Arsenal agree deal with Real Madrid for €65 million-rated superstar, Barcelona make a decision on Coutinho's future and more: Transfer Roundup, 7 January 2018

Manchester United to rival Chelsea for Nicolo Barella

Manchester United have launched a 'take-it-or-leave-it' £30 million bid for Cagliari midfielder Nicolo Barella, according to Corriere dello Sport. The youngster has impressed several top clubs across Europe and United are the latest to enter a distinguished group of admirers.

Chelsea were earlier reported to have been eyeing the 21-year-old as a potential replacement for Cesc Fabregas who is set to leave the club soon.

The report claims that David Williams, Manchester United's scout who discovered Giuseppe Rossi 15 years ago, has been watching the Italian extensively and is impressed with what he's seen so far.

Cagliari want a sum close to £45 million for Barella. However, Manchester United are not willing to offer any more than £30 million.

About the author

Shambhu is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who focuses on previews, listicles and news articles. An ardent Manchester United supporter since before his teenage years, he started following the Red Devils by age 10 watching MUTV on television. Shambhu is also a highly-revered rapper and a playback singer on Spotify, having a whopping 1 million monthly listeners.

For his articles, Shambhu believes in triple-checking every piece of information, relying on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and Opta, and staying away from speculative publications. He believes that his law degree helped him to be more articulate and meticulous with his content and one of his core strengths is seamlessly involving emotion in his write-ups owing to the love for the sport. For Sportskeeda, has done exclusive interviews with Spanish legends Gaizka Mendieta and Fernando Morientes so far, and his articles boast of a huge readership of close to 50 million.

Shambhu's favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and the Argentine attaining glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment. He believes only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could replicate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry in the years to come. His favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scot's unmatched longevity at the top.

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Edited by Sripad