Reports: Manchester United to beat Chelsea and sign €150 million-rated midfielder

What’s the story?

Manchester United have Michael Carrick leaving at the end of the season, while Ander Herrera is also yet to agree a new contract. Jose Mourinho is not taking a chance of leaving things late and is already planning for the worst.

The Red Devils' manager has set sights on signing Saul Niguez as per reports in The Sun. The Atletico Madrid star recently signed a 9-year contract at the club, but United are confident of signing him by activating his €150 million release clause.

Chelsea have been linked with Niguez as well but they aren't ready to activate his release clause. They are reportedly set to make a £71 million bid – almost half of what Manchester United are ready to offer!

In case you didn’t know...

Ander Herrera's contract expires at Manchester United at the end of this season. The club have the option of extending it by a year but are desperate to sign him to a long-term deal.

Atletico Madrid are trying to take advantage of this situation and sign him up for free next summer. The Spanish side are ready to begin talks with him in January as he will be eligible to sign a pre-contract too.

The heart of the matter

As per reports, Saul has a €150 million release clause. Any club that activates it can begin talks with him and sign him up even if Atletico Madrid are not interested in selling him.

Manchester United want to do exactly that and sign him up. They have been chasing Antoine Griezmann as well, but are more interested in the midfielder as they have Romelu Lukaku, Marcos Rashford and Anthony Martial in the squad and all three are capable of playing as the lone striker.

Video

Author’s Take

Saul is undoubtedly one of the best midfielders in La Liga right now. The midfielder has attracted interest from Chelsea and other European giants for the same reason. It'll be interesting to see how United manage to convince him to join them.