MANCHESTER UNITED failed in a sensational £89million transfer bid for Barcelona wonderkid Ansu Fati after giving up on Jadon Sancho, according to stunning reports.
The Red Devils are clearly desperate to bolster their attack when the summer window reopens and have been long-term admirers of Sancho.
Manchester United reportedly made a bid of £89m for Barcelona’s teenage sensation Ansu Fati but were turned downCredit: Handout – Getty
The England star, 20, is valued at more than £100m and is the subject of interest from plenty of top clubs, including Chelsea and Real Madrid.
But the Borussia Dortmund winger is not yet convinced of a switch, so it is thought United turned their attention elsewhere.
Sport in Spain report the Old Trafford club made an audacious attempt to land 17-year-old Fati – but the Barcelona board turned down the offer.
The article suggests a number of Premier League clubs are monitoring Fati, whose game time was limited after Martin Braithwaite’s arrival.
Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele’s returns to fitness as well as the possible arrival of Lautaro Martinez could mean he gets even fewer minutes in the new season.
So Fati – and in particular his agent Jorge Mendes – are thought to be actively looking to see if a move is possible, even though Barcelona are determined to keep their teenage sensation.
Mendes allegedly called Barca to find out their price tag for the youngster and was told he has a £151m release clause but in any case is not for sale.
That release clause was inserted into his new three-year contract penned in December 2019, rising from around £84m previously.
The Nou Camp club thought that was the end of that but ten days later Mendes came back, telling the LaLiga leaders he has a potential buyer in the shape of Manchester United.
Barca’s sporting department were forced to take the £89m offer to the board to have the final say and Josep Maria Bartomeu insisted Fati was not to be sold under any circumstance.
The club transfer listed the entire first-team squad, except Lionel Messi, Frenkie de Jong and Marc-Andre ter Stegen, in order to help raise some funds amid the coronavirus crisis.
However, the club hold their youngster Fati – who has five first-team goals tin 24 appearances this season – in high regard with big plans for the future so are unwilling to let him go.
Fati made his first-team debut against Real Betis aged 16 and broke the record for LaLiga’s youngest goalscorer as well as the youngest Barca player to feature for the club since 1941.
His youthfulness was particularly highlighted earlier this season when he was forced to miss matches due to growing pains.
And the offer from United is thought to have been a wake-up call for Barcelona, who plan to officially promote Fati permanently into the first team for next season and increase his release clause to around £350m.
Barcelona wonderkid Ansu Fati, 17, humiliates Arturo Vidal in training
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
