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Manchester United reportedly want to sign SSC Napoli right back Giovanni Di Lorenzo this summer window.
The Red Devils experienced the ultimate high of signing off their season in style with a pulsating 2-1 win over Manchester City in the FA Cup final last weekend.
In truth though, it was a rare fine performance from Erik ten Hag’s side who have struggled all year in attack and, particularly, defensively.
Despite the poor form, one of the side’s key components has been Diogo Dalot who has played a mammoth 51 games this season.
The Portuguese international was recognised for his fine performances this year when he was voted the players’ player of the season, and this is even more admirable considering he has had to play a lot of the season in his unfavoured role of left back, due to United’s defensive injury woes.
However, ever since Ten Hag took over the Old Trafford hotseat the club has been linked to a new right back and with Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s future unclear, it is certainly an area INEOS may look to upgrade.
The Red Devils have already been linked to right backs, such as Jeremie Frimpong and Denzel Dumfries, but another name has cropped up as of late.
United were linked to Napoli’s Di Lorenzo in April and it was reported the club were preparing a summer offer for the player.
TEAMtalk have taken this story further however by reporting, “Manchester United have a good chance of signing Giovanni Di Lorenzo this summer as he is pushing to leave Napoli, although Aston Villa will provide competition for his services.”
“In a recent interview, Di Lorenzo’s agent said: ‘He doesn’t feel the confidence so yes, Di Lorenzo is ready to leave, we informed the club. The president [Aurelio] De Laurentiis is open to selling Giovanni in case of [a] good bid.’”
The 30 year old would bring a winning attitude to the dressing room as the Napoli skipper won the 2023 Serie A title, and was also part of Italy’s victorious Euro 2021 side.
He has been a regular in the league season, playing 36 times, scoring once and providing an impressive six assists in a challenging season for his side.
The fullback tends to engage “in wide tussles, either receiving the ball to feet in the half-space or making a half-run, underlapping his fellow winger to receive a through ball. If there’s an opportunity to penetrate the opposition’s defence, he tends to take it.”
Di Lorenzo has also been described as having “leadership experience” and being “at his peak”.
With INEOS’ focus being on bringing in younger, hungrier players, an aging Di Lorenzo may not seem the most obvious choice but if they can get a relatively cheap deal for the player, he may be a tempting option to challenge Dalot for that right back position and offer much more going forward than Wan-Bissaka.
Moreover, while Aston Villa can offer Champions League football next year, United will be emboldened that they can at least offer the Europa League to potential signings and will hope to continue to ride the wave of optimism that Wembley’s spectacular victory brought for as long as possible.
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