Manchester United are reported interested in signing Espanyol striker Raúl de Tomás this summer. The report comes from Pedro Morata of El Partidazo de COPE. The 27-year-old operates as a centre-forward or as a second striker.
No contact has been made based on the reports as United have the player on their list, which could mean anything. This summer more than 100 players have been linked to United and more will be linked before the closure of the summer transfer window.
De Tomás started out at San Roque as a youth player before signing for Real Madrid’s academy. The striker played for both the Real Madrid C and B teams before making his first team debut. He was loaned to Córdoba, Real Valladolid and Rayo Vallecano before being sold to Benfica.
Back in January 2020, Espanyol bought the striker from Benfica for €20 million with the Portuguese club retaining a 20% sell on clause in the players contract, which expires in the summer of 2026. De Tomás has been capped just four times for Spain; twice in 2021 and twice in 2022 so far.
Last season the striker scored 17 goals and three assists in 36 appearances for his club, playing as a centre-forward 35 times and once as a left-winger. The Spanish striker did not feature for Espanyol in their opening La Liga fixture which saw them draw 2-2 with Celta Vigo.
Reports in the last fortnight suggest that there is a rift at the Catalan club between the player and manager Diego Martinez. He was left out of a pre-season squad to face Brighton and Hove Albion and was training away from the first team group of players.
It has been reported that the 27-year-old wanted a return to Real Madrid this summer but also that Bayern Munich were somewhat interested in replacing Robert Lewandowski, who left for Barcelona earlier in the summer.
In the past week a new report suggested that De Tomás has a release clause of €75 million (£63.4 million) in his contract with Benfica having a clause which would see 20% of the final transfer fee heading in their direction, which was part of the contract when he left the club in January 2020.
Some reports on social media suggest that United could sign the player for £25-£30 million this summer, which seems unlikely considering this release clause. Although a deal could be done if there is little interest in club wanting to sign the player.
Written by John Walker
