Manchester United are reportedly battling out with Arsenal over a deal to sign Atalanta forward Mateo Retegui, as per French outlet Foot Mercato.
The Red Devils decided to strengthen the centre-forward position by signing Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee in the last two summer windows.
However, neither has managed to showcase their best in the Premier League so United have been struggling with goal-scoring issues.
Fabrizio Romano has recently revealed that Ruben Amorim wants to address this issue by purchasing a new prolific goal-scorer next summer.
Now, Foot Mercato report that Man Utd have earmarked Retegui as a serious option after being impressed by his impressive performances thus far this season and have already opened talks to seal the deal.
Battle
Atalanta like to play hardball to sell their stars and the Old Trafford club previously experienced it during their swoop to sign Hojlund. It has been reported that La Dea could be ready to sell Retegui for a fee of around £42m.
However, Arsenal are also keen on purchasing the Italian and have also made contact with Gian Piero Gasperini’s side over this deal. Additionally, Aston Villa and Paris Saint-Germain are in this race as well.
The Gunners have struggled with their injury problems this season as Bukayo Saka, Ben White, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Gabriel Jesus have been out injured in recent times with the Brazilian’s season already over.
Now, Kai Havertz has sustained a serious hamstring problem and has also played his last game for the Gunners this term. So, Arsenal currently have no specialist centre-forward option available and this is a huge blow in their quest for the Premier League title.
Retegui has had a stellar campaign for La Dea this season after joining from Genoa last summer. He is currently the highest scorer of Serie A with 20 goals and scored four in a game versus Hellas Verona last weekend.
Therefore, the Atalanta star could be a shrewd acquisition for Arsenal or Man Utd to bolster their attacking department if they purchase him.
However, it is going to be interesting to see whether the North London club or Amorim’s side eventually purchase Retegui in the upcoming transfer window.
