Manchester United have been linked with a move for Lille star Gabriel Magalhaes, as per reports.
According to Sky Sports, Gabriel’s representatives are in the UK to negotiate a deal for the defender, with United and Everton both interested. The French club have put a price tag of €30 million on him.
The 22-year-old is expected to leave the French club this summer after a brilliant season, where he helped Lille finish fourth in a Ligue 1.
Manchester United had a fine end to the season, securing Champions League spot with an awe-inspiring third-place finish in the Premier League, and will look to build on that with some defensive reinforcements in the transfer window.
Gabriel Magalhaes to Manchester United – The player Solskjaer needs?
Gabriel Magalhaes’ rise was rapid in the recently concluded Ligue 1 season, which has led to interest from the likes of Manchester United, Everton, Napoli, and PSG.
The 22-year old started his career with Brazilian second-tier side Avai, where he made 21 appearances for the club, and owing to his consistent defensive displays, he earned a move to Lille in 2017.
Gabriel is a typical modern-day centre-back as he is 6’3 tall, quick and versatile and has played both in a back-two as well as a back-three on several occasions.
He averaged a pass success rate of 82.2% in Ligue 1 last season, and played a pivotal role for Lille in their style of playing out from the back.
The Brazilian also has a solid passing technique as he regularly looks for both the cross-field diagonals and a direct route over the top of the defence, and hence was heavily involved in Lille’s build-up play throughout the season.
Harry Maguire’s lack of mobility has been exposed on several occasions, and Gabriel fits the player profile Manchester United currently need. He is also pretty young, and would be a long-term solution at the back alongside Maguire.
The only area of concern would be his lack of experience at the top level, as he has just finished his first season in one of the least competitive leagues in Europe, and he will need a little bit of time to adapt to the English top-flight.
As a defender, Gabriel ticks most boxes, and for a fee of €30 million, he should be a no-brainer.
Stats via Whoscored
