Man Utd target Ligue 1 ace amid Amrabat and Casemiro struggles

Stuart Telford

• 29 Dec 2023 16:07 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester United are in the market for a new central midfielder and have put Youssouf Fofana at the top of their winter shopping list according to transfer journalist Rudy Galetti.

Man Utd are expected to go shopping in the January sales, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe's 25 per cent investment in the club to be ratified imminently.

A central midfield is towards the top of manager Erik ten Hag's wish list, with Scott McTominay not trusted despite a recent glut of goals, and the talented Kobbie Mainoo still only 18.

Last season, Casemiro and Christian Eriksen were the two most-used players in a midfield double pivot in Ten Hag's preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, but injury issues have derailed both of their campaigns so far.

Monaco and France midfielder Fofana could plug a gap in their side.

Man Utd 'ready to take concrete steps'

"Man Utd are still monitoring Youssouf Fofana with interest and are ready to take concrete steps for him soon," Galetti posted on X (formerly Twitter). "Monaco are asking for €30m to evaluate proposals for midfielder, whose contract expires in 2025."

Fofana is currently valued at €20.5 million by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm but at 24 has room to grow, and United are used to paying a premium for new players.

Fofana is in the top fifth percentile for interceptions made among midfielders across Europe's fie major leagues over the last year, but has also averaged nearly eight progressive passes per game.

Those numbers have been well out of Sofyan Amrabat's reach since he arrived on loan from Fiorentina on transfer deadline day last summer, and it is understood Ten Hag has changed his mind about making the Moroccan's move permanent.

Casemiro also looks to be on the way out, with a host of Saudi Pro League clubs linked with bringing him to a league that has already acquired his ex-Real Madrid teammates in Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.