United target £40m-rated Columbian winger

There are types of player that managers always seem to make a collection of; for Neil Warnock and Sam Allardyce it’s quite often strikers who make up the majority of their squads.

For Sir Alex Ferguson it is currently wingers. Not content with having Ryan Giggs, Antonio Valencia, Nani, Ji-Sung Park, Ashley Young and Shinji Kagawa all more than capable of playing as a winger, Ferguson is eyeing up another wide player according to the Daily Mail.

The paper reports that that Manchester United have stepped up their pursuit of Porto winger James Rodriguez who is one of Ferguson’s top targets after scouting him throughout last season.

Reports in Portugal suggest that Porto have turned down a £30m offer for the Columbian winger as he has a £40m buy-out clause in the five year contract he signed at the Portuguese club last summer.

Reports linking Rodriguez with United have increased since speculation that Nani is looking to leave the club though the Mail believes that regardless of Nani’s future, United are keen to sign up Rodriguez.

Porto wish to hold out for the full £40m fee demanded in the contract and appear to not be interested in a player-plus cash deal despite Anderson being mooted as a potential makeweight in the deal.

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