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Manchester United are ready to battle Manchester City for the signing of Inter Milan’s Nicolo Barella, with Liverpool also in the picture.
Football Insider reports that Erik ten Hag is a “huge fan” of the Italian midfielder and is keen on bringing him to Old Trafford.
With three years remaining on his contract Inter are under no pressure to sell and they are unlikely to want to part with Barella.
But the financial situation of the Nerazzurri means that no player is truly unsellable this summer, which could make a deal possible.
Football Italia reports that Barella would command a fee of around £70m, which is about the going rate for a top class midfielder these days and would presumably be within United’s range.
The Serie A star has been in fine form this season having scored six goals and provided seven assists in 31 appearances.
Energetic and technically gifted, Barella has become key for Inter since joining from Cagliari and is one of the best players in Italy.
His dynamism and off-the-ball movement give him the ability to break behind opposition lines to create goalscoring chance.
Barella is also an excellent ball carrier, which Ten Hag is known to prefer in at least one of his midfielders.
His pursuit of Frenkie de Jong last summer only goes to show the manager’s love for a midfielder unafraid to beat players in the middle of the park.
Barella could certainly offer this, and the partnership he could forge with Casemiro would be a frightening one for opposition teams to come up against.
With the Red Devils in need of midfield reinforcements this summer, Nicolo Barella could well end up near the top of Manchester United’s shopping list.
