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Transfer Rumours

Manchester United eye shock £60m deal for Leicester City forward

Manchester United are keeping tabs on Leicester City’s Harvey Barnes. The 22-year-old forward is valued at £60m by the Foxes. [source: The Sun]

Barnes is a versatile forward capable of playing across multiple attacking positions: no.10, left-winger, and center-forward. He is a product of Leicester’s youth academy and joined the club’s youth setup when he was nine.

He was sent to three clubs on loan – MK Dons, Barnsley and West Brom where he spent his teenage years honing his craft. His progress sufficiently impressed his parent club and Leicester re-called him in January 2019. He signed a five-year deal later and is an integral part in Brendan Rodgers’ XI since.

Barnes has had an impressive season so far scoring five goals and creating another in 15 appearances.

The Sun also understands that United see him as an alternative to Jadon Sancho. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer himself has been closely monitoring the English international and is a ‘fan’.

Leicester will reject any approach made in January but United are tempted to make a move. Solskjaer reportedly has a budget of £30m for the upcoming transfer window + cash generated from player sales and loan deals.

Our take

United will make a mistake signing him – similar one to when they signed Alexis Sanchez. United need a right-winger and Barnes doesn’t like to play on the right.

Moreover, £60m is a ridiculous valuation for an unproven quantity like Barnes when younger, more talented options are available. United will definitely not pay the reported fee. Their main focus should be to sign Sancho next summer.