The sale of Mason Greenwood is quickly taking shape after the forward’s preferred suitor put a healthy bid into Manchester United, according to a report.
Man Utd have decided to sell the talented 22-year-old despite Greenwood rebuilding his career during a fruitful loan spell with Getafe last season.
The proceeds from Greenwood’s sale will represent pure profit on the balance sheet. As such, Man Utd will be able to significantly boost their spending power if and when Greenwood departs.
A permanent exit is being sought by the club and an official bid has already been lodged by Lazio.
The Serie A giant bid €20m (£17m) and also included a sell-on clause on Man Utd’s behalf worth 50 percent.
However, with Man Utd seeking upwards of £30m for the player and requiring money in the here and now, Lazio’s bid was rebuffed.
That won’t have come as particularly disappointing news to Greenwood given his preferred destination is Marseille anyway.
The French powerhouse – now managed by Roberto De Zerbi – had signalled their intention to bid for Greenwood. According to the latest from Italy, they’ve acted on their interest.
Marseille confident Mason Greenwood bid will succeed
Sky Italia’s Gianluca Di Marzio stated Marseille have officially entered the race to sign Greenwood and they’ve done so ‘forcefully.’
Marseille have ‘presented an offer higher than Lazio’s’ and now have ‘great confidence’ of quickly wrapping up a deal.
Precisely how much Marseille have bid wasn’t revealed, though what is clear is their offer trumps Lazio’s.
Whether the bid will be enough to seal Greenwood’s transfer remains to be seen. A hasty exit would be in Man Utd’s best interests to ensure they can ramp up their pursuits of the numerous players they themselves are targeting.
Centre-back pair Jarrad Branthwaite and Matthijs De Ligt, midfielder Manuel Ugarte and striker Joshua Zirkzee are all wanted at Old Trafford.
The quartet could cost a combined £200m to sign if the selling clubs hold out for their target valuations.
The sales of players like Greenwood, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Casemiro and Jadon Sancho will be vital in determining how ambitious United’s summer window can be.
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