Manchester United join Real Madrid in race to sign Rennes star Eduardo Camavinga

Manchester United hope to beat Real Madrid to the signature of Rennes midfielder Eduardo Camavinga this summer and believe they have the upper hand as they’re willing to loan the teenager back to the Ligue 1 club for a further 12 months, Metro.co.uk understands.

Camavinga, 17, has made 36 appearances for Rennes this season and helped the club to a third place finish after Ligue 1 was ended prematurely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The midfielder is the youngest player to play for Rennes in the club’s history having made his debut at the age of 16 and his rapid progress has attracted attention from across Europe, with Real Madrid the most noted interested party.

However, Metro.co.uk can reveal that Manchester United are in the running for Camavinga’s signature and have made more than a dozen checks on the midfielder in the last 12 months.

After receiving glowing reports from the club’s newly-widened French network of scouts, Marcel Bout, United’s head of global scouting, made a personal check on the teenager.

Bout joined the club alongside Louis van Gaal in 2014 but he earned a promotion after the Dutchman’s departure and his opinion is highly respected by United’s coaching department.

Camavinga has primarily been deployed at the base of midfield this term, which has seen him draw comparisons with former Liverpool and Real Madrid ace Xabi Alonso. However, as he develops, the teenager is expected to become a box-to-box midfielder.

The effect of the coronavirus pandemic has been widespread across football and United are not immune from the downturn, as they announced last week that the club’s net debt increased  £127.4m to £429.1m in the last 12 months.

Source: metro.co.uk