Manchester United have reportedly entered into negotiations with AS Monaco for 19-year-old Benoit Badiashile, who is a central defender at the club, according to reports coming from France and reported by The Mirror. It is suggested that both Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen are both interested in the French teenager who signed his last contract in December 2019 which will expire in the summer of 2024. It is suggested that United have been monitoring the teenager for some time.
Badiashile will be the third left-footed central defender to be linked to the club recently after it was alleged that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was speaking to Bournemouth defender Nathan Ake after United beat the club 5-2 in the Premier League. That talk was denied by the manager but we have seen other left-footed defenders being linked to the club from Gabriel Magalhaes, Pau Torres and now Badiashile. It might well be that United are seeking to bring in a left-footed central defender this summer.
This season, the 19-year-old made a total of 20 appearances for his club, not scoring any goals or assists. He played in Ligue 1, the Coupe de le Ligue and the Coupe de France. It is suggested that Solskjaer will be seeking to sign a long-term partner for Harry Maguire, who arrived at the Old Trafford club from Leicester City for £80 million last summer. This season, he has been partnered by Victor Lindelof for much of the season with the Sweden international floundering, apart from the last match against Maguire’s former club.
It has been reported that it would take a bid of more than €15million (£13.5million) to sign the France U91 defender from the principality club this summer as Monaco turned down a bid in that region from Bayer Leverkusen on Friday. United will not want to enter into a bidding war though, which could see them pay well over the odds for the player. This is probably why the manager has earmarked a number of targets in the position, if indeed it is a position that he wants to strengthen this summer.
Personally, the defence will need to be looked at as this summer, Solskjaer could see Chris Smalling leave the club with some Italian interest in the player. Marcos Rojo reportedly wants to leave the club and Phil Jones has been used sparingly this season and is currently injured so the club should be looking to offload him, if there are any interested clubs out there wanting an injury prone defender who has not really improved in around a decade at the club.
That may sound harsh but it is true. Solskjaer will need to bring in his own players, also keeping an eye on the players coming through the club’s academy with Ethan Laird and Teden Mengi the two that might be ready to be given some first team appearances the season and beyond. It is possible that either on or both could feature in the UEFA Europa League round of 16 second leg against LASK at Old Trafford on Wednesday, which would be good for the players and the club.
Written by John Walker
