Man Utd files: Red Devils make £25m ‘new Peter Crouch’ top striker target and Ten Hag’s mammoth payout revealed
BEANPOLE Italian striker Lorenzo Lucca is literally rising to the top of the Manchester United shortlist as the new Old Trafford regime seeks a substantial rebuild.
The 6ft 7in frontman, 24, has notched 18 Serie A goals over the past two seasons since returning to his homeland with Udinese from a loan spell with Ajax.
Lucca, who has earned three Italy caps this season, was a youth product at Torino but made his breakthrough with 13 goals for Serie C Palermo in 2020-21.
During his spell at Pisa in Serie B he was dubbed the “Tower of Pisa”, a reference to the city’s landmark building.
Udinese are looking for just £25million this summer for a striker who would become the Prem’s tallest outfield player since Peter Crouch retired in 2019.
That fits with United’s financial model although they would face potential competition from Juventus and Milan.
Ten Hag payout
Erik ten Hag received a compensation payout of £8.5million when he was sacked as Manchester United manager.
The Dutchman was fired in October with the club sitting 14th in the Premier League.
The payout is lower than initial reports, which suggested he may have received double that amount.
It was thought Ten Hag’s payout may have been bigger after he was handed a one-year extension last summer after leading United to FA Cup glory at Wembley Stadium.
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He still had 20 months to run on his £9million a year contract.
However, it appears the Dutchman walked away with less than he would have earned had he seen out his contract.
The latest club accounts revealed: “On 28 October 2024, the club announced that Ten Hag left his role as men’s first team manager. Costs associated with this of approximately £8.5million will be recognised in the financial statements for the year ending 30 June 2025.”
United had previously admitted forking out £14.5 million to Ten Hag, his coaching team and former sporting director Dan Ashworth.
The club said: “Exceptional items for the quarter were a cost of £14.5m. This relates to costs associated with the departure of former men’s first team manager Erik ten Hag and various members of football staff.”
The payout to Ten Hag is roughly the same amount the club has been forced to pay out in redundancy after cutting 250 staff last summer.
The club admitted: “In July 2024, Manchester United began a redundancy process aimed at reducing employee levels by around 250 people. Associated costs of between £8million and £10million will be recognised.”
Lining City pockets
United will have to hand Sunday’s derby rivals City a windfall of around £5m if they land Ipswich forward Liam Delap this summer.
The 22-year-old is one of the names under consideration at Old Trafford as they look to rebuild Ruben Amorim’s squad this summer.
And City will be watching developments closely with the striker they allowed to leave for £15m last summer.
They have a buy-back option believed to be in the region of £40m but as things stand are unlikely to activate that.
However they inserted a sell-on clause into the original deal in July – meaning they will get 20 per cent of any profit made by the Suffolk club.
Fire summer sale
Talk of the dressing room at Old Trafford is that the club is desperate to offload some of its highest wage earners this summer – to allow a long-term cut-price reboot of the squad.
United chiefs fear they will be unable to shift Brazilian veteran Casemiro, who has another 12 months left on his £18m per season contract.
That means they are crossing their fingers that Real Betis will want to splash the cash to turn Old Trafford flop Antony‘s loan into a permanent deal.
Marcus Rashford‘s successful stint at Aston Villa is seen as lifting his potential sale price, while Christian Eriksen will be among those leaving when his contract expires.
It will also hasten their need to find a buyer for Jadon Sancho, with Chelsea prepared to write off £5m to back out of their agreement to sign the winger at the end of his loan spell at Stamford Bridge.
SunSport understands the new approach was signposted by the arrival in January of left-back Patrick Dorgu, signed for £25m from Lecce on a five-year deal worth only £40,000 per week.
United’s scouts have been told to look for value in the market, with the club looking to avoid over-paying for young players and offering them relatively low initial contracts.
That comes after Sir Jim Ratcliffe‘s public criticism of keeper Andre Onana, Rasmus Hojlund and Casemiro last month.
Ex-Red Devil receives support
Former United team-mates have rallied around Brandon Williams – who is facing up to two years in prison after admitting dangerous driving.
The 24-year-old will be sentenced on May 9 and has found life difficult since he was released by the Red Devils 12 months ago.
But those who worked with him at Carrington and played alongside him have been quick to offer both financial and moral support for the youngster – with one ex-United star particularly generous.
One that got away
Nico O’Reilly is the talk of the blue half of town right now after his emergence into City’s first team in recent weeks – and he could get his first taste of a full Old Trafford in Sunday’s derby.
Yet if things had worked out differently, he could have been turning out regularly at the Theatre of Dreams.
United were at the head of the queue to sign the Manchester-born youngster when he was a boy – but he opted to go across town after being dazzled by the set up at the City Football Academy.
Wag city
Amorim’s wife Maria Joao Diogo will no doubt be looking forward to the arrival of Hugo Viana across town at City.
That’s because she is close friends with the wife of the new Etihad director of football – and the pair own interior design company Dois Tons together.
But in the meantime Maria has struck up an unlikely friendship with Natalia Loewe – who is the partner of Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker.
The families live close together in Cheshire and have kept each other company while their husbands are off training.