Man Utd face West Ham battle for €30m France star to replace Casemiro AND Eriksen

Robin Bairner

• 4 Apr 2024 06:47 BST
• 10 min read

Manchester United are braced for a summer transfer overhaul, with their midfield poised to receive a facelift as both Casemiro and Christian Eriksen could depart.

With new owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe seeking to streamline the club’s transfer policy, one of the players that Man Utd are chasing ahead of the summer is Monaco midfielder Youssouf Fofana.

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The Red Devils are not set for a free ride as they try to capture the 25-year-old France international, though. Calciomercato reports that West Ham United and AC Milan are among the contenders to land the former Strasbourg player.

Monaco are set to ask for a price in the region of €30 million for the midfielder, according to the report, with this valuation falling roughly in line with his Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €21m. This has peaked at €40m in the past, though.

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Is he more Casemiro or Eriksen?

Fofana is a multi-talented midfielder, which is perhaps one of the reasons why Man Utd are so keen on him.

He is typically pigeonholed as an energetic player whose leading attributes are physical, yet this season he has performed most regularly as a deep-lying playmaker. In this regard, he would most obviously replace Eriksen at Man Utd.

It is a role that he has flourished in. According to data analytics firm SciSports, Fofana has been among the best-performing central midfielders in Ligue 1 this season.

Previously, he has been asked to play more of a box-to-box role, which is somewhat more Casemiro’s bag. Fofana has moved away from being a ball-winning or holding midfielder like the Brazil international star is quite simply because he is not as good at it.

Youssouf Fofana vs Ligue 1 midfielders: 2023/24

At West Ham, meanwhile, he could provide a more technical profile to either Tomas Soucek, Edson Alvarez or Kalvin Phillips.

Man Utd could offer Fofana a rotation role initially, according to SciSports, but he has the potential to become a key player at Old Trafford, while with the Hammers he would instantly be one of their star players.

The choice, it seems, is his.