Atletico Madrid have put a dampener on Manchester United’s interest in Kieran Trippier with a hefty fee, as they intend to keep the English international.
A few weeks ago, Diogo Dalot’s future at Manchester United was shaky, and he seemed destined for the exit. Things change quickly in football, and Dalot seems to be back in the frame at Old Trafford.
At the beginning of the summer, Atletico Madrid’s Kieran Trippier was on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s wishlist as the Norwegian tactician scoured the market for competition for Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Trippier wanted a return to England, but that desire may not be enough to bring him home as Atletico’s high price has proved a stumbling block.
Dalot’s uncertain future
Diogo Dalot joined Manchester United from Porto in 2018 with Jose Mourinho at the helm. The Portuguese endured a torrid time as he tried to break into the first team. With the looming figure of Wan-Bissaka ahead of him and games hard to come by, his future at the club became dicey.
In 2020, he joined AC Milan on loan, where he had a decent season getting 21 games under his belt with a goal to boot.
However, his Milan performance was not enough to convince Solskjaer as he still had sights on bringing Trippier to Manchester United.
Bissaka’s form ignites Trippier interest.
Like a bolt out of the blue, the newsd making the rounds of a potential move by Trippier to Old Trafford. Bissaka’s form had put a downer on Solskjaer, and the gaffer believed that competition for him would bode well for the team. However, interest in Trippier was still a surprise.
Trippier had helped Atletico to the title last season after a seven-year wait. With the league victory, he felt his time at the Spanish capital was up. Interest hardly comes any bigger than Manchester United, and the 30-year-old was up for it with Diego Simeone holding out for a hefty fee to keep him at the Wanda Metropolitano.
The Red Devils are unwilling to meet Atletico’s valuation of the English international, thus a change in stance concerning Diogo Dalot.
Clearouts are still in the offing as Dalot set to stay
That deal now looks dead in the water, with Solskjaer recently saying any new signing will come as a “bonus”.
According to Manchester Evening News, the signing of Raphael Varane and English international Jadon Sancho means emphasis has shifted to offloading some of the surplus players.
The clearout comes as good news for Dalot, as his name popped up on the exit list. AC Milan had shown interest in keeping him at the San Siro after a successful loan spell.
Bissaka’s attacking output had come under criticism, and Trippier was the competition for Bissaka in that position. It seems now the competition will come from Dalot.
However, a late move for Kieran Trippier is not entirely off the table, which could still push the 22-year-old Dalot out of the door. We’ll have to see how that plays out.
By :
Steven D. Thompson
