Man Utd plans take ‘aggressive turn’ as they ‘prepare £87m bid’ to revamp midfield | OneFootball

Man Utd plan to make a huge offer for Atletico Madrid’s Pablo Barrios in order to help revamp their midfield in the summer, according to reports.

The Red Devils spent over £200m on new signings in the summer transfer window in order to back Ruben Amorim, who was sacked last week after falling out with director of football Jason Wilcox.

Man Utd mainly spent the money on improving their attack with Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko all signing for big fees.

But many supporters were frustrated that Man Utd had failed to get a deal over the line for a new midfielder despite links to Brighton’s Carlos Baleba and Atletico Madrid’s Conor Gallagher, who recently completed a move to Tottenham.

It has been revealed recently by widespread reports that the Red Devils are unlikely to sign a new midfielder in the January transfer window.

But Spanish website Fichajes insists that Man Utd’s transfer plans have ‘taken an aggressive turn’ with news that they are ‘preparing a €100m (£87m) bid’ for Atletico Madrid’s Barrios in the summer.

Man Utd ‘are desperately seeking to revamp their midfield in the upcoming summer transfer window’ and the Premier League giants ‘have identified the young Spaniard as the ideal playmaker for their new project’.

The Man Utd hierarchy are convinced that Barrios ‘would bring the clarity and passing ability that the current squad urgently needs to generate attacking football’.

On the potential signing of Barrios, the report adds: ‘The signing of the Spanish Under-21 international reflects a clear intention to rejuvenate the squad with technically gifted players hungry for continental glory. Manchester United doesn’t want to repeat past mistakes and prefers to invest in proven players from top-level leagues rather than unfinished prospects.

‘Pablo Barrios fits this description of a versatile player who can operate both as a holding midfielder and an attacking midfielder, consistently making runs into the opposition’s penalty area.’

Speaking in December, transfer insider Dean Jones insisted that Barrios was a player that he’d heard Man Utd “really like”.

Jones said: “It’s hard to know quite how seriously to take him as a genuine target at this stage, but Pablo Barrios is a player that I have heard Man United really like.

“I think the interest may have even come as a consequence of looking at Conor Gallagher. But, regardless of how they ended up watching him, he’s spoken about glowingly at a few clubs and United are one of them.

“Gallagher has obviously been spoken about as a midfield option but Barrios would actually be a very good fit for what United want long term – and Amorim doesn’t just want a loan in midfield or to sign someone for the sake of it. He wants players that fit the longer vision.

“Atleti won’t want to lose him because he has become very important in their midfield but I think there could be some potential for them to have a fight on their hands to keep Barrios across 2026.”