Manchester United could be offered the chance to sign one of Europe’s best this summer in a Mason Greenwood swap deal.
One of the most sellable assets this summer for Manchester United is Mason Greenwood, as the 22-year-old comes off an excellent season with Getafe.
Despite his strong campaign, there isn’t thought to be a way back at Old Trafford for the academy graduate and therefore a transfer race has been heating up.
Earlier on Friday it was reported that Benfica had joined the race which currently comprises Atletico Madrid, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund.
But now, there’s been a further update on the Greenwood race.
Mason Greenwood says yes to Juventus as player swap is considered
As the interest in Mason Greenwood continues to grow, Juventus are back in the news with their interest being among the hottest right now.
It’s according to a report from Gazzetta dello Sport, Greenwood has already said yes to the prospect of joining the Turin side under new manager Thiago Motta.
There however is a problem for Juventus, with United’s demand of between £35m and £40m too high for their budget this summer. However, as the report explains, there is a solution for this in the form of a potential player swap.
Not able to invest such heavy figures, Juventus are now thinking of offering a player with English U21’s Samuel Iling-Junior seen as one option and is described as the ‘hot name’.
The report adds that it’s also worth keeping an eye on Federico Chiesa, who is set to be sold this summer as he isn’t going to sign a new contract and United are said to be the type of club that could tempt him.
Federico Chiesa would solve a problem for Manchester United
Chiesa is arguably on his day one of the most dangerous wingers in world football, and if he’s on the table, it’s something United should seriously consider as he has long been considered as having the qualities to be one of “the best players in Europe”.
According to La Stampa in Italy, talks are already happening over Chiesa’s future and his agent is set to meet with Roma, while Napoli, Aston Villa, Newcastle and Bayern Munich are all interested in signing Chiesa for what would be a deal worth at least £34m.
This fee is similar to the demands for Greenwood and therefore this could be a move which suits everyone involved and could see United finally sign a player who was linked all the way back in 2019.
Chiesa may be a left-winger naturally, but he’s also great on the right. But even if he is played on the left, Alejandro Garnacho is equally as good on the right and it gives the manager options in the forward positions.
He is coming off a season of nine goals and three assists in 33 Serie A games which shows that he is a top player as he was being used less regularly than expected. Three years after reports suggested Cristiano Ronaldo had requested United sign the 26-year-old.
Who is Samuel Iling-Junior?
As many fans read of Iling-Junior’s name being linked with being involved in the Greenwood deal, the question many will be asking is who is he? And is he a player who’ll improve United?
Well, an England U21 talent, Iling-Junior has been described as “one of the most promising young footballers of his generation”, by the official Juventus website which is quite a claim.
The 20-year-old made 24 Serie A appearances last season, scoring once and assisting twice for Juventus. A left-sided winger, he isn’t exactly a player United needs and would run into stiff competition with Alejandro Garancho and Marcus Rashford sure to be ahead of him in the pecking order.
Iling-Junior came through the Chelsea academy before being sold to Juventus for over £1m in 2020. His England youth career has him scoring twice in five U21 caps.
An exciting player, with Spurs also having shown an interest, but probably not what United need this summer.