Manchester United have been linked with Valencia’s Serbian midfielder Uros Racic, 22, who has a £92 million release clause in his current contract which is due to expire in the summer of 2022, as reported by The Sun. Racic is a box to box midfielder, 6ft 4in and a powerful player who is known for his workrate and he defensive power and has been likened to United midfielder Nemanja Matic. United may well be stacked in the midfield ranks right now but an heir to Matic will need to be signed by the club.
Racic signed for Valencia for €2.2 million in the summer fo 2018, signing from Red Star Belgrade. He has been unable to find his feet in Spain though and has played for Valencia’s B team, and loaned to both Tenerife and Famalicão. Despite the high release clause in his Valencia contract, it is unlikely that the club will pursue that because of their financial situation and it is suggested that a fee of around £28 million could be accepted for the player this summer.
The young Serbian idolises United midfielder Paul Pogba so would probably jump at the chance to sign for United if the club has solid interest in him this summer. The only problem would be the depth of United’s midfield this summer which consists of Pogba, Bruno Fernandes, Donny van de Beek, Nemanja Matic, Scott McTominay and Fred with the likes of Andreas Pereira, and James Garner who could also feature in the position, although the latter plays at U23 level and could be loaned out this summer.
Racic can play as both an attacking or defensive midfield position and is described as a real number six player that has a great intelligence of the game and a player that has been said to demonstrate his quality, making his future in the game bright. This was stated by Zvezdan Terzic, the general director of Red Star Belgrade back in December 2017, months before he left toe club for Valencia. The player might be a gamble right now but has been compared to Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, who has been linked to United. Terzic said:
“Racic is most similar like Slaviša Jokanovic, the real ‘six’. He is a defensive midfielder with an extraordinary jump, great game review and incredible intelligence. He will just demonstrate his quality in the future.”
During the 2019/20 season when Racic was playing for Portuguese side Famalicão, he made a total of 39 appearances, playing in the Liga NOS and the Taça de Portugal Placard, scoring three goals and two assists. That season, Racic played as a defensive midfielder, a central midfielder, an attacking midfielder and as a second striker. On Sunday, Racic played his first match of the 2020/21 season for Valencia in a 4-2 victory over Levante, playing 18 minutes and being booked in the 89th minute.
Written by John Walker
