Manchester United have been linked with a move for Arsenal utility player Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who can play all across midfield and as a full-back. The sudden peculation originally emerged in Germany as the Jadon Sancho saga rumbles on.
Maitland-Niles was key to Arsenal’s FA Cup success at the end of last season and has started four of the club’s five games in all competitions so far in 2020/21.
On paper, he could be a valuable addition to a United squad that lacks depth, particularly at full-back, and a tweet from a SPORT1 reporter in Germany claimed that a deal worth £20m plus add-ons is 80% complete. But the speculation has been quickly debunked.
The Manchester Evening News reports that United sources have denied there is any truth to the Maitland-Niles story. The club’s priority targets in the final few days of the transfer window remain Porto left-back Alex Telles and the aforementioned Sancho.
United are thought to be targeting up to three deals before the deadline on 5 October, which could include a short-term striker boost. Talks are reported to be ongoing over a possible contract for free agent Edinson Cavani or a loan for Real Madrid fringe forward Luka Jovic.
United are not interested in Maitland-Niles and, what’s more, Arsenal want to keep him, despite previously being open to letting the home-grown player go.
Maitland-Niles had been speculatively linked with Tottenham but was a serious target for Wolves, were close to agreeing a £20m transfer, only for Arsenal to back away late in proceedings.
As 90min revealed at the start of September, it was Mikel Arteta who made the decision to keep the player, stressing to the club that he could be an important player in the ongoing rebuild.
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Source : 90min