He will help me Excel in the Midfield’: Bruno Fernandez Begs Erik Ten Hag to approve the signing of £30m Denmark midfielder as He is the only one who can salvage Man united midfield problem
Manchester United are being linked with a shock move for Brondby ace Nicolai Vallys with reports coming out on Denmark suggesting that he could be on his way to the Premier League for a cut price fee lower than £10 million.
When reports emerged earlier in the week claiming that Manchester United had sent scouts to watch the Brondby midfielder in action, you’ll forgive us for first assuming that Nicolai Vallys was a young up-and-comer. A player not yet out of his teens, perhaps.
Imagine our surprise, then, when we discovered that Vallys is not 17 years of age, but 27.
It’s not often Manchester United are linked with a player who is both in his mid-to-late twenties and also still a million miles away from what you could justifiably call a ‘household name’. Perhaps the Red Devils see serious value and potential in Vallys, then.
There is a reason why scouts from all around Europe – including those working on behalf of Aston Villa, Real Betis and Marseille – have all been fawning over the late-blooming playmaker. Perhaps United have been tipped off by one Christian Eriksen, a team-mate of Vallys at international level.
Manchester United linked with Nicolai Vallys
And, while plenty will have reservations about the prospect of signing a player still plying his trade in Denmark at the age of 27, others may be pleased by suggestions that United are starting to think outside the box in terms of potential new signings. For too long, this is a club who have been bewitched by big reputations and big prices, opting for ‘names’ over ‘profiles’.
Vallys, Ekstra Bladet report, could be available for as little as £5 million. Brondby unlikely to stand in his way of what could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The Danish giants valued Vallys at £9 million over the summer but are now expected to ‘reduce the price-tag’.
A Bruno Fernandes back-up?
An elegant, stylish attacking midfielder at his best when breaking late into the penalty box, Vallys has seven goals in 14 Superligaen games this term. A potential back-up for Bruno Fernandes, perhaps, Vallys’ pint-size price-tag would also allow United to free up funds for a couple of more expensive additions at centre-back and in attack.
“I don’t go about my day worrying about whether we can keep Vallys,” Jesper Sorensen, Brondby’s head coach, tells Ekstra Bladet. “But if there is someone else who thinks Vallys is more talented than (a club like Brondby), then I can really understand that.”