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Man United to battle Bayern, Madrid, Barcelona for Leverkusen icon
Man United are interested in signing long serving Bayer Leverkusen co-captain Jonathan Tah when his contract expires this summer, but face competition from several top European clubs. Sky Sports reported that United are among several clubs chasing the signature of Tah, who is also being tracked by Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and Barcelona.
Tah’s departure from Leverkusen was confirmed by the player in April, and reconfirmed following Leverkusen’s final home game of the season – a 4-2 defeat to Borussia Dortmund on Sunday.
After Tah was given a sendoff by the club in front of their fans, Leverkusen Managing Director and former player Simon Rolfes took to LinkedIn to send his best wishes to the player.
Rolfes thanked Tah for his service to club, labeling the defender an “icon” and “leader”.
Man United find themselves in the market for defensive reinforcements after an abysmal campaign, losing a club record 17 matches and sitting in 16th place in the table. They have a negative goal differential (-11), shipping 53 goals in 36 matches.
They are on course for their worst ever Premier League season and will be looking to salvage a place in the Champions League via a Europa League win.
Injuries have played a big part in United’s defensive struggles, with Lisandro Martinez, Leny Yoro, and Matthijs de Ligt all sidelined for large portions of the season. Tah could provide some much needed stability in that department.
United might have to move fast though, with the NY Times reporting that talks between Bayern Munich and Tah are in the advanced stages. Bayern notably approached the player last summer, but were unwilling to part with the €30million asking price.
That now seems a wise decision, as they could be set to land their man for free.
Bayern find themselves in the centre-back market after news of Eric Dier’s impending move to Monaco as a free agent this summer.
Barcelona has reportedly reached a verbal agreement with the player as well, but the deal is said to be in limbo following concerns of registration issues at the club.
Rivals Real Madrid are known to be in search of a new centre-back and were reportedly offered Tah in January but declined the option. Madrid continue to be linked to William Saliba and Dean Huijsen but are alert to Tah’s situation.
Tah has made 401 appearances for Leverkusen during ten seasons at the club. He is the club’s 6th all time appearance leader and last year anchored the side’s historic treble win.
He made 48 appearances in all competitions, in the campaign where his side became the first team to complete an entire Bundesliga season without suffering a single defeat.
They also captured the DFB-Pokal and the DFL-Supercup but missed out on a fourth trophy when they were defeated 3-0 by Atalanta in the Europa League final.
Still just 29, Tah is set for a lucrative long term deal wherever he signs.
