Manchester United are on the hunt for a midfield signing this summer and a new target has emerged.
The Red Devils have already wrapped up deals for young duo Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro, but more arrivals are expected.
In particular, United are on the hunt for another centre-back and a new midfielder with the future of Casemiro and Scott McTominay in doubt.
Talks have continued with Paris Saint-Germain for Manuel Ugarte but progress is grinding to a halt with both clubs unable to agree on a fee.
United have not put all of their eggs in one basket, however, and have identified other midfield targets to pursue this summer.
Monaco’s Youssouf Fofana represents a cheaper alternative to Ugarte and his stats from Ligue 1 suggest he could be the perfect replacement for Casemiro.
Another target that has emerged is Inter Milan’s Kristjan Asllani, with Italian outlet InterLive reporting that United have an interest in the 22-year-old.
It adds that United could consider a swap deal that includes Aaron Wan-Bissaka with Inter not interested in a deal that includes Denzel Dumfries.
Who is Kristjan Asllani?
Asllani may be one of the more unrecognisable names on United’s shopping list, but there are still plenty of reasons for fans to get excited about his potential arrival.
The Albanian international started his career at Serie A side Empoli but after just one year in their senior side he was snapped up by Inter Milan on a loan with an obligation to buy for £10million.
He started last season as an option from the bench for Simone Inzaghi, but slowly worked his way into the first-team plans towards the latter stages of the season.
He ended the campaign with 31 appearances across all competitions, including six in the Champions League.
Asllani’s strongest position is as a defensive midfielder, making him a suitable replacement for Casemiro if the Brazilian follows up on interest from the Saudi Pro League.
As pointed out on his Inter Milan profile, one of the strongest features in Asllani’s game is his “exquisite” ability with both feet.
It adds that Asllani takes corners with his right and left foot on either side of the pitch.
A Euro 2024 star
After breaking into the Inter team, Asllani was called up by Albania to compete at Euro 2024 this summer.
Drawn into an incredibly tough group with Spain, Croatia and Italy, Albania held their own and won over neutrals with impressive performances in Germany.
Armand Duka, the president of the Albanian FA, insisted that Asllani was key to their good performances.
“Without a doubt, the best player of the European Championship of the Albanian national team,” he said. “He has everything to become our leader in the future.”
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It is not only Duka who has commented on Asllani’s lofty potential, with Inzaghi also hailing his character and work-rate.
The Inter boss said “Kristjan did brilliantly. But I never had any doubts. He always trains well – I’m fortunate to have a player who’s always like that.”
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