Man Utd ‘closer’ to £69m striker valuation after £43m bid, says club president

Reports claim Benfica president Rui Costa is confident that Man Utd will reach their new asking price for Goncalo Ramos.

The Red Devils are desperate to sign a new striker this summer as they continue their search for Cristiano Ronaldo’s successor, after the 38-year-old left in November following a controversial interview with Piers Morgan.

Wout Weghorst joined in the January transfer window on loan until this summer with the Netherlands international used as a stop-gap until they find a permanent replacement for Ronaldo over the next couple of months.

Harry Kane, who could now be on his way to Bayern Munich, emerged as their priority target only for Man Utd to quickly pull out of any potential deal after finding Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy difficult to deal with.

Other reported possible targets include Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, Eintracht Frankfurt’s Randal Kolo Muani and Atalanta’s Rasmus Hojlund.

We put Ramos in our predicted XI for Manchester United’s opening game of the 23/24 season earlier this month.

Benfica’s Ramos is someone they have been linked with since last year and Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha insists that Man Utd are still in the race to sign the striker.

Their president Costa will now accept bids of €80m (£69m) from clubs for Ramos despite previous claims they were holding out for as much as €100m.

Benfica have already turned down a €50m (£43m) bid from an unnamed club this summer and now Costa is confident Man Utd ‘will come close’ to their €80m valuation due to the ‘market’s evolution’.