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Ruben Amorim is starting to establish his squad at Manchester United ahead of his first game against Ipswich.
Amorim has a handful of injuries to consider, with Leny Yoro, Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia, Kobbie Mainoo and Amad Diallo all returning from being sidelined. However, Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof have both had injuries affect their international duties, potentially ruling them out of action.
As such, Amorim is getting a feel of what his current squad are capable of. However, this isn’t keeping him from keeping an eye on the transfer window.
Whilst Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox are leading up the recruitment side of things, Amorim will still be considered when it comes to choosing signings.
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Already there have been several links to Amorim’s old club, Sporting Lisbon, with Viktor Gyokeres, Geovany Quenda and Ousmane Diomande tipped to follow their former manager. However, the newest rumour growing is of a player from one of Sporting’s rivals, Benfica.
Manchester United consider Orkun Kokcu
CaughtOffside has reported that Manchester United are now looking to Benfica’s Orkun Kokcu.
The versatile midfielder joined Benfica from Feyenoord in 2023 for £20 million.
Since then, Kokcu has made 58 appearances for the club across all competitions, with 11 goals and 14 assists.
The report explains that the Turkey international is keen to eventually play in the Premier League, giving United a boost.
However, rivals Liverpool are also in the running with a firmer connection which could lure the star to Anfield. Kokcu is well known to Liverpool boss Arne Slot, who managed him back at Feyenoord.
Whilst United are looking at the 23-year-old, he could be out of their price range.
United have reportedly been allocated a “modest” transfer budget going forward. This decision has been made to counteract the £600 million spent on transfers over the Erik ten Hag era.
As such, the £52-£61 million that Benfica are asking for the midfielder may be too much for The Red Devils to sign off, with his £130 million price tag.
With this in mind, it appears that Liverpool has the advantage at the moment, requiring United to act desperately if they hope to beat their rivals.
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