Botafogo goalkeeper John is a target for Man United – The Athletic | OneFootball

A rock and a hard place.

That is what Ruben Amorim sees when he looks at both ends of the pitch at Old Trafford and a limited budget this summer to fix them.

Manchester United endured their worst campaign in the Premier League era last season. Multiple (unwanted) records were broken in terms of position in the table (15th), points (42), goals scored (44), and losses (18).

The need for reinforcements up front is obvious with only Everton and three relegated teams, Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton, scoring fewer times than Amorim’s side.

Matheus Cunha has already been captured from Wolverhampton Wanderers after the Brazilian’s £62.5 million release clause was triggered. A similarly priced deal for Bryan Mbeumo is being negotiated with Brentford, though reports suggest talks may have “stalled” in recent days.

A new number nine is also considered an urgent priority with the existing partnership of Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee combining for just seven goals in the league.

But attackers are expensive; and ones signed from within the Premier League always come with a premium.

This leaves little room in the budget for upgrades elsewhere on the pitch, however, despite the disastrous performances by Amorim’s goalkeepers last season.

What good is scoring four if you then concede five anyways? A rock at one end; a hard place at the other.

Unsafe Pairs of Hands

United’s senior goalkeepers – Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir – often resembled the Chuckle Brothers last season. Both players made a calamity of errors after Amorim’s arrival in November to replace Erik ten Hag.

If Bayindir was even remotely steady, he would undoubtedly have replaced first-choice Onana at one stage; but the Turkey international proved even more disastrous than his Cameroonian teammate and Amorim was forced to stick with Onana.

Despite the error-strewn performances, a new goalkeeper does not appear to be a priority this summer. Or, at least, the budget will not enable it to be one.

The Athletic reveals there remains a “prospect” of United bringing in a shot stopper but the expectation is this new recruit will be a cheaper option to replace Bayindir, rather than Onana.

Onana is believed to want to remain at Old Trafford and regain the form which made him one of Europe’s standout goalkeepers with Inter Milan.

Bayindir has been linked with a return to Turkey in search of more first-team minutes ahead of the World Cup next summer.

The Victor in America

Enter the Victor.

Brazilian goalkeeper John Victor, known as just ‘John’, was identified as a target by United in the winter after a series of impressive performances for Botafogo.

The 29-year-old shot stopper propelled his side to a Copa Libertadores and Brazilian league double last year, catching the attention of a number of clubs in Europe.

John has since replicated his fine form at the Club World Cup in America this summer. He helped Botafogo keep an unlikely clean sheet against European champions, Paris-Saint Germain, becoming only the second goalkeeper to do so this season (after Liverpool’s Alisson).

United dispatched scouts to watch John’s performances in the tournament. And their reports have evidently been positive as the Red Devils are planning to “reignite” their interest in the Brazilian this summer. The Athletic confirms he is on a “a list of potential targets” at Old Trafford.

John has a release clause worth around £5.4 million. This offers a bargain price for the 6’5″ goalkeeper, enabling the bulk of United’s finances to remain directed towards much-needed reinforcements in the forward line.

A cheap deal for the rock balanced by blockbuster raids for the hard place.

Featured image Buda Mendes via Getty Images

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