Manchester United have turned their attention to Sevilla midfielder Lucien Agoume in a bid to resolve their issues in midfield.
Ruben Amorim is desperate to bring in another midfield option with United conceding defeat, for now at least, in their attempts to sign Carlos Baleba from Brighton.
A huge £100milling asking price has forced them to shelve their plans until next summer, having already spent over £200m rebuilding their attack.
Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro coped admirably against Arsenal in United’s opening game of the season on Sunday but there is a worrying lack of depth with Manuel Ugarte and Kobbie Mainoo the manager’s only other recognised options.
Reports in Spain claim United are interested in signing Agoume and are ‘leading the race’ to sign the 23-year-old, according to Orgullo Biri.
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The France Under-21 international has a release clause of €40million (£34.5m) but the report states Sevilla could be willing to do business for €30m (£26m).
Other unnamed Premier League clubs are also monitoring the situation.
Arsenal were credited with interest in Agoume earlier this summer as a possible replacement for Thomas Partey before eventually signing Christian Norgaard having also brought in Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad.
Who is Lucien Agoume?
Agoume made his professional debut with Sochaux at just 16 years old before moving to Inter Milan in 2018.
He played just four times for the Italian giants, shipped out on loan to Spezia, Brest, Troyes and then Sevilla, who he joined in January 2024.
Sevilla were suitably impressed to make the deal permanent last summer, managing to do so for less than €10m to sign Agoume in a deal that also included a 50 per cent sell-on clause.
United also interested in signing ‘complete’ Morten Hjulmand
United are also thought to be considering a move for Morten Hjulmand, who starred under Amorim at Sporting CP.
Recent reports have suggested they are willing to bid up to £50m for the Denmark captain who Amorim has previously described as a ‘complete’ midfielder.
‘The big difference is that we have improved in our organised attack,’ Amorim said following Sporting’s title success last year.
‘We had the principles of the first year, when defensively we were very good, but we didn’t spend much time in organised attack,’ Amorim said. ‘We spent a lot of time creating offensive nuances and then we discovered what kind of players we need.’
It’s a normal evolution and then there’s also the merit of scouting. I love Palhinha and Ugarte, but I would say that Hjulmand is the most complete player in his position. I’m certainly no longer their favourite coach, but it’s a matter of everyone at the Academy understanding our playing philosophy.’