Manchester United double their efforts in pursuit of Serbian star
In an effort to beat off competition from other potential suitors, Manchester United are preparing to take the initiative in their hunt for Neven Subotic and will submit a New Year bid.
The Premier League outfit have been monitoring the defender for some time but are expecting a fight for his signature, particularly from Chelsea who had a £17.5m bid rejected last January.
United have been sparked into action following a season-long injury to Nemanja Vidic, the expected six-week absence of Phil Jones as well both the da Silva spending time on the sidelines.
The predicament means that Sir Alex Ferguson’s roster is greatly depleted and a weaker defence will be playing in unnatural positions for the coming weeks.
The Scot stated earlier in the month that his side would not be making any new signatures in the coming transfer window but that could all change after the bad string of luck the side have had with their team selection.
The side may have lost one outstanding Serbian in the past month, but with a New Year comes new luck and Subotic is certainly another magnificent prospect to have come out of the country.
Despite the fact that he’s only 23 years-old, Subotic has already made 28 appearances for the Serbian national side since his debut in 2009.
The central defender was a key cog in the Borussia Dortmund side that won the Bundesliga title last season, forming a near-impregnable partnership with Mats Hummels.
Subotic currently has a contract that is set to expire in 18 months, and it’s highly suspected that the defender would have been offered an extension after the championship-winning season, leading some to expect that he may not be looking for a new deal.
If the Premier League title-holders are to prise the Serbian away from the German side, it’s rumoured that they will need to offer at least £22m for his signature.
