Manchester United report: Ralf Rangnick's first signing is set to be French wonderkid
Manchester United have had a quiet window so far – but are in talks for a Marseille star
Manchester United are in talks with a highly-rated French star to become Ralf Rangnick's first buy as Manchester United interim manager.
Marseille midfielder Boubacar Kamara has been linked with the Red Devils all month long – and now transfer guru Nicolo Schira has claimed that the Old Trafford outfit have offered a five-year contract to the player, whose deal in the south of France expires at the end of the season.
United were expected to make big moves in the winter transfer window but have been surprisingly quiet. Anthony Martial recently departed for Sevilla but aside from that, Rangnick has made little business of note.
Despite the inaction, the 63-year-old interim manager has been given a remit to revamp – and will step into a consultancy role at the end of his temporary tenure.
The arrival of a new defensive midfielder will be a huge boost to the club's Champions League qualification hopes. United's central core has been heavily criticised throughout the season, with Fred and Scott McTominay holding down the fort as the first-choice pair. The ageing Nemanja Matic has stepped in as a squad option.
22-year-old Kamara will provide long-term competition for a position. It's thought that the fee for the player will be around £10m.
More Manchester United news
TRANSFER REPORT Manchester United star Jesse Lingard set for surprise move
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.
‘Arteta, Alonso, Emery, me… none of us were physical players – we needed the understanding of the game. That probably helped us move into management’: Premier League boss reveals reasons for natural career progression
‘England have the players to win the World Cup – it’ll be tough for Thomas Tuchel to do a bad job, with the squad he has at his disposal’ Former Three Lions winger backs new boss after gentle qualifying draw