Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger are prepared to go head to head in a bid to capture Real Madrid winger Marco Asensio.
Asensio, 21, arrived at Madrid from Real Mallorca but announced himself to the world last season, where he broke into the Madrid first team and scored 10 goals from 38 appearances, and is currently tied to a contract that sees him through to 2022.
However, he is aware that first team football is not at all guaranteed at Madrid, and it is this he seeks as he looks to enhance his career both domestically and internationally – he is already a Spanish international.
Although Madrid will be keen to hold on to their player, both Manchester United and Arsenal are very keen on bringing him to England, and a bidding war could ensue, with amounts getting to the point that Madrid find difficult to refuse, wanting cash to allow them to fund what would likely be a world record bid for Kylian Mbappe from Monaco.
It would be fascinating to again see two Premier League giants lock horns over a player, with United likely having the advantage, both in terms of support from Ronaldo to his teammate, as well as being able to offer Champions League football this season to Asensio. United are reportedly prepared to ‘break the bank’ to land the player – how Arsenal will respond remains to be seen. But they also have a large war chest at their disposal and should the two clubs lock horns, the bidding could get out of control, with Madrid the likely ‘Real’ winners at the end.
MARCO ASENSIO – HONOURS WON
CLUB HONOURS (All Real Madrid)
- La Liga 2016/17
- Champions League 2016/17
- UEFA Super Cup 2016
- FIFA Club World Cup 2016
INTERNATIONAL HONOURS
- UEFA U19 European Championships 2015
PERSONAL HONOURS
- UEFA U19 European Championships 2015 – Golden Player
- UEFA U21 European Championships 2017 – Silver Boot
- UEFA U21 European Championships 2017 – Team of the Tournament