could beat to secure the transfers of two players both clubs are targeting this summer — Lisandro Martinez and Youri Tielemans.
New United boss Erik ten Hag has been linked with a move for Martinez all summer long, with the Argentina international having spent the past three years working under the Dutchman at Eredivisie champions .
Martinez has predominantly played as a centre-back since arriving in the Netherlands, and is believed to be of interest to Arsenal because his left-footedness would allow him to both form a partnership with fellow defender Gabriel by playing on the left-hand side of the defence, while also being able to cover for the injury prone Kieran Tierney at left-back.
United’s interest was presumed to be based on Martinez operating as a centre-half too, but reports last week claimed that ten Hag actually believes that the 24-year-old could operate as a defensive midfielder, which is an area of the United squad in need of improvement.
All of Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba and Juan Mata have left Old Trafford on free transfers so far this summer, with Andreas Pereira sent to complete a permanent switch to Fulham. That has left Ten Hag short of options in midfield, and he is targeting multiple additions to make up for the losses.
Christian Eriksen is set to arrive on a free transfer after giving a verbal agreement to the club, just over six months after his return to professional football with Brentford after suffering a cardiac arrest in the EURO 2020 tournament last summer.
United also have a transfer fee agreed with Barcelona for Frenkie de Jong, but that move is being complicated by the fact that the Catalan club owe the Dutchman a significant amount in wages which were deferred during the Covid-19 pandemic.
With United now nervous about whether it will be possible to complete the deal for another of Ten Hag’s former players, their attention has turned to Tielemans, another long-term Arsenal target.
That is according to , who claim that the Belgian international is on a two-man shortlist of potential De Jong alternatives alongside Ruben Neves of Wolves.
Tielemans only has one more year left to run on his Leicester City contract and cut be available for a reduced fee. If United can secure a deal for both him and Martinez, they will have reinforced their own squad while significantly hampering Arsenal’s team building.
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