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Manchester United are close to agreeing a £59.2m deal for Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro but have had a £67.6m bid rejected for Ajax winger Antony.
United are set to pay the Spanish giants an initial £50.7m for Casemiro with £8.5m in add-ons, while the Brazilian has a four-year contract with the option of a further 12 months at Old Trafford on the table.
But the move is unlikely to be completed in time for the 30-year-old to be available for Monday night’s home game against Liverpool, as he requires a visa.
Real cannot guarantee a spread of minutes to Manchester United’s potential new signing. It will be viewed as sensible to get his wages off the books, while banking a big transfer fee, but Real have stressed the final decision is Casemiro’s to make.
Casemiro has been told he could earn a significant increase to his £9 million salary by joining United and would be given a long-term contract, which is rare among players in their thirties.
United have turned their attention to the Brazil international after attempted moves for Frenkie de Jong, of Barcelona, and Adrien Rabiot, of Juventus, stalled. De Jong wants to stay at Barcelona and, should he have to leave, would prefer to join Chelsea.
Casemiro has won the Champions League five times and three La Liga titles at Real Madrid.