Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal is desperate to bring in Hakan Calhanoglu to Old Trafford, according to reports in German media.
United are lining up for a successful bid to sign Bundesliga’s highly rated midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu of Bayer Leverkusen.
According to German news outlet Sport Bild, Manchester United are now ready to look for something more concrete in future.
Reports are saying the Red Devils have already placed their key scouts to watch the 21-year-old Turkish youngster in action for current club Bayer Leverkusen.
But van Gaal should be aware that the 21-year-old midfielder, Calhanoglu will not come in a cheap offer, as the attacker’s present contract with Leverkusen lasts until 2019.
According to the terms of that agreement, United will have to pork out £29m release clause that includes as part of the deal.
However, now it seems the German club are ready to play ball as their managing director Michael Schade admitted in an interview to Sport Bild:“We want to keep Hakan, but with us there is a pain threshold.”
The 21-year-old promising midfielder till now has bagged 18 goals and provided 14 assists in 63 appearances for Leverkusen, including six goals and seven assists in Champions League. This season he has scored 3 goals and bagged 3 assists in all competitions.
So Hakan Calhanoglu’s sign would be a major boost for Manchester United, despite the heafty transfer fee.
Earlier this week van Gaal insisted, he wants more signings coming January, despite a huge £110m spending on new players in the summer transfer window.
“I have already said, in the transfer period, I could not buy every player I want and that’s also because of the market. I have said that we need creative, speedy players in attack. You have seen which players I have bought; I like that profile, but we need more.
“I think that all the players I want do want to come. It is not a question of the players; it is a question of the clubs who are stopping them