According to a shocking flurry of late tweets from Fabrizio Romano, Andreas Pereira is headed to Lazio a day after rumors surfaced over a possible move, while new reports of Chris Smalling to AS Roma and Diogo Dalot to AC Milan are also in the ether.
As seen in the Romano tweet above, Pereira is headed on year-long loan to Lazio with an option to buy set at €27 million(!) once he passes his medical later this week. The club that finished fourth in the Serie A last season will share Pereira’s salary with Manchester United.
However, less optimistic United fans will be concerned that the loan only has an option and not an obligation to buy. If Pereira plays for Lazio the way he has played for United, he will surely be a United player again next season after a season-long rental.
Roma placing a new bid for Smalling is a move that has been expected for quite awhile after the defender impressed in the Italian capital as one of the best defenders in the Serie A last season. With Smalling clearly not in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s plans, he is looking to make the move permanent as well.
However, the deadline is quickly approaching with the two clubs roughly about £7 million apart in the initial negotiations — The Guardian reported that Manchester United want £18 million. We will see what happens in the next couple days, but a new report coming out of the blue could mean more money for the Jadon Sancho war chest.
The third in a flurry of United-related tweets from Fabs involved a possible loan move for Dalot to AC Milan. Another defender that is clearly not in Solskjaer’s plans, Dalot is young and needs to earn playing time elsewhere, and United need to explore recouping the original £19 million they spent on him back in 2018.
A loan with an option to buy might just be what the club needs to offload the remaining three years of Dalot’s contract. However, like the Pereira move, United could find itself in the same position again next year if Dalot fails to impress in Italy.
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