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Had Manchester United began their search for a new goalkeeper in March, when severe weather conditions led to warnings over snow and ice across the UK, they may have been mooted to sign every pedestrian in the country.
The Red Devils have been linked with just about anyone wearing gloves as the club approach the summer transfer window, with Premier League trio David Raya, Emiliano Martinez, and even Jordan Pickford among the options close to home.
Further afield, big-money signings of Mike Maignan or Diogo Costa have been posited, as have developmental punts on the likes of Bart Verbruggen and Leopold Wahlstedt.
Now, fresh off the back of Erik ten Hag’s admission that David de Gea may not always be hist first-choice goalkeeper, a new name has emerged.
Guglielmo Vicario, 26, looks set to leave 14th-place Serie A finishers Empoli, with his manager Paolo Zanetti admitting to Sky Italia (quotes via FC Inter News), “I don’t think that he’ll stay here. I think that after the two seasons that he’s had here, he deserves to go to a big club.
“My hope is that he can go somewhere to play at a very high level of football,” Zanetti continued. “That’s where he deserves to be, and not just because he’s a great player on the pitch.”
Zanetti is realistic about the prospect of losing Empoli’s star player, with Vicario having quickly established himself as Serie A’s best goalkeeper outside of the top clubs in Italy since joining Empoli in 2021.
Inter Milan have been heavily linked with the Italian as a replacement for Andre Onana should the Nerazzuri cash in on him, while Juventus are keen to offload Wojciech Szczesny’s wages after missing out on Champions League football and replacing the Poland international with Vicario.
Napoli, too, are credited with an interest, despite their own 26-year-old shot-stopper Alex Meret enjoying a good campaign.
All of this has been relayed by Gazzetta dello Sport, but the Italian news outlet also claims that Vicario has also caught the attentions of Premier League sides and German giants alike.
“We must pay attention to the aims of [Man] United , but also of Tottenham who bid farewell to [Hugo] Lloris,” Gazzetta reports (via SportWitness). “And in the background there is also Bayern, considering that [Yann] Sommer is saying goodbye.”
All of this is in line with comments made by Gabriele Giuffrida in April, who confirmed interest from clubs outside of Italy during an interview with Pagine Romaniste (via CalcioMercato).
Empoli are thought to value Vicario at over €25m, having turned down an approach of around €15m from Jose Mourinho‘s AS Roma. It is little wonder the the Giallorossi are keen on him, given the stunning triple save the keeper pulled off against them to leave Mourinho speechless when the sides last met.
Whether Manchester United will be both willing and able to commit a fee of over €25m towards a goalkeeper who may end up playing second fiddle to David de Gea is unclear.
The Spaniard is expected to extend his stay at Old Trafford beyond the current season, and with other areas of the squad in need of investment, it seems likely that signing a significant upgrade between the sticks will be a problem for another transfer window.
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