There has been an update regarding Manchester United's pursuit of Fiorentina midfielder, Sofyan Amrabat…
What's are the latest Man United transfer rumours?
Having got the transfer window underway with the signing of Mason Mount on an initial £55m deal, the Red Devils now look to be turning their attention to both Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund from Inter Milan and Atalanta, respectively, in their bid to bolster Erik ten Hag's ranks ahead of next season.
Now, according to Sky Sports Germany reporter, Florian Plettenberg, the Old Trafford outfit are also stepping up their interest in another Serie A star in the form of Amrabat, with the transfer insider revealing on Twitter:
"ManUtd is monitoring Sofyan #Amrabat very closely. At this stage, it’s not advanced but first talks took place. #MUFC. Understand, that it could become a hot topic later in this window. He’s also on the list of FC Bayern. But nothing concrete at this stage."
This follows claims made by the 26-year-old's brother, Nordin, who suggested that Ten Hag – who coached the Morocco international at FC Utrecht – is "charmed" by the player, with a potential €30m (£26m) deal on the cards.
How good is Sofyan Amrabat?
The Netherlands-born maestro notably came to wider attention after helping to guide his country to the last four of the World Cup in Qatar, having arguably been the "best midfielder" at the tournament, according to journalist Amine El Amri.
Also lauded as a "great footballer" as well as being a "raging bull", in the words El Amri, the £32k-per-week ace could well tread a similar path to another quality midfield asset to have arrived in Manchester from Italy, in the form of Juan Sebastian Veron.
Although the latter man's time at the Theatre of Dreams was ultimately rather brief as he departed for Chelsea in 2003 after joining from Lazio on a £28.1m deal two years earlier, he had still made a telling impact under Sir Alex Ferguson, having been lauded as a "world-class player" at the time by teammate Ryan Giggs.
Like Amrabat – who was a "colossus" on the international stage last year, according to pundit Stuart Pearce – Veron had come to wider attention after helping the Rome outfit to Scudetto glory in the 1999/2000 campaign, with Ferguson hailing the Argentine as a "marvellous player" upon the confirmation of his move to England.
Despite being unable to truly flourish in a United shirt, the now-retired ace still contributed 26 goals and assists in 82 games for the club in all competitions, according to Transfermarkt, offering a classy, ball-playing presence in the centre of the park.
As club legend Gary Neville stated, although Veron was unable to break-up the famed midfield partnership of Roy Keane and Paul Scholes, he did offer something fresh in the centre of the park in his deep-lying berth, with the Sky Sports pundit stating:
"The way Veron played, coming out of Italy, he moved into different positions and was fluid, trying to get the ball from the left back, et cetera."
That composure and quality on the ball appears to be shared by Amrabat, with the one-time Club Brugge ace ranking in the top 5% in Europe's top five leagues among those in his position for pass completion, as well as in the top 8% for progressive passes, with the hope being that he could pull off the type of delightful threaded assist that Veron memorably laid on for Ruud van Nistelrooy against Deportivo La Coruna in the Champions League in 2003.
Of course, the aim will be for the Fiorentina menace to prove an even greater success than the former United man was in English football, helping to follow Mount in strengthening Ten Hag's midfield department.
With the exit of Phil Jones leaving Veron's number four shirt available – the number which Amrabat wears for his country – perhaps the Moroccan can follow in the Argentine playmaker's footsteps this summer…
