Galatasaray Vice President claims Sofyan Amrabat waited for them but Manchester United “stole him” – Man United News And Transfer News

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Of all the deadline-day deals made by Manchester United, the one that caught the eye the most was the capture of Sofyan Amrabat from Fiorentina.

It was an open secret that United wanted him, and he was rejecting offers left and right in hopes of reuniting with his former manager Erik ten Hag.

However, Galatasaray Vice-President Erden Timur has now revealed that Amrabat didn’t have his eyes set just on United.

In a press conference with Turkish media after the closure of the window, Timur said they had “largely agreed with Amrabat”, indicating that personal terms weren’t a problem.

They had even reached “a level with Fiorentina” where an agreement was close to being struck.

Then came the remarkable claim that Amrabat “waited for us, rejecting very big teams” until Manchester United entered the fray.

Timur said that Ten Hag being at United was a big factor as Amrabat was turned as “his old coach was also there”.

The Moroccan international ultimately got his wish of reuniting with Ten Hag, signing for United on a one-year loan deal worth €10 million, with an option to purchase next year.

Galatasaray, reeling from the gazump by United, eventually signed Tanguy Ndombele as a replacement.

The two clubs will meet in the UEFA Champions League this year after they were drawn in a group with Bayern Munich and FC Copenhagen.

Amrabat will get a chance to vindicate his decision to join United despite “waiting for” and “rejecting other big clubs” to go to Turkey.

United play Galatasaray at home on October 3 and travel to Turkey on November 29, with this interesting storyline wrinkle added now to both fixtures.