Man Utd ‘seriously considering’ signing ‘unexpected’ PL target as Ratcliffe ‘wants affordable’ deal

According to reports, Manchester United are ‘seriously considering’ signing Lewis Dunk from Premier League rivals Brighton and Hove Albion.

The Red Devils were active in the transfer market in the summer as they invested around £180m to sign Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Manuel Ugarte.

The arrivals of Yoro and De Ligt boost Man Utd’s options at centre-back after injuries meant head coach Erik ten Hag had to field a makeshift pairing of Casemiro and Jonny Evans at the end of last season.

Yoro, De Ligt and Lisandro Martinez are expected to battle for starts when Ten Hag has a fully fit squad to choose from, but according to a report in Spain, Dunk could soon be added to the equation.

Considering Man Utd’s strength in depth at centre-back, it would be a surprise if they pursued a new centre-back in January or next summer.

Despite this, 32-year-old Dunk is being mooted as a potential target. He has made just short of 250 appearances for Brighton in the Premier League and his contract expires in 2026.

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Dunk was part of England’s squad at Euro 2024, but he did not make a single appearance at the tournament. So far this season, he has started Brighton’s opening three Premier League games and has captained the Seagulls.

The report in Spain claims Man Utd ‘want to sign Dunk’, as he is their ‘unexpected target’.

Dunk is said to have ‘sparked interest from Man Utd’ as he is a ‘very attractive profile’ for the Premier League giants.

‘Manchester United’s interest in Dunk is a response to the team’s need to add experienced defenders who can offer stability and security to their backline.

‘In addition, the possibility of signing him at an affordable price in 2025, when Dunk is already approaching the end of his contract, makes this move an opportunity that the Red Devils are seriously considering.’

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Club legend Andy Cole has explained why he cannot see one of Man Utd’s summer signings “fixing everything”.

“It’s difficult for me to speak about Ugarte because I’ve not seen him play too much,” Cole said.

“He hardly played for PSG last season in the Champions League, despite playing more frequently in Ligue 1, so it will be interesting to finally see what type of player he is.

“He sounds like a player that likes to win the ball and give it to whoever he needs to give it to, so I’m just looking forward to seeing him play, like everybody else is.

“We can’t expect him to come into the team and fix everything because he’s just one player in a team. They’ve all got to work at it.

“I don’t believe the start of the season has been as bad as everybody’s making out. They won against Fulham, they should have got a result against Brighton and yesterday was obviously disappointing, even more so that they’ve now got to wait two weeks to put things right.”