Manchester United reportedly want £30m Lille goalkeeper Mike Maignan, who Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa promoted during his time in Ligue 1.
Ironically enough, Manchester United’s latest transfer target owes his rapid rise to the manager sitting on an upturned bucket somewhere on the other side of the Pennines.
According to the Daily Record, United have expressed an interest in one of Lille’s emerging stars.
It is not the 22-goal striker Nicolas Pepe, highly-rated midfielder Thiago Mendes or speedy winger Jonathan Bamba, however, but the talented shot-stopper Mike Maignan.
The reigning Ligue 1 Goalkeeper of the Year, Maignan was in superb form as Lille finished second behind PSG last season, keeping 15 clean sheets and forcing his way into Didier Deschamps’ France squad.
The Record adds that Lille are demanding £30 million with Manchester United identifying him as David de Gea’s potential successor.
But, without a certain Marcelo Bielsa, we might not be talking about Maignan as one of Europe’s most promising young glovesmen.
The 23-year-old had made just 11 Ligue 1 appearances before Bielsa took over at Lille in 2017 after all. And while the Argentine’s short-lived spell in charge of Les Dogues was little other than a disaster, Bielsa still deserves plenty of credit for dropping club legend Vincent Enyeama in favour of the rookie Maignan – a brave decision which has proved to be a superb one.
Even from his current vantage as the head coach of Leeds United, Bielsa will surely feel a pang of pride of Maignan makes his way to Old Trafford.
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