‘Goodbye!’ – Man Utd to gamble on Dutch midfielder with transfer ‘increasingly’ certain | OneFootball

Manchester United are ready to roll the dice on a Dutch international who would serve as one of their two signings in central midfield this summer, according to a report.

With Casemiro leaving via free agency and Manuel Ugarte having genuine chances to leave, Man Utd are in the market for two high calibre midfielders this summer.

Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson is the No 1 target, though Manchester City are frontrunners for the England international right now.

That could push United towards alternatives, such as Adam Wharton, Carlos Baleba or Sandro Tonali, to name just three.

Reports earlier on Tuesday also named a top Real Madrid star as a player who was also genuinely emerging as a United transfer Plan B.

But according to the latest from Italian outlet Tuttosport, the Red Devils are looking further afield and all the way to Turin.

It’s claimed Man Utd ‘seem willing’ to take a ‘gamble’ on the signing of Juventus midfielder, Teun Koopmeiners.

The 28-year-old was previously lauded as one of the very best around in Serie A during his time with Atalanta.

Koopmeiners was named in the 2023/24 Serie A team of the season during his final campaign in Bergamo before transferring to Juventus for a package totalling €54.7m / £47.6m.

However, the move to Juve simply hasn’t worked out as either party intended so far, and per Tuttosport, it’s increasingly certain he’ll be sold after just two seasons in black and white.

At 28, Koopmeiners is by no means a spent force, and he’s likely to make the cut in the Netherlands squad for the 2026 World Cup.

If Juve can’t sell beforehand, they reportedly hope a strong showing at the World Cup will drive up transfer interest in the player, and prompt one of Koopmeiners’ two suitors to table a bid. Aside from Man Utd, the other potential suitor named in the piece is Galatasaray.

Summing up Koopmeiners’ struggles at Juve after declaring him to now be ‘expendable’, the report explained: ‘Partly to manage the emergency, partly to achieve greater quality in the build-up phase.

‘But even that attempt was short-lived, and the former Atalanta player’s fate became one of stepping in as needed.

‘Always ensuring a professional but rarely decisive approach: the occasions when he “stole the eye” were rare.

‘And, in short, the bottom line is that Teun Koopmeiners is considered “expendable” on the altar of financial sustainability.’

Want more breaking transfer lines from original sources? Add TEAMtalk as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust.

And if there were any doubt left as to whether Juve will actually sell the player they signed just two years ago, the report declared ‘Goodbye Koopmeiners’.

Man Utd have placed a greater emphasis on signing players with Premier League experience in more recent times. That strategy has already paid off as far as Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha are concerned.

As such, the term ‘gamble’ does seem apt as far as signing Koopmeiners goes, and whether it’s one Man Utd ultimately decide to take, only time will tell.