Manchester United have agreed a deal to sign Benfica winger Nicolas Gaitan in a £20m deal, according to a report.
Both Fabio da Silva and Federico Macheda will move to the Portuguese side as part of the deal, report the Daily Telegraph. Fabio is likely to go on a season loan while Macheda’s move could be permanent.
According to newspapers this morning, the highly rated Nicolas Gaitan could be on his way to Old Trafford this summer, with the likes of Fabio and Macheda moving in the opposite direction.
Fabio da Silva is expected to join the Portuguese outfit on a season-long loan deal, whilst Federico Macheda could make a permanent move to the Lisbon giants to offset some of the cost of acquiring Gaitan.
Gaitan has enjoyed an impressive season with Benfica, putting him on the radar of many top European clubs. His four goals and 13 assists guided Benfica to the Champions League quarter-final and a near certain second place finish in the Primeira Liga.
It is rumored that the Argentinian has a £38million release clause – and Benfica were initially intent on holding out for this amount – though his failure to feature in one of Europe’s top leagues as of yet made this unrealistic, in spite of interest from PSG and Inter Milan.
That said, the Argentinian playmaker, who has been dubbed the ‘Argentine Cristiano Ronaldo’ is still likely to attract a fee in the region of £20million, though the exact total will almost certainly be touted as undisclosed when the transfer is announced this summer.
The 24-year-old can play as an attacking midfielder or left winger and has also been linked with Manchester City and Inter Milan.
