Man Utd need to sell three players to land Upamecano

Manchester United are keen on signing RB Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano this summer but have to offload three outcasts first.

Despite pledging his long-term future to Leipzig only last month, Upamecano could end up joining Manchester United before the transfer deadline passes.

The 21-year-old center-back has signed a contract extension, committing his future to the Red Bull Arena until summer 2023.

However, his new deal in the Bundesliga also contains a release clause that stands at £38million, although it can only be triggered next summer.

Still, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is hell-bent of finding a reliable defender to partner Harry Maguire at the back and has identified Upamecano as his top defensive target.

The Norwegian is, however, reluctant to drop his interest in Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho. Pursuing a deal for the English winger is likely to dry out United’s summer war-chest.

Indeed, Die Borussen are sticking to their £108m valuation of the 20-year-old forward.

With the Red Devils already operating on a tight budget, they will need to give up three of their out-of-favor players to fund a move for Upamecano.

According to the Express Sport, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, and Marcos Rojo are blacklisted and should be on their way out of Old Trafford this window.

Only with those three players gone, United can hope to land Upamecano.

Smalling could soon return to AS Roma, where he spent the last season on loan. But, the Serie A side first need to overcome a gap in valuation.

While Manchester United continue to hold out for £25m, the Giallorossi are not willing to go north of £18m.

As for Jones and Rojo, it will be a daunting prospect for Solskjaer to get rid of them.

A very few teams have so far shown interest in the 28-year-old Englishman, who has flopped at the Theatre of Dreams.

The same goes for Rojo, whose staggering £120,000-a-week salary also makes him unaffordable for many clubs.