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Manchester United will reportedly need to ward off significant competition from Premier League rivals Newcastle and West Ham for the signing of Bayer Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah.
The Sun reports that Newcastle have identified Tah as their primary defensive target after losing Sven Botman and Dan Burn to injuries.
Eddie Howe has been left very light in the defensive department and is keen to acquire extra additions.
However, the Magpies are not the only party interested in Tah – United and David Moyes’ side are also admirers of the Germany international.
This season, Erik ten Hag has had to constantly chop and change the backline due to the unavailability of most of his key defenders.
At the moment, Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia are all out recovering from long-term setbacks.
The likes of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Sergio Reguilon and Raphael Varane have also been in and out of the team due to their own different set of injuries.
United have already been linked to a number of defensive targets including Sporting Lisbon’s Goncalo Inacio, Benfica’s Antonio Silva, OGC Nice’s Jean-Clair Todibo and Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi just to mention a few.
Tah is the latest name to be included in this list.
The 27-year-old is currently enjoying a superb season with Bayer Leverkusen who currently top the Bundesliga standings.
It’s understood that Xabi Alonso’s side, who also have a perfect start in the Europa League would be extremely reluctant to lose Tah at this stage of their project.
Tah has 18 months left on his current contract with the Bundesliga outfit, meaning the club could ultimately be forced to listen to offers for their player. He has a price tag of £20million.
Already this term, Tah has scored four goals for Leverkusen.
He has only missed one game all season – such is his importance to the team. He is a commanding defender who has amassed an impressive 321 appearances for Leverkusen since joining them in 2015 from Hamburg.
