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Manchester United, Liverpool, PSG & others circling for Tanguy N’Dombélé

L’Équipe report that a whole host of Europe’s elite are already in contact with Lyon midfielder Tanguy N’Dombélé’s entourage about a summer transfer.

The former Amiens player, who Lyon signed in 2017 for €10m, has an approximated market value of between €70m and €80m. The eventual price for N’Dombélé will in part be dictated by the case of Paul Pogba. If the Manchester United man does not move this summer, then the price of other midfielders on the market will naturally rise. N’Dombélé does not want to make a mistake with his next move, his absolute goal is to participate in Euro 2020.

Much like his approach to daily life, the French midfielder will take a rapid decision on his future once the season comes to a close – he is not the sort of man or player who will allow himself to be involved in a transfer saga that runs across the summer months.

Juventus Sporting Director Fabio Paratici has been in discussions on multiple occasions with the N’Dombélé clan, with Aaron Ramsey coming in, but Sami Khedira and Miralem Pjanic told that they should find new clubs, according to the French newspaper.

Meanwhile, PSG are as attentive as ever: German manager Thomas Tuchel has been a fan of N’Dombélé since 2016/17, when he was on the Dortmund touchline. He remains attentive to N’Dombélé’s progress and the player’s entourage and PSG Sporting Director Antero Henrique have been in regular contact in recent months, “but not recently,” murmur both sides.

The ever-increasingly closeness between the two camps and super-agent Pini Zahavi could accelerate any eventual negotiations, with Lyon President Aulas “ok” with the principle of selling a player to direct Ligue 1 rivals PSG. Another key argument for Les Parisiens is that Kylian Mbappé is a big fan of a deal potentially happening – the pair have grown close during recent national team breaks.

What would N’Dombélé say to a concrete offer? It will depend on what other market moves PSG intend to make in the midfield sector – the Lyon man would want to start…

Manchester United are set to endure a frantic summer transfer window filled with ins and outs. Their scouting team are following 27-year-old PSG right-back Thomas Meunier and consistently filling reports on the Belgian this season, for example. The situation of Ander Herrera has not been resolved and the uncertainty regarding the Spaniard’s future will bring the Red Devils to look for midfield reinforcements. Manchester United’s interest in N’Dombélé is not new and they have the financial power to make a deal happen.

The bigger problem for MUFC is that they may not be able to convince the player. They will have to convince N’Dombélé that they will quickly be competitive again on the biggest European stage and for the Premier League title. N’Dombélé does not want to leave Lyon without it feeling like he is making a genuine step-up. If OL qualify for the Champions’ League and Manchester United don’t, it will be difficult for Ole and co. to do a deal this summer.

A host of other European elite sides are also in contact – Liverpool have made an approach. but it appears to be in case they have any key departures this summer in that sector. Chelsea have spoken to N’Dombélé’s entourage and attempted to plant the idea in their heads of the Frenchman staying at Lyon for another year so that the Blues could sign him once their transfer ban is over. Real Madrid have made enquiries about the cost of an eventual deal, without going further. Finally, Manchester City are currently behind in courting the ex-Amiens man if they want to do a summer deal…

Correction: Our Twitter account erroneously produced a headline this morning that suggested that L’Équipe were intimating that Manchester United were in direct contact with Tanguy N’Dombélé, which is not the case.