Manchester United are ready to rival Arsenal in a bid to land ‘the new Nemanja Vidic’, according to a report in Romania.
United’s defence has been a serious concern this season, with Wednesday’s 3-3 draw with Galatasaray the latest inquest into Erik ten Hag’s backline.
As a result there is an appetite to strengthen the defence as early as January and Romanian outfit ProSport claim Man United are in advanced talks for Radu Dragusin.
The 21-year-old Genoa defender has a £26million release clause and is high on the radar of a host of English teams.
Radu Dragusin has drawn comparisons to ex-Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic
Erik ten Hag is eager to bolster his defence as early as January after a trying start to the season
Dragusin’s agent, Florin Manea, has spoken openly previously about getting his client a move to England.
He said: ‘I have been in London for some time and have almost weekly meetings with important teams. We are getting closer. I spoke with Newcastle, with Arsenal, with Tottenham. I also have messages with them, conversations. There are teams that ask about Dragusin.’
But it is now being claimed that it is United that are in pole position to land him.
Dragusin came through at Juventus but has since gone on to thrive at Genoa.
Genoa had Dragusin on loan last season before they were able to snap him up on a permanent deal for just £5m, meaning they are in line for a sizeable profit.
The defender is under contract until 2027 but crucially had an attainable release clause put into his contract in a bid to secure a move to England.
United’s defence is of grave concern right now and Rio Ferdinand believes ‘immaturity’ and ‘boredom’ played a key role in United‘s defensive collapse during their 3-3 draw with Galatasaray.
Dragusin (right) has a £26million release clause in his Genoa contract, which runs until 2027
Ten Hag‘s men twice led by two goals in the Champions League clash in Istanbul, but failed to hold on and their chances of making the knockout stages are now hanging by a thread.
Ferdinand liked what he saw from United from an attacking perspective, but was concerned about the side defensively, and has called for the team to become more comfortable with sitting back and soaking up pressure in games.
‘In the first half I was asking them to be uncomfortable and enjoy sometimes being penned back on the edge of your box, bank of four and a bank of five and not allowing a big gap between the midfield and the defenders. They were doing that,’ Ferdinand said on TNT Sports.
‘But it’s about doing that consistently, doing that rep after rep after rep. And that’s where I think sometimes there’s maybe a little bit of immaturity, maybe boredom creeps in and one jumps out and then they go “Oh, we’re out of shape”, and they look very open at those times.’
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