Man Utd eye Pogba-Kante hybrid as Casemiro replacement

Manchester United are interested in signing 21-year-old Antwerp midfielder Mandela Keita, according to reports.

The Red Devils are crying out for midfield reinforcements with Casemiro now aged 32 and long past his best. It looks like the club could entertain offers for the Brazilian at the end of the season.

Sofyan Amrabat is on loan from Fiorentina and will return to his parent club at the end of the season without a permanent transfer clause being activated.

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Christian Eriksen, meanwhile, was subject to interest from Turkey in January and Galatasaray are expected to try for him again.

Accordingly, plans are being made for a long-term midfielder to come into the Manchester United squad and shine alongside homegrown academy prospect Kobbie Mainoo.

Manchester United shopping in Antwerp

United were credited with strong interest in emerging Antwerp star Arthur Vermeeren before the Belgian moved to Atletico Madrid in January.

And now one of his former team-mates could well be of interest to Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS organisation, now part-owners of Manchester United.

Mandela Keita, a league and cup double winner with Mark van Bommel’s side last season, is currently approaching the end of a season-long loan deal with the Jupiler Pro League champions.

Having originally moved to Antwerp from parent club OH Leuven during the 2022-23 season as he recovered from injury, the decision was taken by all parties to extend the loan for this campaign with a fixed purchase fee of between €7 million and €8 million inserted into the deal.

Now attracting attention for the quality of his performances for Antwerp, it looks like Antwerp will benefit from that foresight and cash in when the time comes to make his deal permanent.

Any deal is likely to break Vermeeren’s Antwerp transfer record, which stands at €18m.

Keita’s time to shine

Keita is now a full Belgium international having made his debut last autumn and starred in this season’s Champions League for his side.

Het Nieuwsblad is now reporting that Man Utd are in the mix for the player’s signature along with West Ham and Spanish side Villarreal.

It’s been claimed that United have sent scouts to watch the emerging star on multiple occasions.

Keita once described himself as a perfect mix of N'Golo Kante and Paul Pogba, combining a fine set of defensive attributes along with good technical and playmaking ability.

Antwerp is developing a reputation as one of the finest finishing schools in Europe with Vermeeren, Gaston Avila (Ajax) and Willian Pacho (Eintracht Frankfurt) earning big-money moves in recent months.

Keita could be the next one off the assembly line and help solve a big problem in Manchester United’s midfield.