Manchester United are on the verge of completing their first signing of the summer after agreeing a €12million deal to sign Partizan Belgrade winger Filip Stevanovic.
The 17-year-old caught the eye of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer earlier this season when Partizan faced United during the group stages of the Europa League.
The Serbian club had been hoping to keep hold of their prize asset in the hope of securing a larger fee in the future but are willing to sanction his departure now on the proviso United are willing to loan him back next season.
With Angel Gomes having already departed for Lille and Taheeth Chong likely to join Werder Bremen on loan, there is room in Solskjaer’s squad for a dynamic young winger but the United manager is happy to bow to Partizan’s demands, according to Republika.
Stevanovic became the youngest player to score in a UEFA competition for Partizan last August. He netted his first goal for the club aged just 16, against Welsh side Connah’s Quay.
United, meanwhile, have not abandoned hope of signing another winger, Jadon Sancho, this summer despite Borussia Dortmund remaining adamant the England international will not be sold.
While Solskjaer’s priority remains a wideman, former Arsenal star Paul Merson believes he would be better served signing a genuine No.9 to ease the goalscoring burden on the likes of Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford.
‘Manchester United should forget Jadon Sancho and sign Harry Kane instead – it would make them title contenders,’ Merson wrote in a column for StarSport.
‘With Sancho, it’s a transfer saga that’s dragging on now, and I keep on weighing it up thinking: “Is this what United really need?”
‘They’ve got Mason Greenwood, who’s going to be a star. Marcus Rashford is only going to get better and better.
‘But while Anthony Martial lets nobody down, I think they need an out and out centre forward. ‘With Sancho, where is everyone going to play? Do they leave Greenwood out?
‘I just think with £100m, why don’t you go and get Kane from Tottenham?’
