Transfer Talk: Man United monitoring Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski
The 2022 January transfer window is closed, but there’s still plenty of gossip swirling about who’s moving where. Transfer Talk brings you all the latest buzz on rumours, comings and goings and, of course, done deals!
Manchester United are monitoring the situation of Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski with the hope of signing him this summer, reports Sky Sports Deutschland.
The Poland international offered a reminder of just how lethal he can be during Bayern’s Champions League second leg against RB Salzburg, incredibly scoring a hat trick in the first 23 minutes of a 7-1 thrashing of the Austrian side.
However, Lewandowski’s future at the Bavarian giants is not certain — with contract extension talks on hold — something the Red Devils could look to take advantage of with his current deal ending in the summer of 2023.
The report gives two reasons why Bayern are dragging their heels on giving Lewandowski an extension.
The first is that the Bayern front office is interested in Borussia Dortmund‘s Erling Haaland, whose release clause in the region of €60 million to €70 million will come into play in the summer. The second is that Lewandowski is one of Bayern’s top earners, making €25m-per-year — a figure the Bundesliga leaders could look to get off the books.
It is unclear what the 33-year-old would ask for in an extension and what Bayern would be willing to offer, especially with their financial constraints due to the ongoing impacts of the coronavirus.
Bayern will look to work on an extension in the spring, adds the report. And while there has been no official approach, Man United will be watching how things develop as they desperately look for a striker to lead their line in the 2022-23 season.
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– Paris Saint-Germain are keeping tabs on the situation of Barcelona centre-back Ronald Araujo, reports Diario Sport, with Chelsea and Manchester United having also looked into signing the Uruguay international.
The 23-year-old’s deal only runs until the summer of 2023 and if he doesn’t sign an extension, Barcelona could be forced to move him on. They are working on an extension, but the first offer was for a net sum of €3m-per-season, which would keep him as one of the lowest earners in the squad. That offer has since been raised.
– Bayern are interested in signing Ajax midfielder Ryan Gravenberch, but Calciomercato is reporting that the Bundesliga giants could face competition from Juventus.
The Turin based club are looking to get in ahead of the Bavarians by making a first official offer of just over €25m when bonuses are taken into account. Ajax are demanding more than that sum, though.
– Real Sociedad had been confident of extending Adnan Januzaj‘s contract before it ends in the summer, but AS is now reporting that the winger could be set to join Napoli.
The Serie A outfit is looking for a Lorenzo Insigne replacement after the Italian’s confirmed move to Toronto FC in MLS and have reportedly offered Januzaj a more lucrative deal than La Real have managed so far.
– Juventus are open to signing Alvaro Morata permanently from Atletico Madrid, but want to do so for €15m after already spending €20m on loan fees for the 29-year-old, reports Corriere dello Sport.
This would represent a large discount on the €35m quoted when the Spaniard was first loaned out two years ago. The striker has openly stated that he wants to stay at Juventus.
– Calciomercato has compiled a list of six free agent strikers that AC Milan are looking at ahead of the summer window, with the Serie A club likely to commit most of their transfer spending on signing Sven Botman and Renato Sanches from Lille.
The report names Torino‘s Andrea Belotti, Napoli’s Dries Mertens, Liverpool‘s Divock Origi, Arsenal pair Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah as well as Besiktas‘ Cyle Larin.