Manchester United fans were not impressed when they discovered that Chelsea swooped in and met the buy-out clause of Barcelona winger Pedro, when the Old Trafford club had been attempting to structure a deal for the Spaniard for the best part of a month.
After Louis Van Gaal publicly stated his need for a fast playmaker to replace Angel Di Maria, the decision to withdraw interest in Pedro is surprising as there are not that many players available that offer the skills that Van Gaal requires out there in the transfer market.
On the back of the Pedro news, The Telegraph are already linking Manchester United to another player, and this is one that has come right out of the blue, as it's not Gareth Bale, or Thomas Muller, but Southampton's Sadio Mane.
Mane, who has his own segment on the Balls.ie Fantasy Football Podcast named after him, has been continually impressive since he arrived in England last summer, and has been one of the driving factors behind Southampton's success. The Telegraph are reporting that United launched an initial bid last week to test the waters, and may move for him before the window closes.
Any deal is a long way away from being completed, and you would have to feel that Southampton won't want another one of their stars being plucked from them by a team in the same league after Morgan Schneiderlin, Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana, Nathanial Clyne... Basically every player who has played well for them since they were promoted to the Premier League.
The likely fee that Southampton would demand will, you would expect, deter Manchester United, but after today's disappointment there's a feeling that Ed Woodward must surely have a trick up his sleeve for the end of the transfer window.
We'll bring you more on this as we get it.
via The Telegraph.
