Man Utd hope for double sale to Saudi Arabian patsies as Benzema is blocked

Man Utd are desperate for Al Nassr to take Casemiro and Aaron Wan-Bissaka off their hands, but they are passing on Karim Benzema.

 

AL CLEAR-OUT?
Manchester United paid an awful lot of money for Casemiro to hold a poor squad together and drag them back to the Champions League for one season, but now the Reds are desperate to find a patsy for the former Real Madrid midfielder and that patsy is hopefully in the Middle East in the form of Ronaldo’s club Al Nassr.

Casemiro currently earns – according to the Mail – £375,000 a week, so Manchester United would quite like to lose that liability. There is talk of ‘recouping’ a chunk of his £70m fee but that seems incredibly optimistic.

Though not as optimistic as thinking anybody will cough up £50m for Antony.

There is also talk that Aaron Wan-Bissaka ‘could’ be a target for Al Nassr but that seems to be largely based on them making a failed move for Tottenham right-back Emerson Royal. Crystal Palace and West Ham are also interested in a player who is very much up for sale this summer.

Leaving on a free transfer this summer will be Raphael Varane and Anthony Martial, which would take the bulk of £600,000 a week off the wage bill. Yikes.

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BENZEMA NO-GO
A loan move for Karim Benzema in January is exactly what the old Manchester United would do, so it’s a good sign from the new regime that they are very much ‘downplaying interest’, according to Ben Jacobs.

He also claims that Arsenal have not made contact with Benzema or Al Ittihad, who are p***ed at the Frenchman for coming back late from holiday, but not so p***ed that they will allow him to leave mid-season.

We happen to think that both Arsenal and Manchester United should take a small risk and bring in a striker this January, but the very expensive Benzema – who has just enjoyed a very long holiday – is not the answer.

 

THE NEXT ANTONY?
According to Football Transfers, ‘Marcus Edwards of Sporting Lisbon is liked by INEOS and believed to be a reasonable solution to Antony’.

It is noted that Edwards will not arrive until the summer if a deal is pursued but ‘there is confidence a move can be sealed for £30million, with the Englishman’s contract up in 2026’.

Full story here.