Manchester United are ready to break their club record transfer fee for Atlético Madrid midfielder Saúl Ňíguez .
He is seen as a replacement for Paul Pogba in the event that the 26 year old World Cup winner decides to leave Old Trafford in the summer.
Saúl is a year younger and has been at Atlético for a decade. A Spanish international who has 15 full caps for his country, he is under a long-term contract with the Spanish club, having signed a nine year deal with them back in 2017.
The release clause in his contract is £135 million, which United are prepared to pay, a sum that would eclipse the £89 million they paid to bring Pogba back to United from Juventus in 2016. Ironically, they are hoping to partly fund Saul’s purchase by selling Pogba again.
United have been long-time admirers of Saúl, and watched him as he helped dump Liverpool out of the Champions League before virtually all football in Europe came to a halt.
