Reports from Portugal claim that Manchester United target Faouzi Ghoulam is about to become available.
According to Portuguese newspaper Record, Napoli are close to completing the £26.6m signing of Benfica defender Alex Grimaldo, which could have implications for Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
Record understands that, once a deal for 22-year-old Spanish youth international Grimaldo has been struck, Napoli will be ready to let current first-choice left-back Faouzi Ghoulam leave for his release clause of £53m.
Ghoulam has missed most of this season with torn ligament damage, but the 23-year-old is on Jose Mourinho’s shortlist to solve the problem left-back position at Old Trafford, the report from Record understands.
Tottenham’s Danny Rose has been tipped to make a £45m January move to United by the Daily Star, after making unhappy noises about the club’s wage ceiling and transfer policy despite back-to-back title challenges.
However, transfer relations between Spurs and the Red Devils are unlikely to be smooth, and therefore United may hold fire on signing a left-back until the summer if they believe that Ghoulam is available for a similar price.
Former winger Ashley Young has been Mourinho’s first-choice at left-back for much of the campaign, with the United boss reluctant to trust any of Daley Blind, Marcos Rojo, Matteo Darmian or Luke Shaw in the Premier League.
Spurs seem to be preparing for the departure of Rose by lining of Fulham sensation Ryan Sessegnon, according to Sky Sports, but would love to hold on to the 28-year-old, the league’s best left-back over the last three seasons.
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