Manchester United will break their transfer record for a defender TWICE this summer in order to sign Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Harry Maguire, reports claim.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is keen to rebuild his squad after an underwhelming sixth-place Premier League finish, in which the Red Devils were a huge 32 points behind champions Manchester City.
Football's top transfers from the 2019 summer transfer window so far
Boosting his defence is a priority and the Norwegian is hopeful of landing the two talented England stars, though the Standard claim he will have to splash out a club record fee for a defender to do so.
The Red Devils are said to have already had a £40m bid turned down by Palace for Wan-Bissaka, with the London club holding out for £65m.
Man Utd manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer shows off his moves as he practices in his garage
Maguire has been a United target since he impressed at the World Cup last summer and was keen on heading to Old Trafford, but the move never materialised, in part due to Leicester’s asking price of £80million.
Solskjaer wants vice-chairman Ed Woodward to back him in the transfer window, much like Man City and Liverpool have done with Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp respectively.
Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy were recruited two summers ago by City for large fees, while Liverpool made Virgil van Dijk the most expensive defender in the world in January 2018 at a cost of £75m.
Arsenal legend Ray Parlour believes the proposed fee for Wan-Bissaka is crazy, however.
“It is madness, absolute madness,” he said on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast. “I really like him, I think he’s an excellent player and I’ve seen him on quite a few occasions.
“His defending is very good and he gets forward. But for £65million? It’s crazy.
“I mean, look at those Ajax youngsters. They’re only young and they’ve not really done anything yet. They’ve really shown that they can play in an Ajax shirt and have done really well in the Champions League but they’re going for £70m-£80m as well.”
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