Manchester United and Chelsea are interested in signing Ibrahim Sangare, who has also been linked with two other Premier League clubs, according to reports.
Sangare plays defensive midfield for PSV Eindhoven and the Ivory Coast at the international level. He has also played in France for Toulouse. In his club career, however, it may be time for him to try out a third league.
Sangare wants to play in the Premier League, according to Sky Sports, and is “convinced” that he will be able to do so next season.
Manchester United and Chelsea, to name a couple of clubs, are fans of the 24-year-old. Sky also cites Dutch sources as saying that Liverpool and Newcastle are fans.
If reports that Sangare’s contract has a release clause are true, he could be available for €35 million (£29.9 million).
For clubs of United’s and Chelsea’s stature, those figures are achievable. Furthermore, both clubs require reinforcements in this area.
This summer, Manchester United will release Nemanja Matic. In their lineup, he was their only natural defensive midfielder. With attacking options like Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard also departing, the midfield needs to be bolstered.
Their main target is Frenkie de Jong, but he may refuse to leave Barcelona. Aside from that, he’s more of a passing midfielder than the tackler United requires. Maybe they could do two signings there to balance things out.
As a defensive midfielder, Sangare has a lot of potential. No midfielder made more interceptions than him in the Eredivisie in 2021-22, and only one had more tackles than him. He also completed the third-most passes during the opposing phase of the game.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s midfield is well-stocked, as Saul Niguez discovered during a loan spell from Atletico Madrid when he struggled to get game time. However, he isn’t the only midfielder who could leave the Blues’ backroom.
Both N’Golo Kante and Jorginho are approaching their 30th birthdays and have one year remaining on their contracts. Chelsea has the option of moving at least one of them on, despite the fact that they are both elite operators in their respective roles.
Liverpool and Newcastle have both expressed interest, which isn’t surprising. Many of Liverpool’s key midfielders are approaching the end of their careers, similar to Chelsea’s.
Aurelien Tchouameni was expected to progress in the role for the Champions League runners-up, but he instead chose Real Madrid, the team that defeated them in Paris.
Bruno Guimaraes joined Newcastle in January and immediately made an impact. However, now that they have huge financial backing, there will always be room for the team to improve.
Sangare’s contract with PSV expires in 2025. If he gets his way, the imposing 6’3′′ midfielder could leave them sooner.
He appears ready to make the move to the Premier League, where he could help Manchester United or Chelsea, as well as Liverpool or Newcastle.
