Manchester United are trying to disrupt AC Milan’s transfer plans again and they have resumed talks over Youssouf Fofana, a report claims.
Calciomercato.com report that after having snatched Joshua Zirkzee from Milan, the Red Devils have ‘swooped forcefully’ in the last few hours to try and get Fofana, so much so that they have started the first contacts with his entourage and receiving a positive response.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
United are looking to replace Casemiro and possibly Scott McTominay, and while Manuel Ugarte of PSG is the first choice he is valued at €70m which is deemed too expensive. Monaco want around half for Fofana, while Milan are yet to offer more than €20m.
The English club are also looking at other names though, such as Richard Rios of Palmeiras (a profile that Milan admire too), Sander Berge of Burnley and Martin Zubimendi of Real Sociedad (who has a clause of €60m and is also liked by Liverpool), as well as considering the return of Sofyan Amrabat from Fiorentina.
Milan’s position amid United’s interest remains firm: Giorgio Furlani and Geoffrey Moncada are not willing to participate in auctions and maintain their internal valuation for Fofana, after the last offer of €17m in total – including bonuses – was rejected.
Milan have no desire to commit over €20m to a player who is certainly highly regarded but who, starting from 1 February 2025, would be available to be signed on a pre-contract ahead of next summer.
Casemiro could be very nice for us but he has a massive, massive salary. 12M net. Scotty, not a fan, but he has just 2M net. Not the worst midfielder, maybe he’d integrate fast and start contributing..he has the exp tho
Casemiro is burnt out, no way.
Zubimendi is the best around, unfortunately we are not trying to sign the best
Nah, players like that don’t get burned out. He just needs a change and a club that will know how to use hin. United has become Chelsea 2.0 except they don’t win anything
True UTD is a graveyard.
But Casemiro is 32 now and his legs have gone. No surprise given the mileage he has on the clock, especially in a position where running and tackling are the most demanding
Doubt it. He had 2 pretty good seasons with United don’t see any indication of a done player.
@flyingturtle
I don’t know what you’re following.
Utd are busy chasing DM because Casemiro has turned out to be a disaster and they want to get rid of him, probably to Saudi
Just ask a man united fan or read any report or look at their transfer strategy
Going in circles are we? The same united who bought a 70+M St last summer and bought another one this summer. That same united is not capable of getting the best out of casemiro? How strange
Buddy, stop talking
How will I order food if I stop talking? How will I make my pitch to producers of I stop talking?
How will I tell people to fúck off if I stop talking?
Casemiro is not the one who is burnt out it is you flyingT
Casemiro is on the verge of retiring and you want someone who only has one leg?
please spare us your dribble!
But on a serious not Milan Furlani and Moncada still have not bought the X Factor that is need for next season, which means Milan will struggle in the coming season
Furlani and Moncada are very deficient and we talk about getting rid of dead wood well, there it is.
Fofana is a dream to Milan and they think that they have all the cards instead they have nothing once again! Just a bluff
POO
I didn’t say I want him. I said he’d be great for us.
From the get go i wanted hjobjerg, he was the best option on the market, now fúck off.
LOL
Furlani and Moncada maintain their internal valuation
They can continue to maintain their internal valuations, must be fun, bit like monopoly at the office.
I hope nobody ruins the game by telling them that in a capitalist system you need to meet the market valuation and that of the owner, or they won’t sell.
I’ll try my own internal valuation the next time I go shopping
What market they are the only ones who bid. As things stand his value is 20 M
you are the type of person who would pay $100 for a $10 product just to flex
that isnt smart fyi
Exactly.
I guess that’s the problem when you use internal valuation
“ I’ll try my own internal valuation the next time I go shopping”
LOL
Last time Milan paid sticker prices was with the Chinese ownership. And how did that work out?
Oh, that’s right. With a default on Elliott’s loan. Completely sustainable.
oh but hey, no props given when the strategy works and Pavlo comes in right … ?
Dude it’s an extra 5-7 million, not a crazy amount.
“oh but hey, no props given when the strategy works and Pavlo comes in right … ?”
You might’ve taped yourself on the shoulder because you’ve gotten the wheels for a bargain but if you don’t get the engine your car won’t work.
I’ve responded previously about Pavlovic
Lmaoooooo this has buckled me! Amazing comment but so very true, if we do lose Fofana it will be their fault and no1 else’s, we can’t blame any other clubs than our own. They’ve dragged this out long enough now
Honestly, I hope Manchester United gets it done quickly.
Fofana isn’t that big of a deal and isn’t even a true DM, so if we lose him maybe the management will finally go for someone else and stop their stinginess.
At this point, even names like Cardoso seem more appealing
The problem is Fofana is still a good player and this management will never sign someone close to his caliber if he is not on expiring contract. So this is a chance really.
He is a good player but not a true DM, we need a true DM. Fofana was paired at some point with no other than Tchouaméni, which tells you all you need to know about who is the ball carrier and who is actually tasked of defending. And in France he once played in front of Kanté…
Cardoso is a DM, Florentino is a DM, Amrabat is a DM. Zubimendi is a DM but might be too expensive for us.
It’s not about finding a balanced player, or a good ball carrier or a good passer. A good defensive player, even if he passes sideways and backwards all the time is what we need.
yeah Milan is doomed, will never win anything and when they do people like you will vanish as usual since you cant complain 24/7 anymore
If they can’t sign someone for 35 million euros, there won’t be a better signing for the same or less. That is why the price tag is slapped on him as such. Cardoso is a prospect and not an established player with any international pedigree nor did he face true competition at top tiers in the game often enough to gamble 20 to 25 on him with your fingers crossed. To bet on him just because we don’t want to spend 35 on Fofana is stupid. If Fofana had 2 years left, everyone would say buying him for 35 is a fair price, almost a steal. The sure thing is available for 35, 10 million more than a unestablished player, regardless of the contract status, spend it, quit the internal valuation nonsense. We lost hundreds of millions in transfer fees and trophies because they stuck to internal valuations instead of the REAL market one. No player even at that price is available and better or proven.
Kessie, Hakan, Gigi, Thuram, Botman…Never ending list of Moncada, Billy Beane, and Furliani internal shopping price menu disasters. Still didn’t learn and our subdued fans are here encouraging them to make idiotic decisions again.
Fofana signs to us and has a good year, He will be worth 50 to 55 million. He is still a bargain.
💯💯💯
Fofana isn’t a true DM. I feel like I’ve posted this multiple times now. He might be better defensively than our current midfielders, but he is still the ball carrier of Monaco, not the defensive midfielder. In 2021/22, he was paired with Aurélien Tchouaméni and we know that Tchouaméni is a defensive profile. The few times France played in a 4-3-3 with Fofana as a starter, he was an 8 in front of either Kanté or Tchouaméni. I don’t care how good he is as a player, he is not the defensive player we think he is. He might adapt, but that’s an assumption, not a guarantee.
Defensive midfielders are generally cheaper since they’re undervalued, heck we could have gotten Hojbjerg for less than 20M€, maybe less than 15M€.
Now it’s not like I don’t want to spend X amout on Fofana, but if we’re not willing to spend the money, might as well ditch that deal already and move on instead of wasting time and perhaps ending the summer with no defensive midfielder because we thaught we had leverage.
Great forewarning Giga. Happened with me in the past ( the great Kessie v Pobega debate) . I feel your pain sometimes as u seem to have good info about the player but stick to your guns if u know better. I’d be irritated if we get Fofana and he doesn’t do a good enough job defensively or is astute in that aspect of play. There are quite a few players who we could have gotten
I was so excited at first when I heard of the possibility of signing Fofana but now this all juts seems like a muppet show now and I’ve grown tired of it.
No one is disrupting anything cause there’s nothing to disrupt. These inept clowns called management were never really in contention for Fofana with their insulting opening 12 million offer. They’re just wasting time while media serves with excuses, like it’s a fair offer or we need to sell before we buy.
I’m just waiting for media to point fingers to Adli, Bennacer and Pobega for not leaving thus having no space for new additions. Many fans surely will follow.
F*ck it, why don’t they just sign Declan Rice from Arsenal, he’s a true DM we’re looking for all this time ffs.
LMAO!!! OK Gareth Southgate. What are you doing here …
Just wanna be Pundit after retiring from Nation Coach, suggesting that we should buy either Declan Rice or Rodri of The City if we want True DM on the field.
He’s way too expensive they won’t pay what he’s worth mate
What about Rodri, he might be a better true DM on the field
At this point, we’re starting the season without an integrated DM anyway, even if one signed in the next few days, so I hope the next names down the list are ready to hit the ground running
I appreciate the fact that we have a management that sticks to their guns. In their first window they got Okafor for 14m when Salzburg was asking 35m, and got bargains on RLC and Pulisic too. We finished second after that window and that was largely down to injuries and Pioli’s tactics becoming old news. They earned my trust for this window at least.
LOL. Ummmmm no. Salzburg was not asking for 35M for Okafor. his market valuation was more like 15-17M if you look at Transfermarket. So unfortunately, That is completely untrue my friend.
Ya let’s wait until Fofana becomes a FA because I’m sure we will sign him then and there won’t be any other bidding teams that will offer more salary and more commissions lol. Ya this is a slam dunk move for us. I can already see him in a Milan jersey next June 😝😂🤣
I hope your right mate
Man i hope MU just sign fofana and seal the deal in the next 24 hours so this unnecessary saga would ended and Milan, hopefully, move on to another target.
Matteo Prati, Casedei, Amrabat, Kopermanis, Berge… there are so many players that we can chose from. From cheap to more expensive. The management need to make up their mind, either go for Fofana or move on cause the season is starting.
Not happening, they’re just out of their mind.
If we lose him it’s another L for this management. Also can I ask something. If a scout using too much resources for one player/players should he be fired if the negations failed? Just asking
Loose him? He is not even ours, you cant loose something you dont have.
Well when you spend months and months after one player and negotiate a deal with him and his reps and ignore all other targets – and he wants to come with you – but because you waited and waited and haggled and low balled initially – you allowed other teams to jump in and bump up the price – with less than 2 weeks before the season starts – and are now scrambling for an alternative – ya I would say we would have “lost” him….
Showing up here day after day and criticizing something you have no control over seems so productive and effective of change, doesn’t it?
Doesn’t seem to be a good coping/venting mechanism either though…. strange.
Snooze you looze 4 Milan
They sign a player for a hefty fee, and pay them crazy wages. Later, they realize they have overspent – Casemiro, Sancho, Antony etc. Now, they want to start negotiations, after Milan had almost reached a deal with the club, just so that they can grab him for cheap. If they wanted him desperately, should have gone with £60m before Milan reached a close deal with Monaco for €14m.