A former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder has poured cold water over Manchester United's chances of completing a deal for Monaco lynchpin Youssouf Fofana this summer.
Formerly joining forces with Aurelien Tchouameni in a fearsome midfield partnership, Fofana has remained loyal to Les Monegasques since his erstwhile teammate left for Real Madrid in 2022.
The 25-year-old has spent four-and-a-half years at Stade Louis II since leaving Strasbourg midway through the 2019-20 season, and he has now amassed seven goals and 15 assists in 175 games for the Principality giants.
A productive 2023-24 campaign saw Fofana register four goals and four assists in 32 Ligue 1 contests, and after playing six times for France during the 2022 World Cup, he made Les Bleus' squad for the 2024 European Championships.
However, the 25-year-old has been tipped to depart Monaco for a number of months now, as his contract only runs until the summer of 2025, and he has already confirmed that he is on the lookout for a new club in the upcoming transfer window.
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Cesc Fabregas names Fofana's likeliest next club
Both Arsenal and Man United are said to have taken a liking to Fofana amid claims that he could be available for just £20m this summer, but the Red Devils' interest is supposedly the most advanced.
However, according to ex-Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea man Cesc Fabregas - who was briefly Fofana's teammate at Monaco - the France international is likely to snub the Premier League in favour of AC Milan.
The Italian giants are expected to appoint Lille boss Paulo Fonseca as their new head coach after parting ways with Stefano Pioli, and speaking to BBC's Planet Premier League podcast, Fabregas suggested that the pair's strong relationship could see Fofana make the switch to San Siro.
"I know him, I played with him. Funnily enough I never heard about Man United, I heard that he was going to AC Milan because [manager, Paulo] Fonseca probably is going to go there from France and they know each other, so let's see where he goes," the Evening Standard quotes Fabregas as saying.
"But he's a very dynamic and strong player, good on the ball, a modern type of player, aggressive, can jump, he's box to box. I really like Fofana and I think he fits very well with the Premier League style."
What alternative midfielders could Man United target?
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Whether Fabregas's vision comes to fruition remains to be seen, but Man United would do well to not put all of their eggs in the Fofana basket as Erik ten Hag pursues a new central midfielder for 2024-25.
Of course, it is still not known whether the Dutchman will be around to integrate a new lynchpin into the squad, but a couple of targets feature highly on their wishlist, including Benfica's Joao Neves.
The Portuguese starlet is regarded as one of the highest-rated midfield prospects on the continent, but as Man United may have to shell out more than £100m to sign him, a transfer is considered unrealistic at this stage.
The same goes for long-time target Frenkie de Jong, as Barcelona president Joan Laporta recently affirmed that the Catalans are not in a desperate rush to offload some of their biggest names due to their financial crisis easing.
Turning Sofyan Amrabat's loan from Fiorentina into a permanent deal would be a cut-price solution for Man United, who could wave goodbye to all of Donny van de Beek, Casemiro and Christian Eriksen in the coming weeks.
Ben Knapton
