Manchester United and Liverpool are both chasing Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak with the Red Devils reportedly resigned to losing David de Gea to Real Madrid this summer.
The Star, citing Spanish source Diario Gol, says that Mendes has been having talks with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez.
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It’s believed that the European champions are eager to conclude the transfer before the end of the month, and although United are “reluctant” to part with the 27-year-old, they have nonetheless identified Oblak as the man to replace De Gea between the sticks.
But Atletico Madrid have set a high price for the hand of Oblak and are reportedly “demanding a fee in excess of £80m”.
Fred’s injury scare
In this transfer window United have already completed deals for defender Diogo Dalot from Porto and also for midfielder Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk.
Brazil star Fred, who joins United for a reported £52m, suffered an injury scare yesterday less than a week before the World Cup starts in Russia.
In a Brazil training session in London Fred “went down holding his leg”, the BBC reports, and had to watch from the touchline with an ice pack on his right ankle.
Quoted by the Manchester Evening News, Brazil’s national team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said: “He has had an ankle trauma, but it is still too early for any evaluation. He has already begun the recovery work, he had that part in real pain.
“It’s early for any diagnosis, we need to wait for more. The first 24 hours are crucial. [Today] we will see how he will feel, the response to treatment, whether he will train or not.”