Manchester United are yet to find a solution to their lack of creativity against teams who defend deep and could get a bargain on Turkish playmaker, Hakan Calhanoglu. Calhanoglu joined Milan in 2017 from Bundesliga side, Bayer Leverkusen and has been one the key men for AC Milan’s revival in the last twelve months and influential in Milan’s current 18-game unbeaten run, starting the season with four goals and a pair of assists after notching 18 goal contributions last season. With his contract running out next June, Milan are in talks with him over a new deal however they haven’t reached an agreement with reports suggesting Calhanoglu demanding double the 3.5 million Euros he is currently being offered and therefore he could be available for a free transfer next summer.
As his stay at the AC Milan could come to an end soon, there’s already a number of suitors lining for his signature and rumours suggest that Manchester United, Atletico Madrid and Juventus are at the very front of the line. It was earlier reported that Calhanoglu had rejected advances from Juventus because he was already in concrete negotiations with Manchester United, however Atletico Madrid have joined the race a week ago and can offer him a starting role in their lineup. Manchester United will be looking for some major changes to be dominant in the league again, and their January and summer transfer business could help in winning RAB bets.
United are supposedly willing to offer the Milan man a five-year deal at Old Trafford and double his current Rossoneri salary. The claims are somewhat supported by Bild’s Christian Falk, who reports that that Red Devils are continuously negotiating with Calhanoglu’s representatives after initially showing an interest in the summer.
True: United is in concrete negotiations with Hakan Çalhanoğlu (26) @acmilan. the contact has been there since summer. therefore he turned down an offer from @juventusfc. @ManUtd has not to pay a Transfer fee (contract ends 2021) pic.twitter.com/faQOtYGZEe
— Christian Falk (@cfbayern) October 30, 2020
With reports suggesting that Everton could sign Daniel James on loan in January, Calhanoglu could prove to be good option with his current market value less than 30 million euros due to his contract situation. However if United move for Sancho in January, who they spent most of the last summer trying to sign from Borussia Dortmund, unlikely that the Manchester club will sign him in January, meaning the deal could be done during the summer window.
With Paul Pogba in indifferent form and Juan Mata past his prime, the creative burden at Manchester United has fallen squarely on the shoulders of Bruno Fernandes. Calhanoglu’s potential arrival will reduce the burden on Bruno Fernandes as he has similar traits to Fernandes and could make Manchester United a much more potent force going forward.
