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Manchester United have been struggling to offload established first-team stars which would have aided them in their pursuit of raising funds for further additions.
In lieu of this, the club have instead opted to let go of academy starlets with manager Erik ten Hag not afraid of cutting loose academy graduates who do not feature in his immediate plans.
So far, the likes of Zidane Iqbal, Charlie Savage, Matej Kovar and Anthony Elanga have all departed during this window and more are likely.
The Peoples Person had reported that Premier League new boys Luton Town were interested in centre-back Teden Mengi and now it seems both clubs are working on a permanent exit.
Teden Mengi to join Luton Town on a permanent basis
According to The Daily Mail, “Manchester United defender Teden Mengi is joining Luton Town. Mengi is joining on a permanent deal for an undisclosed fee.”
The update was corroborated by Express who have reported that “negotiations have moved quickly and now the Hatters are confident of getting the move over the line.”
Luton, who have had a tough start to life in the Premier League, have been looking at United stars both past and present.
They have already signed Tahith Chong while Axel Tuanzebe has been training at Luton and trying to impress the management in order to earn himself a new home.
The Peoples Person had reported in the past that Mengi would be one of the academy players to leave on loan this summer with French side Amiens linked with a move.
But now it seems United are prepared to sever ties with the once-promising starlet whose career has been plagued by injuries which have stopped short of him becoming a United regular.
Mengi made his debut under former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer back in 2019 during a Europa League game against LASK at Old Trafford. He also featured in the Champions League against BSC Young Boys in 2021.
The former manager had compared him with Matthijs de Ligt, while United legend Wayne Rooney, who was Derby County manager at that time, was also full of praise for the the 21-year-old during his loan spell at the club.
The centre-back was close to a loan in January but he sustained an injury that forced him to miss the rest of the Spanish tour organised by Ten Hag during the World Cup break.
Injuries have curtailed Mengi’s promising career
Mengi returned from injury in March and even captained the United U21s during their games against Tottenham and Leicester at the end of last season.
He was not called up for United’s pre-season which indicated his future lay away from the club but was seen in action in both opening games for the United U21s.
The fee has not been disclosed but as per Transfermarkt, Mengi is valued at €2 million and United should try and secure at least that much for the highly-rated star.
Just like in previous deals, United are expected to include a hefty sell-on clause and even probably a buy-back clause, even though those aspects have not come to light as yet.
It makes sense to move on Mengi as his United contract is set to end in 2024 and there is no point in holding on to the player in order to protect his value, a staple during the Ed Woodward era.
