Manchester United are apparently in the driver's seat to land Turkey international Hakan Calhanoglu on a free transfer from AC Milan in 2021.
The playmaker has apparently been underwhelmed by Milan's £54,000-a-week contract offer, but both him and his agent had been courting other clubs since last season.
Calhanoglu was a target for Mikel Arteta at Arsenal last January, however, he was only interested in a loan deal. During the transfer window, both United and Juventus held talks with Calhanoglu's agent, according to Bild journalist Christian Falk.
Falk was speaking on the Stretford Paddock podcast, revealing that United were in advanced negotiations with Calhanoglu over a free transfer in 2021.
"It’s true and I think this will happen because last summer there were already talks with his agent... Juventus would have also have liked him last summer but he said ‘no’.
"He said no because he already knew what would happen this summer with United. Talks are already very, very far at the moment and he’ll be a free agent, so this transfer is very, very likely."
However, Falk also warned that Calhanoglu's attitude during games could be an issue. Falk mentioned that the Turkey international, who scored in Milan's 2-0 Europa League victory over Shamrock Rovers, can be the perfect player for Man United when things are going well.
Nevertheless, the same can't be said when things are going badly, with Falk saying that "He’s not the kind of player that if something went wrong he’d say ‘now we have to fight’."
Last month, Gazzetta dello Sport reported that United were willing to offer Calhanoglu a five-year deal.
Calhanoglu had also been targeted by United during his Bayer Leverkusen days, before eventually opting for Milan.
If United fans haven't seen Calhanoglu in action before, feast your eyes on this quite frankly ludicrous free-kick he scored for Hamburg against Jurgen Klopp's Dortmund in 2014.
