Aston Villa’s hefty asking price of £80 million could see Manchester United walk away from a potential deal, The Times report.
And so it should. £80 million is far too much for one high quality back-up player.
United could use this money so much more wisely, and to prove this point, here is a look at three double signing combinations for the club to consider for the same outlay.
Dayot Upamecano and Emiliano Buendia
United could use the Jack Grealish money to fund a big move for RB Leipzig’s defensive star Dayot Upamecano, and spend the leftover on an attacker.
Upamecano is rated as one of France’s best central defenders and was excellent in the Champions League this past season.
He would provide valuable competition at the back, while United could use the remaining money to sign Norwich’s Emiliano Buendia.
Buendia, 23, provided 2.3 key passes per game this past season, just short of Grealish’s 2.5
Donny van de Beek and Nathan Ake
A double Dutch combination would strengthen Manchester United in midfield and defence.
Van de Beek has a strong eye for goal from midfield and can play in a variety of roles. He is an ideal alternative to Grealish and is available from Ajax, The Times reports.
The remaining funds could be spent on Bournemouth defender Nathan Ake, who has been a consistent performer over the last three seasons and fits the bill for a left-footed defender.
An alternative option would be Lille centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes, who the Daily Record claim United are interested in.
Thomas Partey and Thiago Almada
How about using the bulk of the money to pay up for Thomas Partey’s £43.5 million release clause?
The Atletico Madrid midfielder would be the perfect successor to Nemanja Matic, making United an even stronger team.
There may be enough money to buy Donny van de Beek too with the remaining money, but as we have already mentioned him, we will look at an alternative option.
That would be Velez Sarsfield wonderkid Thiago Almada, who is rated by Goal as among the top 20 young players in the world. United’s interest was claimed earlier this year by TMW.
Any combination of these players would make United better and deeper in terms of squad depth, which has to be the objective this summer.
Spending an excessive fee on Grealish just does not make any sense when there is so much value to be found elsewhere.
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