Man Utd would be mad to miss midfield enigma at money mentioned
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They don’t have much to go on, but The Sun fancy Manchester United’s latest spending splurge to continue with the capture of Will Hughes from Derby, although the potential price quoted for the 21-year-old seems a bit off.
With bloated transfer fees thrown around like confetti, such as £33m for Michy Batshuayi from Marseille to Chelsea and £30m from United to Villarreal for Eric Bailly, you would think a British-based youngster attracting new boss Jose Mourinho’s attention would fetch a hefty sum.
Pricing in the fact that Hughes bulks up the Red Devils’ homegrown quota, £15m would appear somewhat cheap for a ‘cultured’ central midfielder constantly linked with the Premier League elites since making his Derby debut as a 16-year-old back in 2011/12.
Not so, says the red top, claiming ‘Derby will demand £7million for Hughes and are likely to offer him a new deal, with his current contract expiring in two years’ time’.
After Dele Alli proved wildly underpriced following his £5m move from MK Dons to Tottenham in 2015, and with recent increases in top-flight TV money, Derby surely expect a few quid more, although the knee injury that wiped out Hughes’ 2015/16 campaign may make him a riskier bet.
Sky Sports repeat the £7m figure when chucking the Surrey native straight into their Man Utd transfer rumour credibility ratings (yes, it does exist) at number three, with only Juventus’ Paul Pogba and Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane thought more likely to make Old Trafford switches at present.
The Sun’s report includes the claim ‘United have asked to be kept informed of Hughes’ progress at the iPro’, which means they may be on to something with the move, if not the price.
However, you can back Will Hughes to be a Man Utd player by the end of the transfer window at 8/1 with Ladbrokes.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
