MANCHESTER UNITED IN CONTACT OVER DEAL FOR £6.9M-RATED PLAYER

Manchester United seemingly have another midfielder on their radar, with a report from Sport (via Sport Witness) stating that the club have already been in contact over a deal for Arthur Vermeeren.

Who are Manchester United signing this summer?

The player is just 18 years of age but has already made quite a splash in the Jupiler Pro League in Belgium. Currently plying his trade for Royal Antwerp, he has already become a first-team regular in that side with 24 league appearances under his belt over the course of the current campaign.

Those showings have amounted in one goal and two assists but, more impressively, have led to a WhoScored average rating of 7.05 and one Player of the Match award. It's his first season of top-level professional football, but the midfielder has not been fazed by it in the slightest. In fact, his rating puts him as the second-best player in the entire team this campaign, with only Vincent Janssen above him in that respect.

Now, it appears that the Red Devils have added him to their wanted list. According to a report from Sport (via Sport Witness), Erik ten Hag is a big admirer of the youngster and is "in love" with the way he plays his football. That, in turn, has led to the side already approaching the player's party and making contact over a potential deal this summer.

It won't be straightforward though, with United not the only side keen to snap him up. The report adds that Barcelona are also in the running for his signature and view him as the replacement for Sergio Busquets.

Who is Arthur Vermeeren?

It's already been made clear that Ten Hag wants to add to his midfield depth this summer, so a move for the Royal Antwerp man seems to make sense. He is young and already doing well at a good level and appears to have the potential to stay in their midfield for a long time considering his age.

Vermeeren may be a bit of an unknown quantity outside of Belgium but he's already caught the eye of many. For example, football talent scout Jacek Kulig labelled the midfielder as "impressive" after the season he has had and admitted that he is one of the most "exciting prospects" in Belgium at the moment.

His stats agree with this. He has the joint-best tackles per game rate in his current team with 2.7 on average and has the second-best dribble rate at the club as well with 1.2 per game. It shows that not only is he one of the best at breaking up opposition attacks and isn't afraid to put a foot in but likes to get the ball himself and then drive his team forward. He ticks plenty of boxes for United then and if they did sign him, it could be a worthwhile investment.

2023-05-26T14:53:37Z dg43tfdfdgfd