€60m Man Utd, Liverpool target ‘prioritises’ move to European giants despite Arsenal hijack claim | OneFootball

Sporting Lisbon star Goncalo Inacio.

Portugal star Goncalo Inacio is reportedly not ‘prioritising’ a move to the Premier League despite interest from Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United.

Inacio has emerged as one of the best young centre-backs in Europe as he has shone for Sporting Lisbon in recent years.

The 22-year-old is naturally left-footed and he has been on the radar of several Premier League clubs in recent months.

In the summer, Liverpool were focused on overhauling their midfield and they are fifth in the 2023 Premier League net spent table after investing around £150m to sign Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch.

It is understood that Liverpool’s next priority will be to sign a young centre-back who could be Virgil van Dijk’s long-term replacement. Inacio – who has a €60m release clause in his contract – has been heavily linked with Jurgen Klopp’s side.

Arsenal are already well-covered in the centre-back department but it’s been claimed of late that they are plotting a hijack on their rivals with the Premier League leaders ready to activate the defender’s release clause.

But Spanish outlet AS have claimed Inacio is being ‘studied’ by Real Madrid after David Alaba suffered a serious ACL injury.

Man Utd are mentioned in the report as they have ‘positioned themselves’ to be a ‘great rival’ for Real Madrid in the race for Inacio, but the talented defender has ‘conveyed his desire to give his priority’ to the Spanish giants.

Sporting Lisbon are reportedly ‘willing to be flexible’ in negotiations for Inacio, who ‘could leave for €45m directly and another €15m more in easy-to-fulfil variable bonuses’.

The interested Premier League clubs could still end up signing Inacio, though. This is because the report claims Real Madrid are also interested in Benfica’s Antonio Silva and Atalanta’s Giorgio Scalvini.

Despite their ongoing struggles under Erik ten Hag, Man Utd chief operating officer Collette Roche has admitted that they are “not expecting to be busy” in January.

“Looking ahead to the January transfer window, we are not expecting it to be particularly busy,” Roche admitted.

“There will always be the possibility of deals around the edges of the squad, particularly in terms of finding opportunities for players who are not playing as much football as they would like.

“However, we’ve always been consistent in saying that we do not see January as the optimal time to do business and our recruitment strategy remains focused on summer windows.

“We’ve seen this season that Financial Fair Play rules have real teeth, so we have to be very careful to ensure that we remain compliant, and we will. But that means being really disciplined on spending going forward, with a balance between incomings and outgoings.”