Manchester United have registered an active interest in signing Flamengo fullback Wesley Franca but face fierce competition from their local rivals to secure a deal, according to a report from Brazil.
Coluna Do Fla – a news outlet in Rio de Janeiro – reveals the Red Devils have made an “enquiry” over the 21-year-old defender as the club considers options to overhaul Ruben Amorim’s squad this summer.
This confirms a report relayed byThe Peoples Personthat United were tracking Wesley ahead of a potential move this summer.
But the update from Brazil states Manchester City are ready to launch a 29 million bid to sign Wesley before the Reds can strike, though it’s also noted there is a growing queue for Wesley’s services outside of the North West of England.
Other interested clubs from the Premier League include Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle United, while on the continent Inter Milan and Barcelona are also credited as potential suitors for the flying fullback.
Wesley combines outstanding physical attributes with good defensive instincts and a strong attacking output. He ranks in the 91st percentile for successful take-ons, 86th for progressive carries and 84th for shot-creating actions, demonstrating the threat he poses going forward.
The wing-back position is a crucial one in Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 system with the two wing-backs expected to provide width and overlap, while retaining strong defensive abilities and athleticism to get up and down the pitch.
Perhaps most crucially, a successful wing-back in this set-up needs to be a difference-maker going forward as the two attacking midfielders are instructed to come inside, creating large spaces out wide to exploit.
Neither of Amorim’s senior right-backs – Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui – have demonstrated enough from an attacking perspective from the right wing-back position.
The best performances in the position have come from Amad, but the Ivorian winger remains one of United’s most effective attackers and he needs to be placed as close to the opposition goal as possible.
Wesley would offer Amorim an option at right wing-back that enables Mazraoui to remain in the back three and Amad to play in the frontline, while providing more threat going forward than Dalot.
But Coluna Do Fla contend that no other club has “made as much progress as City” in negotiations with Flamengo over their defensive jewel. United will have to act quickly and decisively if they want to trump their local rival to a player who could offer a game-changing boost to Amorim’s squad.
Featured image Wagner Meier via Getty Images
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Darragh Fox Darragh is a writer for The Peoples Person who spent three years as a history graduate slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about.
