Home » Man United target Donny van de Beek, Paul Pogba complicated switch deal

Man United target Donny van de Beek, Paul Pogba complicated switch deal

by Red Billy

Manchester United are trying to pull off the most unlikely of transfers as they attempt to sign Donny Van de Beek from Ajax, according to Marca.

It would seem almost impossible to land the 22-year-old as reports in January claimed a pre-contract agreement has already been reached with Real Madrid which allows him to see out the season at Ajax before joining los Merengues in the summer.

The Dutchman was poised to join the Spanish giants last summer, but the deal never materialised as time ran out before it could be finalised.

Discussions were then reportedly resurrected in December with a reported agreement involving a transfer fee of around €55 million (£49.6 million) being struck under the understanding that the player would remain at Ajax for the rest of this season before making the move to Spain.

So if all that were true, it would seem that United are attempting the impossible in trying to persuade the 22-year-old to come to Old Trafford instead.

However, there are two reasons to believe that the Red Devils might not be barking up the wrong tree.

First, in a January interview, the player himself denied that he had signed the deal with Real, insisting that ‘Nothing is official (with Real Madrid). There is no contract. That is the situation. That has not changed throughout the season.’

When asked about choosing between United and Real, he added ‘I don’t want to choose. Both are great clubs, but as I said before, Ajax is also a great club. Therefore, there is nothing to choose from. Everything would be very good.’

The second ace United have up their sleeve is Madrid’s long-term interest in Paul Pogba. It was widely believed that Real had turned to Van de Beek because of the wide gulf between United’s valuation of the Frenchman and their own. But with the Reds now more willing to sell and reduce their asking price, it could be a case of ‘let Van de Beek come to us and we’ll give you Pogba’.

Marca claims that ‘if United are to be successful in signing Van de Beek, they could only do so if Real Madrid decide to renounce their agreement with the player…If they decide they no longer want to sign him, United will be able to go ahead with an agreement with Ajax.’

The fact remains that if Pogba is set to stay at Old Trafford, United would be unlikely to be chasing Van de Beek. So if Marca’s report has substance to it, it does suggest that Pogba’s future might well be linked to that of the Dutchman.

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