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Football

25th May 2018

Man United are linked with Fabinho (again) and their fans are making the same comparison

Simon Lloyd

Summer is here, and so are Manchester United-related transfer rumours. Lots and lots of Manchester United-related transfer rumours…

The latest name to be linked with a move to Old Trafford should certainly ring a few bells with United fans – especially seeing as he was said to be close to joining them for pretty much the duration of last summer.

Yep, once again, AS Monaco’s Fabinho is said to be attracting interest from Jose Mourinho – a manager he worked with for a brief while at Real Madrid.

Acknowledging that Atletico Madrid were in discussions to sign him, Mohamed Bouhafsi of RMC Sport added that United are also interested in the Brazilian and had held talks with his representatives.

Fabinho helped Monaco to the 2017 title in Ligue 1, only for many of his teammates to leave the principality the following summer. Fabinho didn’t get a move, although United and Paris Saint-Germain were repeatedly said to be close to signing him.

Word that he could again be attracting interest from Old Trafford was greeted with a cynical response from plenty of United supporters, many drawing parallels with similar speculation that used to link the club with a move for Nicolas Gaitan.

Gaitan, who now plays in China for Dalian Yifang, was linked with a transfer to United on numerous occasions while at Benfica earlier in his career. Each time, the move failed to materialise and the Argentine eventually left Portugal for Atletico Madrid in 2016.

You get the gist.

Elsewhere, it seems United will be adding at least one Brazilian to their squad this summer. Shakhtar Donetsk’s Fred, who is currently preparing for this summer’s World Cup, confirmed at a press conference that United had made a “strong offer” for him.

Mourinho is also thought to be interested in Toby Alderweireld, though reports have claimed United will not allow Anthony Martial to be part of any deal for the Belgian defender.