Manchester United Asked To Pay World Record Fee Of $557M To Sign Talented Midfielder: Report

Manchester United reportedly will have to shell out a world record fee of $557 million to sign Real Madrid midfielder Federico Valverde.

It is understood that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is seeing Valverde as a potential replacement of Pogba ahead of the 2020-21 season. Even though there have been news reports that said the Frenchman has decided to stay at the Old Trafford, the recent update has revealed that Pogba still very much wants to leave the Premier League and is still desperate to head to Real Madrid next season.

The 21-year-old, Valverde, joined Real Madrid’s second-tier side in 2016 before being loaned to La Liga side Deportivo de La Coruña for one year. He returned to the Bernabeu in 2017 and made his first-team debut. In a total of 38 appearances so far for Real Madrid, Valverde has scored only two goals but has earned a lot of praise of his game and the icing on the cake has been the recent comparisons drawn between him and Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard.

While last season, Valverde mostly came off the bench, he has received a lot of starts this season, provided by an impressed boss, Zidane. On top of it, he was even offered a new deal by Real Madrid last year. Valverde, who signed a new contract at the end of last year, has a staggering $557m in his release clause, according to news reports.

The young Uruguayan made headlines recently for a professional foul on Atletico Madrid striker Alvaro Morata in the Supercopa de Espana in January. The score-line was 0-0 and in extra time when Morata was clean through on goal, Valverde tripped on him just outside the box. Even though he was sent off for the action, he denied Morata from scoring and that forced the teams to decide the verdict on penalties. Real eventually won the match 4-1 on penalties and the young midfielder became their hero of the day.

Meanwhile, Man Utd manager Solskjaer is looking for someone who can blend in with the Red Devils’ current marquee player, Bruno Fernandes and take the club back to it’s winning days and Valverde, who was the Silver Ball winner at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup, looks to be a perfect fit.

However, he won’t come cheap. If Man Utd should proceed with the transfer, the amount would surpass the world record set by Neymar's transfer to Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona for around $246m in 2017.