Man Utd boss Jose Mourinho is reportedly keen to step up his pursuit of three key targets as he sent scouts to watch them earlier this month.
The Red Devils brought in Romelu Lukaku, Nemanja Matic and Victor Lindelof this past summer to bolster his squad, but he’s already eyeing his next group of targets.
As reported by The Sun, Mourinho has his sights set on Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan and Atletico Madrid duo Antoine Griezmann and Saul Niguez.
Nainggolan is said to be seen as a perfect replacement for Michael Carrick who continues to prepare to hang up his boots, while they’ll have to splash out big money to land their other two targets.
As for the Belgian international though, he’s perfectly made to fit in the Premier League with his combative and energetic style coupled with an eye for goal, while he’s really taken his game to the next level at Roma.
Meanwhile the Sun note that Niguez is valued at around £85m, while the Metro note that Griezmann has a £92m release clause that will need to be met in order to prise him away from the Wanda Metropolitano.
In turn, that’s a total of £177m to splash out to take them to Old Trafford, but following Atleti re-signing Diego Costa this week, they could be more open to the idea of selling as well as balancing their books with a high-profile sale.
Nevertheless, it’s unlikely to be straight forward and so while United have ambitious plans to make key signings next year, they’ll have their work cut out to reach agreements with players considered crucial by their current employers.