Fiorentina are willing to loan Sofyan Amrabat to Manchester United but insist any deal includes an obligation to buy the Morocco midfielder at the end of the season.
Amrabat has been aware of United’s interest for much of the summer and has rebuffed interest from other clubs as he holds out for a move to Old Trafford and a reunion with Erik ten Hag, under whom he played at Utrecht.
United would have been open to buying Amrabat but their struggles to raise further funds through sales has left them operating with tight Uefa financial control limits and racing to try to secure a loan agreement for the Morocco midfielder before Friday’s deadline.
Fiorentina are understood to be open to loaning Amrabat but want a clause included in any deal that would obligate United to buy the 27-year-old next summer when his contract with the Italian club expires. A potential purchase fee of between €25 million (£22 million) and €30 million (£26 million) is thought to have been discussed. Fiorentina do have an option to extend Amrabat’s contract by another year to June 2025.
Reports of a loan package ranging between €2 million and €5 million have been cited but in addition to a fixed sum covering the loan period Fiorentina are also believed to want guarantees over future income from a sale.
Amrabat has had offers from Saudi Arabia, Galatasaray and Atletico Madrid this summer and other clubs in England are also understood to have shown an interest but the midfielder was made aware of United’s desire to sign him and has been waiting for that to formalise.
United sold Brazil midfielder Fred to Fenerbahce in a deal worth up to £12.9 million this month but Ten Hag had hoped to see more players leave so he could reinvest the funds.
Donny van de Beek – who is the subject of late loan interest from Galatasaray and Lorient – has not been sold and Scott McTominay is also still at the club after a summer in which he has been linked with numerous suitors. Other fringe players, such as Eric Bailly, have proven even harder to move on. Harry Maguire is staying at Old Trafford, for now at least.
Ten Hag considers the recruitment of a No 6 midfielder who can help control the tempo of games to be important to his plans this season and hopes to add Amrabat, who was part of the Morocco side that reached the World Cup semi-finals in Qatar in December and the Fiorentina team beaten by West Ham in the Europa League Conference final in June.
If United can get a deal over the line, Amrabat would become the fourth permanent or loan United signing in two summers to have played previously under Ten Hag and the eighth with some form of Dutch link.
Amrabat – who ran 81.4km at the World Cup for Morocco, further than any other player in the tournament – has credited Ten Hag with having a huge influence on his career as a teenager at Utrecht.
“After every game, he would take me through a video and explain everything to me,” Amrabat said in an interview with The Athletic in March. “I was 18 or 19 years old, so sometimes I was thinking, ‘Oof, again?’. But now, when I look back, I know it was so important for my career. I learnt such a lot from him.”
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