Manchester United have reportedly started showing ‘firm interest’ in signing Fluminense youngster Kaua Elias, as per journalist Ben Jacobs.
After purchasing a minority stake at the Red Devils, Sir Jim Ratcliffe has now taken charge of the football side of the proceedings at Old Trafford.
The Businessman first decided to revamp the recruitment team by appointing Omar Barrada as the new CEO and Dan Ashworth as the new Sporting director. Moreover, Jason Wilcox joined the club as the technical director.
The new-look Man Utd decided to sign young and hungry players in the summer to bolster the first-team squad. Additionally, they also purchased highly talented players for the academy with Chido Obi Martin, Sekou Kone and Samuel Lusale being among them.
Now, it seems United are looking to continue adding talented players to reinforce the youth system and are now eyeing the South American market.
Elias to Man Utd
Writing on GiveMeSport, Jacobs has reported that Man Utd have started showing ‘firm interest’ in signing Elias and the player could move to the Premier League soon.
However, Fluminense want a fee of around £25m plus bonuses to let their star man leave and United don’t want to sign the 18-year-old by matching the valuation.
The journalist says Fulham are also interested in the striker and upon scouting him closely they think the player could become a prolific goal-scorer in future as he has the natural ability to find the back of the net.
Additionally, Bayer Leverkusen, Napoli and Everton are also in this race so Man Utd will have to beat tough competition to lure their target at Old Trafford.
The 18-year-old has already established himself as a regular member of the Fluminense squad and has played 34 games in all competitions, winning the Copa Libertadores. The striker has made six goal contributions in nine starts this season in the Brazilian top-flight.
It is going to be interesting to see whether the record Premier League champions eventually opt to make a concrete approach to secure his signature in 2025.
Meanwhile, following a string of poor results ahead of the international break, Erik ten Hag is under a lot of pressure. So, he will have to turn the situation around as soon as possible to keep his job.