Manchester United ready to make new £32m Lucas Moura bid
The Premier League giants are confident that their latest offer will
be enough to capture the Brazilian midfielder after a £27m proposal was
rejected earlier in the week
EXCLUSIVE
By Wayne Veysey | Chief Correspondent
Manchester United are set to make a £32 million offer for Lucas Moura after Sao Paulo rejected their latest bid of £27.2m, Goal.com has learned.
The Brazilian club have claimed that United
made a "very important offer of €35m [£27.2m]" for their 19-year-old
attacking midfielder.
Sources have indicated that the Red Devils'
bid was made on Thursday and that the club are now expected to return
with a final offer, which they are confident will be enough to seal the
deal.
Lucas, who was part of the Brazil squad that
beat Great Britain in a warm-up match for the Olympics on Friday night,
is viewed by Sir Alex Ferguson as the ideal candidate for the playmaker
role that he tried to fill with Eden Hazard before the Belgian moved to
Chelsea at the start of the transfer window.
United were willing
to pay £32m for Hazard before being beaten to his signature by the more
lucrative salary package on offer at Stamford Bridge.
It is
understood that the same sum is available to United to sign Lucas, but
the Old Trafford club are not willing to go beyond that figure.
United
are confident that the Portuguese-speaking enclave of Nani, Anderson
and Rafael Da Silva would ensure a smooth adaptation period but are
mindful that, should Lucas enjoy a reputation-enhancing Olympic
tournament, he could be priced out of their reach if they do not come to
a swift agreement.
“Manchester United made a very important
offer of €35m but they would need to produce a little more,” Sao Paulo
director Marco Aurelio Cunha Cunha was quoted as saying by TuttoMercatoWeb.
“For
us there is only Neymar worth more, after him is Lucas and we would not
want to sell for less than this sort of value. For us it is still
better to have a good player than lots of money in the bank.”
Source : Goal.com
