Manchester United face added pressure to complete a deal for Lecce left-back Patrick Dorgu before the January transfer window, with a top alternative reportedly preferring to remain at his current club. The Red Devils are pushing to provide Ruben Amorim with reinforcements in the position, but the clock is ticking.
Dorgu emerged as Amorim’s priority target earlier in the month and has been the subject of a rejected bid worth £21million plus £4m in bonuses.
Lecce have held firm on their initial valuation of £34m, given the Serie A club are in the midst of a relegation battle and don’t want to lose their star player midway through the season.
According to Fabrizio Romano, United will return with a new offer in the next day after positive talks and are confident they can strike a deal.
It’s claimed that add-ons will be crucial to any agreement, with the Old Trafford giants reluctant to part ways with £34m immediately.
Another rebuffed approach would ramp up the pressure on INEOS to find a solution, given that their emergency backup option appears off the cards.
United inserted a buy-back clause worth £15m in Alvaro Fernandez Carreras’s contract after he permanently left the club for Benfica in the summer.
The 21-year-old Spaniard is a Carrington academy graduate but didn’t make his senior debut under Erik ten Hag.
Instead, he spent loan spells at Preston North End and Granada before his switch to Lisbon, where he has bloomed into one of Europe’s most exciting full-backs.
The Athletic claim that United are considering whether to trigger the clause just months after parting ways for around £5m.
However, Carreras, a crucial player for Benfica, is said not to be interested in leaving the Portuguese giants this month.
He has featured 31 times in all competitions this season, missing just one game against Avs Futebol through a yellow card suspension.
Carreras has only not managed a full game on five occasions this term and has been ever-present across Benfica’s seven Champions League matches.
The Spain Under-21 international is an enticing option that would cost less than half the price of Dorgu, but United are pushing for Amorim’s top target.
Amorim is desperate for added athleticism and players more suited to the 3-4-3 system he’s attempting to instil in M16.
And there is growing optimism that he will address his left-wing-back woes by recruiting Dorgu in the coming week.
The 20-year-old’s arrival would signal the beginning of the end for injury-stricken Luke Shaw and open the door for Tyrell Malacia to depart on loan before the February 3 deadline.
