Manchester United are reportedly set to battle with Arsenal and Barcelona for a highly-rated Premier League star this summer as Erik ten Hag looks to strengthen his midfield after a disappointing campaign.
The Red Devils slipped to their 10th league defeat of the season at home to Fulham on Saturday in a game that saw them regularly caught out on the counter-attack, and they have now allowed their opponents 100 shots on goal in their last five league matches.
United are expected to go into the market at the end of the season for a new midfielder, and they have already identified a potential target.
This is due to Arsenal and Barcelona also being keen on Onana, who is valued at €60m (£51m) by the Toffees.
Erik ten Hag is keen to strengthen his midfield this summer after a disappointing campaign
Man United are set to target Everton’s Amadou Onana, but Arsenal and Barcelona are also keen
United and Arsenal are both willing to pay this asking price, and are ready to put offers on the table for the Belgian international, but Barcelona only want to spend €40m (£34m) on Onana.
This could put the two English clubs ahead of them in the pecking order to sign Onana, but United’s need may be greater after their midfield came in for fierce criticism from Jamie Carragher on Monday Night Football following the Fulham loss.
In a scathing assessment of United’s display at Old Trafford, Carragher said: ‘They’ve got no pace at the back and they have a lack of legs in midfield.
‘Another big problem for them is when they’ve got the ball. These players can’t receive the ball in the positions they take up so actually there is a massive problem for Manchester United when they’ve got the ball.
‘How many times have we seen Manchester United players having to run 40 yards back towards their own goal?’
Ten Hag hit back at Carragher in his press conference on Tuesday by claiming the former Liverpool man is not ‘objective’ in his opinion on United’s tactics, but admitted that his side did have problems in the first 30 minutes of their clash with Fulham.
‘First of all, some analysts are very objective in their comments, (give) very good advice, some are very subjective,’ Ten Hag said.
‘Jamie Carragher from the first moment on has criticised and now he wants to make his point.
‘Probably in the first half an hour, yeah, he had a point. Fulham in their midfield set up a little bit surprisingly and then we have to find the solutions. After half an hour we found the solutions.’
Jamie Carragher was very critical of United’s midfield and defence in their weekend defeat against Fulham
Casemiro could leave the club this summer after being linked with a move to Saudi Arabia
United’s midfield pairing of Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo was regularly overrun by Fulham on Saturday, and United paid the ultimate price late on as they were caught out by another counter-attack that saw Fulham score their winner through Alex Iwobi in the 97th minute.
Mainoo is still 18 and is expected to be a big part of United’s future, but the same may not be the case for Casemiro.
The Brazilian turned 32 earlier this month, and has been linked with a move away at the end of the campaign, with Saudi Arabian clubs monitoring him.
Onana could be viewed as Casemiro’s replacement, with United looking to address their lack of pace in the middle of the park.
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