Manchester United ‚reach agreement‘ to sign Velez starlet Thiago Almada
For the last few years, Manchester United have made an active effort to snap up some of the world’s brightest young prospects, and one name often bandied around in the rumour mill is that of Velez Sarsfield forward Thiago Almada.
The 19-year-old Argentine, famous for both his impressive performances with Velez and the Football Manager potential that comes with that, is often linked with a move to one of Europe’s top sides, and it’s usually United who are tipped to sign him.
Well, those rumours are back this month, but they go one step further. According to TodoFichajes, United have already reached an agreement to sign Almada in the summer for a fee in the region of £14m.
Right then.
As the story goes, United have decided to splash out and make Almada ‚the cornerstone of their new project‘ next season. That could be true… assuming United have grown tired of the excellent form of fellow attacking midfielder Bruno Fernandes. Who likes winning games anyway?
There’s no denying that Almada is the kind of high-profile youngster United like to sign, and the fact that Manchester City, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are usually named as rival suitors should tell you all about his pedigree, but United don’t really have the room for another player like that in the first-team squad.
£10m was shelled out on Uruguayan winger Facundo Pellistri from Penarol in the summer, while United recently finalised the deal to sign 18-year-old Ivorian Amad Diallo from Atalanta which could rise to £37m. That’s ‚cornerstone‘ kind of money right there.
United clearly don’t need to sign Almada, and while that doesn’t mean they definitely won’t, it should have the alarm bells ringing about this story.
It’s entirely possible that this rumour is just another of those designed to drum up interest in the player. After all, United’s name comes with the kind of star power which can’t really be rivalled.
This summer, Almada will enter the final two years of his contract with Velez, meaning he’s closing in on decision time about his future. Velez will be wary of letting him wind his contract down and the drop in asking price that comes with that, so it’s in everyone’s best interests to build up the hype around Almada.