Man Utd could lose World Cup’s best midfielder to Saudi Arabia

Carlo Garganese

Updated: 11 Jul 2023 02:10 CDT
3 min read

Manchester United could lose top midfield target Sofyan Amrabat to the Saudi Pro League, according to Sportitalia.

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Alfredo Pedulla reports that Al-Ahli have presented a financial package to Fiorentina and to the player himself that Man Utd cannot match.

FootballTransfers revealed last week that Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag had made Amrabat his number one target for the midfield this summer.

Jacque Talbot reported that a deal can be stuck between Man Utd and Fiorentina for around £20 million for the Morocco international. Talbot adds that a move to Saudi Arabia is unlikely but not impossible.

Amrabat will definitely leave Fiorentina this summer as his contract expires in 2024.

He was promised by his club that he would be allowed to leave at the end of the 2022-23 season when Fiorentina rejected January Deadline Day moves to Chelsea and Barcelona.

Amrabat’s failed transfer to Barcelona and Chelsea

Chelsea and Barcelona pushed to sign the midfielder on the last day of the winter window. The 26-year-old failed to turn up to training on Deadline Day in an attempt to push through a move.

Amrabat was arguably the best midfielder at World Cup 2022, playing a crucial role for a Morocco team that stunned everyone in reaching the semi-finals

The 26-year-old produced a series of dominant performances in the centre of midfield as Morocco knocked out Belgium from the group stages, and then Spain in the last-16 and Portugal in the quarter-finals.

Morocco were finally beaten in the semis by France, before losing the third and fourth place playoff to Croatia.

Amrabat’s displays led to a whole host of Europe’s biggest clubs taking interest in the Fiorentina star.

Liverpool, Tottenham, Atletico Madrid, Milan and PSG were all linked to Amrabat together with Chelsea, Barcelona and Man Utd.

Amrabat joined Fiorentina from Hellas Verona in 2020 and is now considered one of the best central midfielders in Italy.