Manchester United Are Eyeing $47M Midfielder As Jadon Sancho’s Backup This Summer: Report

Manchester United reportedly are monitoring Juventus midfielder, Douglas Costa, as they get on with their summer transfer window’s business.

Man Utd have embarked on their transfer work after getting eliminated from the Europa League by Seville.

It is believed Man Utd are seeing 29-year-old Costa as an alternative for Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho, who has been The Red Devils’ transfer target for a few months now.

Costa, who moved from Bayern Munich to Juventus for a transfer fee of $47 million, has been associated with the Turin side for three years now. The Italian side sacked their manager Maurizio Sarri after their Champions League elimination. Their new first-team coach Andrea Pirlo is looking to revamp the side ahead of the 2020-21 season. It is understood that no player is safe this summer, including legendary Cristiano Ronaldo.

According to Sky Sports, Man Utd’s recruitment crew has been following Costa closely over the last year or so, and now, the Italian side is expected to approach Juventus over Costa’s summer move to Old Trafford.

Man Utd boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants to strengthen his squad so that his side can compete for the Premier League title in 2020-21. Solskjaer has termed Man Utd’s Europa exit as disappointing, while he also added that they need to be clever and smart at the ongoing transfer market.

“They [the players] need to keep improving, keep doing what they've done every single day and they've worked so hard, with the right attitude and mentality. We need to strengthen the squad depth because it's going to be a long season. We're going to keep pushing and keep demanding more of the players that we have, but still, we're looking to improve and it's a strange one. The league starts very quickly, but then the [transfer] market is open for so long. So we've got to be both good, smart, and clever,” added Solskjaer in a recent interview, as per Sky Sports.

Man Utd were given an Aug. 10 deadline for Sancho’s transfer. Since the Premier League side did not stick to it, Dortmund have declared that the 20-year-old Englishman, who has two years left in his current deal, will remain with them for another season.