Report claims Man United want to sign FC Porto’s Diogo Costa in January – Man United News And Transfer News

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A mainstream Portuguese football paper has made the bold claim that Manchester United are renewing their interest in signing FC Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa.

United were heavily linked with Costa over the summer but Porto’s €75 million release clause proved impenetrable and the Red Devils turned their attentions to Andre Onana instead.

But A Bola claims that “One of the positions seen as most deficient [at United] is that of goalkeeper, with criticism in Her Majesty’s lands not being mild in its analysis of the (weak) performances of André Onana.

“This scenario is enough for the door to signing a new goalkeeper in the middle of this season to be wide open and, in this sense, Diogo Costa’s name is the best placed to take on the aforementioned specific position for the Old Trafford club.”

The outlet goes on to say that United scouts were sent to watch Costa on Sunday and “reinforce the (already extensive) report they have about the Porto goalkeeper.”

A Bola says it is “likely” that United will come back in for Costa “in January or at the end of the season”.

The price tag will remain a non-negotiable €75 million.

The idea of United spending that amount of money on another goalkeeper seems absurd, but while A Bola is hardly a Tier 1 source, they are not normally fantasists to this extent.

In the football transfer world there is often smoke without fire, perhaps on this occasion it is smoke blown by the goalkeeper’s agent to try to negotiate a higher salary.

It could also be the case that Onana’s shaky start to his Old Trafford career may have caused United to trigger the activity of their scouts as a precaution and that A Bola are getting over-excited about it.

Another explanation is that the scout was there to watch another player and A Bola got the wrong end of the stick.

Whatever the case, with Onana ending October with a nomination for Player of the Month and United having just £40 million left of their rolling credit facility, it would surely take an enormous turnaround in events for that €75 million to be spent on Diogo Costa in 2 months’ time.