Views: 9
Man Utd fail with £58m bid for Barcelona ace despite offering to double star’s salary.
Manchester United and Aston Villa both submitted €70million (£58.3m / $72.3m) offers for Barcelona star Fermin Lopez in the January transfer window but were quickly snubbed by the player, it has been claimed.
Villa were the busier of the two Premier League clubs in the winter window, making homegrown Man Utd star Marcus Rashford one of five new arrivals at Villa Park. Rashford has joined Villa on loan with an option to buy worth £40m (€48m / $49.6m) this summer.
Donyell Malen, Andres Garcia, Marco Asensio and Axel Disasi have all joined Unai Emery’s side, too.
United, meanwhile, offloaded Rashford and Antony to reduce their wage bill while also spending €35m (£29.2m / $36.2m) to make wing-back Patrick Dorgu their only January arrival.
According to Catalan outlet Sport, both United and Villa were hoping to raid Barca for Lopez prior to the February 3 transfer deadline.
The two sides supposedly tabled €70m bids for the Barca midfielder and also offered to double his wages.
But Lopez told United and Villa he has no intention of moving at this stage of his career as he is fully focused on becoming a big success at Barca.
The 21-year-old came through Barca’s famed La Masia academy before breaking into their first team. Lopez wants to help the Blaugrana to get back to the summit of Spanish and European football, and he is likely to spend the majority of his career at the Camp Nou.
Barca are in a strong position to keep the starlet too as his contract runs until summer 2029.
Fermin Lopez has been linked with Man Utd before
This is not the first time Lopez has been tipped to move to England. United reportedly entered negotiations with Barca for him in June 2024 but could not strike an agreement.
Barca also rejected an approach from Tottenham Hotspur for the Spain international in September.
Claims of United submitting a major bid for Lopez in January must be taken with a pinch of salt considering their tough financial situation.
Ruben Amorim’s side are thought to be saving money so they can snare a top striker in the summer, such as Viktor Gyokeres or Victor Osimhen.
READ MORE: Huge Barcelona uproar over planned Marcus Rashford transfer as trio speak out to BLOCK move
Man Utd transfers: Swap deal possible; Everton raid
Meanwhile, reports in Italy claim Joshua Zirkzee could leave United this summer in a swap deal.
United are ‘keeping an eye’ on Juventus midfielder Douglas Luiz, who was the subject of an approach from rivals Manchester City in January.
Juve boss Thiago Motta is eager to reunite with his former Bologna striker Zirkzee, which might see the two players swap places.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is one cheap option for United to replace Zirkzee ahead of next season.
As per Spanish outlet Fichajes, United have added Calvert-Lewin to their striker shortlist.
The Englishman is preparing to leave Everton on a free transfer this summer after running down his contract.