Manchester United are poised to miss out on the singing of Royal Antwerp talent Arthur Vermeeren as he nears a move to Atletico Madrid.
United fans weren’t expecting much heading into the January window but may have held out hope of signing Arthur Vermeeren.
The Royal Antwerp talent has become one of the top young midfielders in Europe and has even been likened to Jude Bellingham in terms of his rise to prominence in Belgium.
Catalan newspaper Sport reported in September that United were favourites to sign Vermeeren with Erik ten Hag understood to be a huge fan.
Yet just as United missed out on signing the aforementioned Bellingham in his early days, it looks like Vermeeren will slip through the net too…
Manchester United target Arthur Vermeeren set for Atletico Madrid move
Belgian reporter Sacha Tavolieri now claims that Vermeeren is on his way to sign for Atletico Madrid.
It’s stated that Atletico have reached an agreement with Royal Antwerp and Vermeeren will fly to the Spanish capital on Thursday in order to complete his move.
Tavolieri claims that some details still need to be worked out but Atletico will be paying around €27million (£23million) and giving Vermeeren a five-year contract.
Tavolieri adds that Royal Antwerp are pushing for the deal to be done as they need the money, but Vermeeren hasn’t yet accepted the move as talks continue.
United appear to have missed out here and we can’t see a hijack attempt coming given the club’s Financial Fair Play issues, which will be a real frustration to many – including Ten Hag.
Who is United target Vermeeren?
Vermeeren has come up in the Royal Antwerp youth ranks and made his first-team debut in 2022.
The 18-year-old has now racked up 66 first-team appearances, bagging three goals an eight assists.
A gifted playmaker who can control the game in front of the back four, Vermeeren has already won a league title having helped Royal Antwerp to top spot last season.
Vermeeren has been compared to compatriot Kevin De Bruyne and already has two senior Belgian caps to his name.
Vermeeren appears to have a huge future ahead of him and this is exactly the kind of talent we would love to see at United.
Sadly, it looks like United have missed the boat and Vermeeren is now off to Spain, where he will learn plenty from Diego Simeone and co.
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