Manchester United are in very advanced talks to sign Genoa defender Radu Dragusin, according to Romanian publication ProSport.
The Red Devils have had a frustrating season thus far and they recently suffered their ninth defeat of the campaign across all competitions.
United are likely to spend in January to reinforce their squad and ProSport claim that the club are in ‘very advanced’ talks to land Dragusin.
Erik ten Hag’s side are prepared to make a significant financial effort to sign the 21-year-old, who has been compared to Nemanja Vidic.
The youngster joined Genoa from Juventus last summer after a loan stint. The Serie A outfit are set to hold out for his €30 million release clause.
Dragusin would be a surprise winter signing
United were linked with the likes of Kim Min-jae, Benjamin Pavard and Jean-Clair Todibo last summer.
Min-jae and Pavard joined Napoli and Inter Milan respectively while Todibo ended up staying at Nice with the Red Devils not having the funds to sign him.
Their plan was to offload Harry Maguire before pursuing a marquee centre-back, but the former captain made it clear that he wanted to stay at the club.
Maguire has since turned around his fortunes under Ten Hag and as things stand, Raphael Varane looks the more likely candidate to leave in January.
Todibo was recently mentioned as the big objective for United and their interest in Dragusin definitely comes as a surprise ahead of the New Year.
The 21-year-old likes to play from the left centre-back role. This has been a problematic position for United this term with regular change of personnel.
Ten Hag does not believe Varane is good enough for the position and the Dutchman could be interested in signing a young centre-back with huge potential.
Dragusin is not a tough tackler but he is a good passer of the ball. He averages an impressive 4.9 clearances this term, winning 69 per cent of his duels.
His aerial prowess is a big strength of his game. He should be well suited for the Premier League. For €30m, he would be a good acquisition for United.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com