Nicolas Otamendi is keen to force through a move from Valencia to Manchester United and hopes to do so before the La Liga club report for pre-season training in 2 weeks time.
Valencia’s summer break ends on 27th July and there are rumours that the Argentine defender – who has made it clear that he wants to leave – may not turn up to training if the move is not completed by then. It follows similar threats from Marcos Rojo last year before his move from Sporting Lisbon.
Valencia, however, are adamant that the centre back can not move for less than £35m.
Otamendi has emerged as United’s top defensive target after the impasse between Real Madrid and Manchester United over the futures of David De Gea and Sergio Ramos. Louis van Gaal has remained stern on the club’s position regarding De Gea and as Real Madrid refused to play ball – with some reports from Sky suggesting they hadn’t even put in an offer for the goalkeeper – it seemed as if only time would resolve the issue.
And time appears to have had a major influence. Sergio Ramos travelled with Real Madrid to Australia and the olive branch seems to have been extended to the legendary Spanish defender in the form of the vacant captain’s armband. United’s response has been to simply re-iterate their own stance – De Gea went to the US with the rest of the team.
There remains a patience around the saga – more from Real Madrid’s side, though United are calm that if their demands aren’t met, no deal will be made this summer – however, with Ramos central to the deal, if Van Gaal moves for Otamendi in order to resolve his defensive issues sooner rather than later, that would appear to draw a line under the saga.
For his part, Otamendi is ready and willing to do whatever it takes to join up with compatriots Rojo and Angel Di Maria. The defender joined Valencia for just 12m Euros last year, meaning that if the deal goes ahead on the terms demanded by the Spanish club, they will have made a profit of almost 40m Euros.
