Manchester United are in the transfer market to continue to rebuild their squad for success and now a new update has emerged on a potential transfer target.
What's the latest on Man United's interest in Marcos Llorente?
According to reports coming out of Spain, Man United are interested in signing Atletico Madrid midfielder Marcos Llorente this summer.
As per the report, the Red Devils will compete with bitter Premier League rivals Liverpool for the Serie A star's signature ahead of next season and it is claimed that a 60m (£51m) offer would be enough for his club to part ways with their player.
How good is Marcos Llorente?
Erik ten Hag has already started to add quality depth to the midfield personnel ahead of next season with Mason Mount joining the club from Chelsea and now he could add another talent by acquiring the services of Llorente this summer.
The versatile whiz can offer the Red Devils a diverse skill set and experience in a number of positions with Llorente tallying up numerous appearances in the central, defensive and attacking midfield roles, as well as excelling in the right-back role too, which could make him an incredibly valuable asset to Ten Hag next season.
Gavi, Khephren Thuram and Sandro Tonali are all talented midfielders who have been named as the most comparable to Llorente over the last 12 months, demonstrating that the Spaniard has a strong work ethic and ability to influence in both attacking opportunities and defensive situations too.
As per FBref, Llorente – who was dubbed "influential" by former Atletico teammate Luis Suarez – ranks in the top 10% of his positional peers across the top five European leagues for progressive carries, touches and progressive passes received, as well as sitting in the top 25% for shot-creating actions.
There is no doubt that Mount is a major coup for the Red Devils, however, finding his best position on the pitch and harnessing a more disciplined role will be important to ensure he can reach his potential at Old Trafford. As a result the signing of Llorente could be a chance to make the England star even more unplayable.
Despite his greatest strengths being in attack, Llorente outperformed Mount in interceptions per 90 (0.89 v 0.52), clearances per 90 (1.03 v 0.47) and pass completion (81.2% v 76.4%), proving that he could be relied upon more in the deeper role alongside Casemiro – who he used to be the back-up for at Real Madrid.
It is unclear as yet what exact role Mount will be applied to in the centre of the pitch next season, however, having a hard-working teammate who can not only collect the ball to progress play but provide decent attacking opportunities to the England ace would be massively advantageous.
Mount's best season at Chelsea saw him register 29 goal involvements in all competitions throughout 2021/22, so if Llorente can help him reach those levels again, it could be a game-changing proposition for the Red Devils.
With that being said, there is no doubt that Llorente would be a great signing for Man United this summer.
