Manchester United ‘line up shock summer move for Luton’s Ross Barkley to replace Casemiro’ with Sir Jim Ratcliffe a fan of the midfielder after signing him at Nice
- United will need reinforcements in midfield and Barkley could be a cheap option
- Reports claim he could leave Luton if they are relegated from the top flight
- Newcastle have gone backwards this season. They are ambitious and have all the resources, but what is the plan for the future? – It all starts podcast
Manchester United are reportedly preparing a shock move for Luton Town midfielder Ross Barkley after he impressed new owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe in Nice.
Billionaire Ineos chief and the company’s head of sport Sir David Brailsford signed the former England international, 30, for the French club at the start of the 2022-23 season.
Ex-Everton and Chelsea man Barkley played regularly for Nice before returning to the Premier League with the newly promoted Hatters in August.
He starred in Luton’s midfield for much of the season and played well against United as Erik ten Hag’s side won 2-1 at Kenilworth Road last weekend.
Barkley could easily have grabbed a point for his team when he hit the crossbar with a header in stoppage time.
Manchester United are reportedly considering a summer move for Luton’s Ross Barkley
Barkley faces United’s Casemiro last weekend and could replace the Brazilian
Ineos owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe (right) and sporting director Sir David Brailsford (left) signed Barkley for French club Nice, which they also own
Now The sun claim United could sign Barkley on the cheap if they are relegated at the end of the season.
United need reinforcements in midfield due to uncertainty over the future of their Brazilian international Casemiro and the departure of Sofyan Amrabat back to Fiorentina after his loan spell expires.
According to The Sun’s report, Ratcliffe and Brailsford are big admirers of Barkley, who won 33 caps for England between 2013 and 2019, scoring six goals.
He has scored three times and provided three assists in 20 Premier League games for Luton this season.
The Hatters are currently 18th in the table, but only a point behind Everton with a game in hand.
Although Ratcliffe, whose purchase of a 27.7 per cent stake in United was confirmed last week for £1.3 billion, is willing to approve a big summer spend on new players, cheap options such as Barkley could prove useful.
That’s because United also need reinforcements in other areas, such as central defense and up front.
This became clear on Saturday when they suffered their tenth league defeat of the season (2-1 at home to Fulham) to increase the pressure on coach Erik ten Hag.
