Goncalo Ramos to Man Utd: ‘Ten Hag a fan of Benfica striker’

Robin Bairner

• 10 Dec 2022 10:30 GMT
• 4 min read

Exclusive

Benfica star Goncalo Ramos has been the talk of World Cup 2022 in recent days thanks to his exploits with Portugal.

A hat-trick in a 6-1 last-16 rout against Switzerland has put him firmly in the public eye for the first time, with Manchester United’s interest in the player made known.

Indeed, football transfer expert Ben Jacobs has explained that Man Utd have long tracked the player, with manager Erik ten Hag “a fan” of the 21-year-old breakout star.

MORE: Goncalo Ramos is the perfect Ronaldo replacement for Portugal and Man Utd

“Ten Hag is a fan and they’ve scouted him, but they haven’t really advanced it at this point,” Jacobs told FootballTransfers exclusively.

“They’ve certainly scouted the player. How ironic and how poetic would that be, if Ramos has this kind of shadowing of Ronaldo’s path by replacing him for Portugal and scoring a hat-trick in a knockout game and then joining Manchester United and filling his shoes?”

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Although Manchester United are likely to focus their transfer activity on other players, such as PSV winger Cody Gakpo, a January move for Ramos should not be discounted.

“It’s possible but Man Utd are looking at a range of targets. That’s not to say, they won’t get more than one. But Man Utd want Gakpo, they might try their luck for Victor Osimhen, but it’s difficult in terms of the price and the fact that the player’s very settled at Napoli. But Ramos is there and ticks a lot of boxes in terms of his work ethic, his finishing and natural born talent,” Jacobs said.

PSG to return for Ramos?

If a deal is to be done, though, the Red Devils will likely have to overtake at least one other major club to secure his signature.

“Clubs that have looked and made enquiries over the summer, PSG are probably the leading one,” he added. “They are looking to add more young talent to their front line and they almost got a deal done but couldn’t quite get it over the line.

“They’re most likely to return, especially knowing that over the course of the next window, they could know they’re going to lose Lionel Messi – he won’t go in January but that could be determined – and Kylian Mbappe is up in the air as well.

“So it wouldn’t surprise me should one or both of those players leave, and understanding they need to buy young. Ramos ticks a lot of boxes. And if Messi does leave, the money would come from clearing the wage bill too.

“From the Premier League, there’s Wolves, who have got a great affiliation with signing top Portuguese players, and Southampton. Nottingham Forest looked but I understand that they won’t return.”

Ten Hag and Manchester United may, therefore, be forced into making a quick transfer decision over Ramos.