Sir Jim Ratcliffe is preparing a big summer for Manchester United and TEAMtalk have picked out 10 names who have been heavily linked with a switch to Old Trafford and are expected to be in action at Euro 2024.
Uncertainty still hangs over Manchester United’s managerial situation, with the club yet to decide on whether Erik ten Hag will stay or be sacked.
But that hasn’t stopped co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS team from plotting the improvements they will seek to make via the transfer market this summer.
With the 20-time champions coming off their worst-ever Premier League season, there are several areas of the Red Devils’ squad ripe for rejuvenation.
Here are 10 reported United targets who will be on show at Euro 2024 this summer…
Jeremie Frimpong
After conceding 58 goals in 38 games and giving up more shots than every team in the Premier League other than bottom-placed Sheffield United, it’s fair to say that Ten Hag’s side could use some defensive reinforcements.
The Red Devils have been linked with several centre-backs already this summer while both full-back positions have reportedly been identified for improvement.
With a release clause of £34 million, Bayer Leverkusen right wing-back Jeremie Frimpong would be an affordable target, although as TEAMtalk exclusively reported, they’d face stiff competition for his signature from Real Madrid, Arsenal and Liverpool.
And the former Celtic defender, who has been selected by Ronald Koeman for the Netherlands’ Euros squad, would likely do more to upgrade United’s attacking output, having scored 14 goals and provided 12 assists in 47 appearances for Xabi Alonso’s side in 2023-24.
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Benjamin Sesko
United are also said to be in the market for a striker this summer. An up-and-down campaign for Rasmus Hojlund, the 21-year-old who was signed from Atalanta last year for £64 million, ultimately ended in a respectable return of 16 goals. But the young Dane could use some support at the point of the Old Trafford attack.
As TEAMtalk exclusively revealed back in April, United are ready to rival Arsenal’s interest in RB Leipzig hotshot Benjamin Sesko.
The Slovenian striker, who is valued at close to £50 million, scored 14 goals and provided two assists in his debut season for the Bundesliga side in 2023-24. And he enters the Euros this summer is fine fettle, having scored in each of his last seven Bundesliga games.
Adrien Rabiot
Despite their need for improvements in multiple departments, United are operating on a tight budget this summer due to a lack of Champions League football and a need to comply with the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules.
As such, a move for free agent Adrien Rabiot would make a lot of sense. The French midfielder is a long-time United target and, as TEAMtalk reported recently, the Red Devils have made contact with the player’s representatives.
Although he is set to be without a club imminently as his Juventus contract expires at the end of the season, the 29-year-old has been called up by Didier Deschamps for France and could star for a talent-packed Les Bleus side.
Youssouf Fofana
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is keen to sign Youssouf Fofana for Man Utd
Another French midfielder on United’s radar is Monaco’s Youssouf Fofana.
Operating in a box-to-box role, the 25-year-old has been a mainstay of the Principality club’s midfield since joining from Strasbourg in January 2020, standing out for his energy, ability to dribble through pressure and diligence in pressing to win back the ball.
With Casemiro’s time at Old Trafford apparently drawing to a close, Fofana has been identified as a potential long-term partner for Kobbie Mainoo. If he can break into Deschamps’ star-studded line-up in Germany, his reported £20 million price tag could multiply.
Marc Guehi
Harry Maguire’s omission from Gareth Southgate’s final 26-man squad for the Euros has seen Marc Guehi shoot up the pecking order of England’s centre-back options, and a similar situation could play out at Old Trafford this summer.
As reported by TEAMtalk, United have identified the Crystal Palace star as a target as they seek a much-needed upgrade at the heart of their backline, with Liverpool and Chelsea also linked with moves for the 23-year-old.
Guehi was one of the stars of Palace’s rise under new manager Oliver Glasner over the second half of the 2023-24 Premier League season and his fine form could be rewarded with a starting role for England.
Joao Neves
Just 19 years old, midfield prodigy Joao Neves has already accumulated 75 first-team appearances for Benfica and six senior international caps for Portugal.
The deep-lying playmaker started 26 league games for the Portuguese giants this past season, impressing with his ability to dictate the tempo of matches through precise passing over all distances and a tenacity in regaining possession.
TEAMtalk exclusively reported back in October last year that United were tracking the hugely gifted teenager and that they face competition to sign him from Saudi Pro League clubs, as well as Premier League rivals Chelsea. His £105 million release clause could prove prohibitive to an Old Trafford switch.
Amadou Onana
Another midfielder drawing interest from United, Everton’s Amadou Onana could represent a cheaper alternative to Neves, with the Toffees’ believed to value the Belgian at around £60 million.
But as reported by TEAMtalk in February, the race for his signature is just as fierce as the battle for the Portuguese youngster, with all of the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’ in the running to sign the 22-year-old former Lille star.
Onana has impressed at Goodison Park since joining the club in a £30 million deal two years ago, standing out for his energy in driving through the middle third and his combativeness when out of possession. With Belgium’s ‘Golden Generation’ ageing, he is poised to star for Domenico Tedesco’s side in Germany.
Marc Cucurella
Mired in a mid-season injury crisis, United were linked with a loan move for Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella last term before instead agreeing a short-term deal for another Spanish left-back, Tottenham’s Sergio Reguilon.
But while a deal for Cucurella didn’t materialise at that stage, United have maintained an interest in the former Barcelona and Brighton defender. As first revealed by TEAMtalk, the 20-time champions are targeting a summer move for the Spain international, with Chelsea unlikely to recoup anything like the £60 million they paid to sign him in 2022.
The 25-year-old has been called up for Spain’s Euros squad by manager Luis de la Fuente and he will compete with Bayer Leverkusen’s Alex Grimaldo for the starting left-back slot. A string of solid displays in Germany could help rehabilitate his fallen stock.
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Denzel Dumfries
As doubts grow over Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s Old Trafford future, United are lining up Netherlands international Denzel Dumfies as a potential replacement, TEAMtalk confirmed.
The former PSV defender won a Serie A title with Inter Milan this past season, scoring four goals and providing four assists. But the 28-year-old fell from favour in the second half of the campaign, losing his starting wing-back role to former United player Matteo Darmian.
An international veteran of 52 caps, Dumfries and fellow United target Frimpong are the contenders to start at right-back for Ronald Koeman’s side when Euro 2024 kicks off.
Sebastian Szymanski
An exclusive TEAMtalk report in February revealed that United are preparing to rival Tottenham’s interest in Fenderbahce midfielder Sebastian Szymanski. A strong Euro 2024 campaign with Poland could convince the Red Devils to firm up their interest in the 25-year-old.
Szymanski only joined the Turkish club – where, if he stays, he will be coached by former United boss Jose Mourinho next season – last year, signed from Dynamo Moscow for €9.75 million after an impressive loan spell with Feyenoord during which he scored 10 goals in 40 games.
And he was in rich scoring form for the Istanbul club in 2023-24, too, netting 10 goals – while also registering 11 assists – in 37 Super Liga games and a total of 13 strikes in all competitions. Bids upwards of £30 million are likely to receive consideration, according to TEAMtalk sources.