Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has reportedly held talks over a stunning transfer raid on Real Madrid in what would be a potential club-record deal for the Red Devils.
It’s clear Mourinho has a busy summer planned as reports from the Sun earlier this week claimed he was set to be handed a mammoth transfer budget, mainly to target new signings in defence.
MORE: Raphael Varane WAG – will this beauty join him in Manchester?
Among the names linked have been Tottenham’s Toby Alderweireld, who has been ‘welcomed’ to Old Trafford by United fans after Mauricio Pochettino axed him from his squad to face Chelsea this weekend.
Now, the Daily Express report that United have been quoted a £175million asking price for Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane.
The France international is a long-time target of Mourinho, who first brought him into the Madrid first-team when he was manager at the Bernabeu.
There seems little question Varane could be an upgrade on the likes of Chris Smalling and Phil Jones at the back, but the Express claim it’ll cost United big.
The Red Devils would have to meet the 24-year-old’s £175m buy-out clause in order to trigger a transfer, as Real do not particularly want to part with the player.
United have been big spenders in recent times, but it remains to be seen if they’ll be persuaded to meet this price, which would smash their transfer record by some way.
Still, they may also try to negotiate and there’s surely some hope Los Blancos could let Varane go for something closer to £100m.