Huge Man Utd transfer blow amid nonsense on ‘elite’ target’s ‘price cut’ as dream quashed

A new report claims Manchester United could sign an ‘elite’ player for *only* £60m in January, though this is utter nonsense…

Man Utd invested around £230m on new signings in this summer’s transfer window as they overhauled their attack and landed a new goalkeeper.

The Red Devils desperately needed reinforcements in these areas, though they still have a way to go if they are to return to challenging for the Premier League and/or Champions League in the next couple of years.

A huge change was promised, but the same problems remain as United are still ineffective in attack and easy to play through, while it remains to be seen whether unproven Senne Lammens can address their issue between the sticks.

One glaring misstep in the summer was Man Utd’s failure to sign a new centre-midfielder as they are still crying out for a No.6 to partner Bruno Fernandes or Kobbie Mainoo.

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They made an ambitious move for Carlos Baleba, though Brighton swatted their Premier League rivals away by setting their asking price at around £100m.

It has been suggested that the Red Devils will ‘return’ for Baleba next year, though they are going to be left exposed until the Brighton star (or another centre-midfielder) joins the club in January/next summer.

Baleba is also said to be among ‘three elite options’ for Man Utd, who are also reportedly targeting Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton and former Wolves star Ruben Neves.

Wharton would certainly be a better option than Neves and even potentially Baleba, as the Palace standout has been a revelation under Oliver Glasner.

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A source for Caught Offside has claimed: “United see Wharton as the ideal replacement for Casemiro, who’s expected to leave at the end of the season.

“His ability to dictate play from deep fits perfectly into Ruben Amorim’s tactical setup. They made an approach in the summer, but Palace rejected it outright.”

This is fair enough, but an outlandish claim is made further into the article, with it boldly suggested Wharton’s ‘price has been cut to £60m’ after he ‘would have cost £100m’ in the summer.

‘For January, Wharton will more likely cost around £60m as he could be keen to get a move to a club playing in Europe to boost his World Cup hopes with England.’

Honestly, what complete nonsense.

Crystal Palace proved with the Marc Guehi saga that they are willing to hold firm to eke out as much cash as possible when selling a key asset, and that was with a player only under contract until next summer.

Wharton, meanwhile, is contracted to Palace until 2029, so Oliver Glasner’s side are under no real pressure to sell and certainly won’t be ‘cutting’ Wharton’s price anytime soon.

Also, Wharton being in a World Cup year would surely make Palace wait until the summer, at least, to see how he fares in the hope that a buying club offers an extra few million.

So it’ll be £100m, not £60m; sorry to burst your bubble, Manchester United fans…