Sporting Lisbon will not negotiate on Manchester United target Gonçalo Inácio

Manchester United are finding that fishing in Portuguese waters is proving very expensive this summer.

Despite unclarity over the managerial role at Old Trafford, plans are clearly in place to strengthen across the pitch, with defence and midfield among the highest priorities.

Close to the top of United’s wish lists in those areas are stars plying their trade in Portugal, including defenders Gonçalo Inácio and Antonio Silva and midfielders João Neves and Martin Hjulmand.

Earlier this morning we published a report from this morning’s paper edition of Correio de Manhã that claimed Sporting bosses have made a deal with manager Ruben Amorim not to sell Hjulmand this summer under any circumstances unless his €80 million release clause is met.

Another outlet, Record, confirm their story this morning, but say that the deal to only sell for the release clause extends to all the Lions’ crown jewels, including Inácio, whose own buy-out figure stands at €60 million (just over £50m).

This is not as much of a hammer blow as Hjulmand’s figure, as it still places Inácio within Ineos’ reported “£60m or less” policy for this summer.

However, it is still a sizeable chunk for a left-footed centre back when the priority is a right-footed one to replace Raphael Varane.

If Lisandro Martinez remains fit, it is hard to see him being dropped, so signing Inácio would mean doing so as a backup or playing one of the two lefties on the right.

There is also the issue of competition from Liverpool, whose interest in Inácio is said to be “concrete”, seeing him as the new Virgil van Dijk.

Meanwhile however, other names on the centre back list are proving just as expensive, with Everton seemingly holding out for £75 million for Jarrad Branthwaite and Benfica also playing hardball over Antonio Silva, with news on that coming up here shortly.

The Lisbon clubs have clearly not read the room this summer in placing such high and inflexible asking prices on their top stars. There is simply no money around at any of Europe’s top clubs to be approaching the kinds of figures they are asking.

Of course, it is normal for Portuguese sides to do a lot of posturing in the media at this stage in the summer and it may well be that a deal can eventually be struck with Sporting for both Inácio and Hjulmand that falls well below the bullish asking prices being mooted at this stage.

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