Since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo under acrimonious circumstances, Manchester United were in dire need of attacking reinforcements.
Manager Erik ten Hag had publicly mentioned more than a few times how he is short of bodies up front.
And as with any transfer window, January saw the Red Devils linked with numerous forwards, most of the chatter being agent-driven rather than anything concrete.
Thuram was a United target at one point
One player who was discussed by the club was Marcus Thuram of Borussia Monchengladbach with many outlets mentioning that the Reds were genuinely interested in him.
But after it emerged that the club would operate only in the loan market, links naturally died down with Wout Weghorst now announced as the latest loan acquisition.
Due to his precarious contract situation at Gladbach, where his contract ends next summer, there are multiple suitors looking to agree a pre-agreement with him this January.
🚨 Chelsea have made a tempting offer to Marcus Thuram and the player has now had a change of mind about staying at Gladbach this window.
(Source: @DiMarzio) pic.twitter.com/70GVs24OSN
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) January 12, 2023
According to Christian Falk, writing in his exclusive CaughtOffside column, the player would like to stay in the Bundesliga till the summer for certain reasons while his club would prefer to sell him in January in order to recoup a decent fee.
“Gladbach have an idea of selling Thuram for €10m now rather than losing him for free in the summer, then reinvesting the money in a new striker. The offer’s yet to come, of course.”
“We heard this will be an interesting solution for Thuram, as he doesn’t feel like he has to move at the moment and wants to win the Torjagerkanone (award for Bundesliga’s top goalscorer).”
There are a few more interesting points mentioned in the piece. Chelsea are said to be one of the interested parties, who are willing to pay the amount in January itself due to their lack of goals and poor form.
Chelsea, Barca eye Thuram move
Despite the addition of Joao Felix, Graham Potter needs all the help he can get in January in a bid to save his job and the club.
The main danger comes from Barcelona, whose financial situation dictates that they look at the free agent market and buy quality from there.
“I heard that Gladbach is still waiting for an offer from Chelsea for Marcus Thuram,” Falk wrote. “Beside Joao Felix, it’s not the same type of striker, so they still need one.
“They’re a little bit afraid of Barcelona who have been sweeping up all the available free agents on the market.”
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