As the beginning of competitive fixtures inches closer, Manchester United are expected to pick up the pace of their transfer business.
It has understandably been ground to a halt due to their financial situation after signing two players so they are waiting to offload more.
The club is expected to listen to offers for multiple players but they have also made clear they won’t be taken advantage of.
As such, bids for players have also been rejected and that approach seems to be bearing fruit as a bidding war is developing for one player.
Developing situation over Ten Hag favourite
The Telegraph reports that Fulham have made a second bid for Scott McTominay after their first bid, in the region of £15 million was rejected by United early last month.
The new bid is an increase of £5 million, being around £20 million as they try to accelerate the process after identifying McTominay as a key target.
However, the report states that it still falls short of United’s asking price for the Scot, which is in the region of £25-£30 million, a fair value when looking at the market.
Fabrizio Romano has reported the same, backing up the report.
Fulham recently sealed a deal for Arsenal’s Emile Smith-Rowe for nearly £35 million when he had fallen out of favour under Mikel Arteta last season.
On the other hand, West Ham United bid about £30 million for McTominay last summer and since then, he scored 10 goals for United and emerged as a clutch player for Scotland too.
Granted, he is another year into his contract but £20 million still seems remarkably low for a model professional who is as close to a guarantee of goals from midfield as possible.
A bidding war
McTominay’s situation is one that could develop nicely if United just hold their hand and let it simmer. There is interest in his services from Turkey as well, with both Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, latter managed by Jose Mourinho, making him a target.
A bidding war would put United in a strong position to demand their asking price. Considering McTominay is one of the assets that United are not completely looking to get rid of, it is crucial to do any deal for him on their terms.
Ten Hag has already said he’s happy to keep McTominay and the player has never been one to trouble the waters and throw his toys out of the pram.
It makes this an ideal situation where either the club gets to keep a player who is a proven contributor, or rake in good money for an academy product that can turbocharger their transfer plans.
For once, United hold all the aces while selling a player.
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