Manchester United have allegedly placed Lille’s Sven Botman on their wishlist of centre-back targets ahead of the summer transfer market.
The Old Trafford side will look to close the gap on city rivals Manchester City by bolstering their options up front and in the defence ahead of the new season.
Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland is thought to be the club’s number one priority in attack but club officials have multiple options in mind at centre-half, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer keen for a marquee recruit to partner captain Harry Maguire.
According to Fabrizio Romano, speaking on his ‘Here We Go’ podcast, the 22-year-old Jules is among the ‘most appreciated’ players on the Red Devils’ radar after an outstanding season at the heart of Sevilla’s defence.
United have been closely monitoring Kounde’s displays for much of the season and are confident the youngster would be the ‘perfect’ addition.
However, Romano states Sevilla’s eye-watering €80 million (£68 million) asking price is ‘complicating’ a potential deal.
The Premier League side have therefore been forced to explore alternatives in the transfer window and highly-rated Les Dogues ace is high up on their list of potential targets.
Sven was heavily linked with both Tottenham and Liverpool in the January transfer window and is regarded as one of the finest young centre-halves in Ligue 1.
But the club’s interest remains just that for the time being and United are yet to make a bid or even enter into negotiations for the Netherlands U21 international.
