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As figures in excess of £100 million are bandied about as transfer fees for Manchester United’s next striker, one player on the reported shortlist will be available for free this summer.
Names such as Victor Osimhen, Harry Kane and Gonçalo Ramos are all reportedly targets for United as they seek to strengthen what is a threadbare position in the squad.
Each of those players have been said to carry colossal transfer fees, but another player on that shortlist, Borussia Moenchengladbach’s Marcus Thuram, will be a free agent, according to the Bundesliga club themselves.
Speaking to Sport 1 via Calciomercato.com, Gladbach’s sporting director Roland Virkus confirmed:
“We have decided to let go of Marcus Thuram.
“We have to accept it, there are even bigger clubs where Marcus could go.
“The fact that the player will leave us without making any money is not a positive situation and I can’t even sweeten the pill that much.”
Son of French World Cup winner Lilian, Thuram is coming into the peak years of his football career.
Described as “one of the most sought-after talents in Europe” and aged just 25, he has scored 14 goals and provided 4 assists in 22 games for Gladbach this term.
It is a fine return after a horror season in 2021/22 that was dogged by injury and poor form.
If United do decide to pursue the Frenchman, they will meet stiff competition from the likes of Chelsea and Inter Milan, who are said to be keen to add him to their ranks.
Given Inter’s financial predicament, their signing of him could pave the way for a sale of Argentinian striker Lautaro Martinez, a player who himself has been linked with United on many previous occasions.
