Manchester United fans see their club linked to countless players each and every transfer window.
However, besides the regular stories which do the rounds, there are some mega deals proposed.
The Red Devils have recently splashed the cash in the transfer market with the signing of Jadon Sancho for £73million, having walked away from the negotiating table last summer thanks to Borussia Dortmund’s €120m (£102.6m) asking price for the English winger.
Now, it looks like Real Madrid centre-back Raphael Varane is on his way to Old Trafford for the relatively modest price tag (at least in football) of £34million, potentially rising to £40m with add-ons.
The pair are two of the biggest names in Europe but it won’t stop talk of big-name comings and goings in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.
And very recently, a stunning new proposal has cropped up.
With that in mind, Mirror Football takes you through the most audacious transfer proposals related to Manchester United.
Anthony Martial for Erling Haaland
Kicking off with that most recent rumour and According to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, the Red Devils would love to complete an audacious swap deal which could see Anthony Martial head to Dortmund and Erling Haaland coming the other way.
Martial scored just four Premier League goals for United last season, enduring a difficult term through suspension and injury.
The Frenchman has never quite been able to make himself the main man on the red side of the city, almost leaving in 2018 after falling out of favour under Jose Mourinho.
Now 25, Martial’s days are numbered and with Edinson Cavani not getting any younger, it’s believed Solskjaer will soon be in the market for a striker very shortly.
(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The man believed to be priority No.1 is Haaland – like he is for most clubs – after the 21-year-old worked with the Norweigan together at Molde.
In January 2020, Haaland almost made the move from RB Salzburg, but United were keen to avoid agent getting tangled up with agent Mino Raiola.
He opted for BVB instead and 59 goals in 63 games later, Haaland’s stock is only rising.
With a release clause of £68million reportedly set to become active next summer, the striker’s future is on course to be decided in the next 12 months.
Haaland told Sportbild on Tuesday: “I have three years left on my contract. I’m enjoying my time here.
“But of course the trophy [BVB’s DFB Pokal win in May] was important because that’s what I want.”
Ansu Fati for €150m
(Image: David Ramos)
During the Red Devils’ fruitless pursuit of Sancho in 2020, Ed Woodward and co made an astonishing €150m bid for Barcelona teenage sensation Ansu Fati.
Mundo Deportivo, again, claimed then-Blaugrana president Josep Maria Bartomeu rejected the offer despite the financial crisis caused by the global pandemic and the Catalan club’s own woes.
The 18-year-old winger has been out since November with a knee injury but burst onto the scene in 2019-20, scoring seven goals in 24 La Liga appearances.
Clearly looking to add to the Cavani-less forward line, United reportedly went all-out to sign the Barca wonderkid, only to be flatly rejected.
Mason Greenwood to Juventus
(Image: PA)
In 19-20, the Red Devils found their own wonderkid.
Mason Greenwood made an emphatic start to life as a senior United player by scoring 10 Premier League goals in his made full campaign in the first-team.
As the pandemic forced the football season into the summer months, transfer sagas blended with matchdays.
Although this wasn’t widely reported, The Athletic’s Andy Mitten claimed that Italian giants Juventus were hoping to lure Greenwood away from the club by offering him a lucrative deal during the season, only for the teenager to turn them down.
The “life-changing” offer was before the teenager agreed on a new contract at his boyhood club, where he has gone on to make himself a regular contributor under Solskjaer.
Which of these swap deals makes the most sense? G ive us your thoughts in the comments section.
Paul Pogba for Paulo Dybala
He was bound to crop up, wasn’t he?
Sticking with Juve, and in their bid to bring Paul Pogba back to Turin, the Bianconeri were reportedly willing to part ways with Argentine forward Paulo Dybala.
Now 27, both La Gazzetta dello Sport and Tuttosport claimed Juventus were looking to offload Dybala and had identified a swap deal for Red Devils midfielder Pogba as a potential way of making their transfer wishes come true.
The Frenchman and Dybala spent a single year together in black and white but formed a close friendship that could’ve switched places had this deal come to fruition.
It still might, with the forward’s flexibility across the attack enticing for any team.
Nevertheless, Pogba looks set Paris Saint-Germain this summer if he does leave before entering the final year of his contract and could headline the list of departures at Old Trafford.
Even without him, United won’t be out of the headlines.
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