It’s not been the busiest summer for Manchester United thus far. Despite the triple-signing of FC Porto’s Diogo Dalot, Shakhtar Donetsk’s Fred and Stoke City’s Lee Grant, all of which have helped to strengthen three key positions in the form of right back, midfield and goalkeeper, respectively, United have yet to flex their financial muscles since last season drew to a close. Of course, the fee that United paid to Shakhtar for Fred’s services came close to £50m, but at the moment, things appear to have gone exceptionally quiet in terms of definitive news on any further transfers.
That could change soon, with the team due to report for pre-season training this week, and with several of United’s typical starting XI currently representing their countries in this summer’s World Cup in Russia, it’s an opportunity for Jose Mourinho to explore this tournament’s most exciting options.
One of those is Mexico’s Hirving Lozano, with the PSV Eindhoven wide man said to be available for as little as £35.4m. The report, which comes from the Manchester Evening News and cites TMW as its source, suggests that negotiations between United and the Dutch side could start within the next few days, and given that the two clubs have a good relationship having completed previous deals for Ruud van Nistelrooy and Memphis Depay, a deal for Lozano presumably would not be too difficult to seal.
Should this report turn out to be true, then it wouldn’t be much of a surprise. United have lacked consistently effective performers on the flanks in the last two years, given Alexis Sanchez’s issues since joining the club in January, and Anthony Martial’s difficulties in pleasing Jose Mourinho in the second half of last season. As such, the Portuguese manager might just be keen to add another option to his ranks.