Claims Juventus have tabled a £40m bid for Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood are premature, though a transfer can still take place if West Ham make a move of their own, according to reports.
Man Utd aim to offload Greenwood this summer and Serie A giant Juventus have emerged as the frontrunner for his signature.
Man Utd’s transfer budget isn’t particularly high, with reports claiming Erik ten Hag has as little as £50m to spend prior to player sales.
As such, the pressure is on the Red Devils to find buyers for unwanted stars such as Greenwood and Jadon Sancho.
Greenwood’s sale will be particularly lucrative for Man Utd given he’s a homegrown player. Sales of homegrown stars go down as pure profit on the books.
Various reports in Italy reported Juventus have thundered in with a £40m bid for Greenwood who has given the thumbs up to joining the club.
However, Calciomercato as well as Fabrizio Romano have suggested claims an offer has been made are wide of the mark.
Firstly, Calciomercato outright stated Juventus have not made a bid. Explaining their delay, Romano revealed Juventus must sell before they can buy.
West Ham transfer to aid Man Utd
That’s where West Ham enter the equation, with the Hammers showing strong interest in signing Argentine attacker Matias Soule.
The 21-year-old plays for Juventus, though it’s at Frosinone on loan last season where he burst onto the scene.
The left-footer plays primarily on the right wing and scored 11 Serie A goals in a breakthrough campaign.
Juventus value Soule around the €40m/£34m mark and his sale to West Ham would free up funds to quickly move for Greenwood.
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Writing in his Daily Briefing, Romano said of the Greenwood/Soule situation: “There is interest from Juventus [in Greenwood] but they have to sell at least one offensive player before they can land the player.
“Matias Soule is attracting concrete interest from West Ham and others but no formal bid yet. Juventus want around €40m to let Soule leave the club, so it won’t be an easy negotiation.”
Aston Villa are another club showing interest in Soule. However, given they’re already selling Douglas Luiz to Juventus as part of a cash-plus-players agreement, it’s unclear whether they’ll be able to afford what Soule will cost.
Fabrizio Romano talks up deal Man Utd won’t like
In the event West Ham do Man Utd no favours and don’t move for Soule, Federico Chiesa is another attacker Juventus are willing to offload.
Failure to sell Chiesa too could result in Juventus altering their plans for Greenwood’s signing.
“We keep repeating since February, March that the Mason Greenwood story is over at Manchester United,” continued Romano.
“It could be that kind of formula – a potential loan move with buy obligation not option.”
A loan with an obligation to buy would lock Man Utd into receiving a fee in 2025, though that type of deal would do nothing for their spending power in this summer’s transfer window which opened today.
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Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
