Manchester United have seemingly but another player in their interested list ahead of the summer transfer window opening in less than a week’s time. Valencia midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia, who was linked to United about seven years ago is a player that is now on their radar, at least according to The Sun. The report states the at La Liga club will be seeking to sell cup to eight players this summer in order to aid their ‘precarious looking financial situation’.
The reported in the British newspaper suggests that the original report comes from FootMercato, who have stated the the player has a dream to play in the Premier League. They also suggest that Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur are interested in the player, who also played for Lens, Sevilla, AS Monaco and Inter Milan. The Athletic have added more context to the situation as the Spanish club seem to be in ‘total madness behind the scenes’.
It has been stated that the board of the club want to sell all eight players, especially those on high wages, which the club obviously cannot sustain at this moment in time because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has ran its course throughout world football with many clubs losing out financially. The clubs finances will take a second hit after the club failed to qualify for European football next season. It could be a devastating summer for Valencia supporters.
Along with Kondogbia, seven more players who are to be sold this summer have been named in the report with Dani Parejo, Rodrigo Moreno, Goncalo Guedes, Jasper Cillesen, Denis Cheryshev and Kevin Gameiro and Ferran Torres, who has been linked with United but seems to be more on Manchester City’s wish list this summer. Valencia will be seeking to raise around £90 million, also cutting their annual wage bill by £105 million, which could see the club through the problems faced right now.
This season, Kondogbia has made a total of 34 appearances at Valencia, playing in La Liga, the Supercopa, the Cope del Rey and the UEFA Champions League. The 27-year-old has scored twice, assisting another, which is not a great achievement. However, the Frenchman, who was capped by France and now plays for the Central African Republic plays as either a central midfielder or a defensive midfielder. This could be a position that United might be in the market for, taking the strain off Nemanja Matic, who at this moment in time is the clubs only experienced defensive minded midfielder.
United will probably require more creativity in the midfield if they do buy a player in that position this summer with Donny van de Beek linked to United but has not been the subject of many reports lately, however, former Arsenal forward Ian Wright suggested that he could sign for United – which probably means nothing. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will have a lot of work to do this summer in perfecting his squad. After the collapse of the past few matches, including the FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea on Sunday, the manager will need to get his team firing, so at last they could rise to the challenge of the Premier League title once again.
Written by John Walker
