Manchester United need midifield cover for next season with two veterans in Christian Eriksen and Casemiro likely to depart in the summer.
The Dane’s contract is up and the club have not offered him an extension. As for the Brazilian, despite his recent improved form, he simply does not have the legs to effectively operate in a two-man system.
Manuel Ugarte and Bruno Fernandes are the two available options at Ruben Amorim’s disposal and with the head coach ultimately preferring to move the club captain back into his favoured attacking midfield role, he could do with another midfield addition.
Last season the Red Devils were linked with a move for Khephren Thuram, son of the legendary Lilian, who was plying his trade for OGC Nice, owned by INEOS.
Khephren on United’s radar The links were understandable but the Frenchman ended up moving to Juventus where he has enjoyed a decent personal campaign, managing four goals and as many assists.
He can play not only as a defensive midfielder but also as a central midfielder and that sort of positional flexibility will suit United’s Portuguese coach.
The 24-year-old ranks in the 94th percentile for progressive carries and in the 90th percentile for successful take-ons (via fbref).
This highlights how comfortable he is in progressing with the ball, which makes him an ideal target for Amorim with Tutto Juve claiming the 20-time English league champions have enquired about his availability.
Juve don’t want to sell Not only United but also Arsenal, and Newcastle are monitoring proceedings but the Bianconeri are in no mood to let go of the France international so soon after spending 20.6 million to land him.
“In recent days, several Premier League clubs have tried to approach Juventus for Khephren Thuram.
“The French player is liked by Arsenal, Newcastle and Manchester United, however Juventus has listed him among the unsellable and will not let him leave.”
Thuram has a market value of 40 million, with Juve likely to demand a lot more given the “imposing” star’s importance to the team.
There are other options on United’s radar but a lot will depend on the ultimate budget with INEOS’ first port of call likely to be adding a striker given the team’s lack of goals this term.
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Ayantan Chowdhury Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
