Manchester United have had their opening offer for Joules Kounde rejected by Sevilla with the Spanish team holding out for a bigger fee, according to reports.
Solskjaer is looking to sign a new defender to partner Harry Maguire this summer and they appear to have narrowed their search to Spain, with Villarreal’s Pau Torres and Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane also on their shortlist.
But Kounde appears to be their number one target, with the Red devils making an opening offer worth around €45million (£38m).
But, according to Duncan Castles and The Transfer Window Podcast, United’s offer has been turned down by Sevilla who are holding out for a much bigger offer.
Sevilla’s director of football, Monchi, told United there was no way he could sell for such a low fee, having been offered – and rejected – a €55m (£47m) offer last summer for the young defender.
While there have been claims that Monchi is hoping to land as much as €80m (£68m) for Kounde, an offer of around €65m (£56m) should be enough to get the deal done.
Part of the reason the Spanish side are standing firm over their valuation is due to a clause in his move from Bordeaux two years ago which entitles the French team to 30% of any transfer fee.
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Having paid €25m (£21.5m) for Kounde in 2019, and with that 30% clause to deal with, United’s bid would have left Sevilla with only a small profit.
Due to La Liga transfer budget restrictions, that would have meant they could only reinvest around €10m (£8m) to sign any replacement.
Therefore United must increase their offer if they want to sign Kounde, though they may decide to move for either Torres or Varane.
