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Manchester United might be blowing Lucas Moura deal

By Rucker Haringey

Jul 29, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Blaise Matuidi (14) reacts after a goal against the Manchester United during the first half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 29, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Blaise Matuidi (14) reacts after a goal against the Manchester United during the first half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports /
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Manchester United are interested in PSG winger Lucas Moura but should be careful of insulting the French club with such a low opening bid

Manchester United is in desperate need of a dynamic winger like PSG’s Lucas Moura. As such, they are wise to pursue the Brazilian wide-man in January. What’s not smart, is their reported 22 million pound opening bid for the Ligue 1 ace.

The struggles of Juan Mata and Memphis Depay this year for Manchester United have been well-chronicled. Neither has established themselves as a dangerous wing presence for manager Louis Van Gaal despite receiving numerous opportunities to do so. United definitely needs to work in the January transfer window to address this issue.

I even like the target they’ve reportedly selected, Lucas Moura. He’s been a productive player for PSG over the past several season and his pace could do a lot to unlock the attack at Old Trafford. Frankly, he’s much more of a “United” type player than many of the current attacking options at Old Trafford.

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However, they have to come with a much stronger opening bid if they expect their negotiations to go very far. It’s not as if PSG is a small French club that can’t afford to turn down a weighty bid from United. They are the defending Ligue 1 champions and are the richest club in France. With players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic coming off the books at the end of the season they are set up very well financially. That’s what makes the opening Lucas bid so insulting from PSG’s point of view.

Per Transfermarkt.com Lucas is worth somewhere closer to 32 million pounds in the open market. His contract in France isn’t up until 2019 so it’s not as if that’s a factor that would reduce the potential fee either. United have taken a huge risk in opening the negotiations with such a discounted opening bid.

The first thing opening with such a low bid might do is irritate PSG enough to stop negotiations before they ever really begin. Even if they permit negotiations to continue, it’s likely they will be made much more tense. This low bid certainly won’t help the negotiation process between United and PSG.

The other potential downfall to such a low opening bid is that it can attract the attention of other clubs. When you have a player as talented as Lucas, there are many clubs around the world who will have an interest if he becomes available. Getting the impression that PSG is even entertaining an offer around 22 million might cause numerous other clubs to jump in the fray. This will only drive the price up for United while also increasing the likelihood that he’ll end up somewhere else.

There’s enough upheaval at Manchester United at the moment without making negotiations for Lucas Moura harder than they need to be. Ed Woodward and company would be wise to come back to PSG quickly with an offer more fitting of the Brazilian’s value.

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