Man United have added Arsenal star Ainsley Maitland-Niles to their list of potential transfer targets.
In today’s weird transfer story, Manchester United are being credited with an interest in Arsenal youngster, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, with the claim coming from the Daily Mail.
The article is actually based around a shake-up at West Brom, with Maitland-Niles unlikely to be a part of the Baggies setup as he won’t want to play Championship football, thus, he’ll return to Arsenal.
Apparently, United have ‘shown an interest’ in signing the versatile 23-year-old, with the Reds viewing him as a right-back. Maitland-Niles can also play as a left-back or even in central midfield if required.
Sadly, that’s the only snippet of information we get from the Daily Mail, who also states that Everton are keen on signing the Gunners star. So we’ll offer our input.
First and foremost, it’s down to Arsenal. If they’ve seen enough from ‘AMN’ during his loan spell, they’ll keep him at The Emirates. If not, now may be the perfect time to cash in, though I’d doubt they’d willingly sell to United.
If, somehow, the Reds could convince Mikel Arteta to part with Maitland-Niles, Arsenal would demand a pretty penny to let the player, who joined the club as a six-year-old, leave.
Then there’s the question of where would Maitland-Niles fit in at Old Trafford. If it’s true that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer views him as a right-back, it’s very likely the England international would be viewed as a backup option to Aaron wan-Bissaka. Would the player really want to play second fiddle at this stage in his career? I’d doubt it.
I like Maitland-Niles as a player and this could be a shrewd move. I just think there are far too many hoops United would have to jump through to get this deal done…
Would a Man United move for Ainsley Maitland-Niles make sense? Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below.
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