transfer request if they fail to progress from their Champions League last-16 tie against Bayern Munich, with PSG currently trailing 1-0 from the first leg.
According to Football Insider, Man United could launch a big-money bid to sign Mbappe this summer should the Glazers agree to sell the club to an interested party.
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Interested investors were given a soft deadline of 10pm on Friday to submit their offers to purchase the Red Devils, and two bids are known to have been received from Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and Manchester-born billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
American hedge fund giants Elliott Investment Management are also understood to have tabled an offer, while Saudi Arabian-backed investors and Twitter and Tesla owner Elon Musk are two others who have been credited with an interest.
However, a recent report claims that the Glazers have rejected all the offers they have received as they do not meet their £6bn asking price.
Man United’s hopes of luring a player of Mbappe’s stature would be boosted should they qualify for next season’s Champion League, with Ten Hag’s side currently sitting third in the table and eight points clear of fifth-placed Newcastle United, who they will face in the EFL Cup final on Sunday.
United have booked their place in the last 16 of the Europa League after securing a 2-1 victory over Barcelona on Thursday night, winning their playoff tie 4-3 on aggregate.
Source: sportsmole.co.uk
