Manchester United Transfer News: Fresh Roberto Firmino and Dani Alves Rumours

Manchester United are in the race to sign Brazil midfield star Roberto Firmino, with reports suggesting they’ll have to square off with Atletico Madrid to land the Hoffenheim maestro.

According to Manolete of AS, the Red Devils are “very interested” in the 23-year-old, but they face stern competition from Atletico, who, according to German football magazine Kicker (h/t Manolete’s piece), have taken their “final steps” to bring the player to the Vicente Calderon.

Here’s a look at why Firmino is rated so highly:

While a winning goal for Brazil during their friendly game with Chile at the Emirates has thrust this exciting young player into the spotlight, on the domestic front he’s been performing supremely for Hoffenheim for a while now. Indeed, WhoScored actually had Firmino rated as the fourth-best player in Europe at the end of 2014:

While he's thrived at the Rhein-Neckar Arena, it seems as though the time for Firmino to make the next step in his career is dawning ever closer, and for United he’d be a major coup.

Per WhoScored.com, six goals and seven assists in the Bundesliga this season is a measure of his offensive talents, while a steely resilience to his play—the Brazilian averages 2.8 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per game—suggests he could cut it in the ferocious tempo of the Premier League, or playing for a side as high-octane as Diego Simeone’s Atletico.

Kerstin Joensson/Associated Press

As his goal illustrated against La Roja, he has a sprinkling of stardust in his game too, per James Dart of The Guardian:

Atletico seem to be leading the race at this juncture, but if there’s still some slender hopes for United, they should do their utmost to get him on board. Firmino is one of the most exciting up-and-coming stars around and as the Red Devils look to build a squad capable of expediting their rise back to the summit of the game, players like the Hoffenheim man would be perfect.

The player himself looks ready to take a major step in his career and, while he’s not quite a household name yet, should he sign for a club of the stature of United or Atletico, it won’t be long until he is.

No Agreement in Place for Dani Alves

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Barcelona defender Dani Alves has confirmed there is no agreement in place with another club as his contract with the Catalan giants continues to tick down.

According to Sport (h/t Football Spy of the Mirror), the Red Devils are in talks with the Brazilian defender. But speaking with Globoesporte (h/t Sport), he has quashed claims of a pre-contract being signed elsewhere, with Paris Saint-Germain also apparently keen:

"

I don't have a pre-contract with any club. I decided that I am going to live my moment, and my moment is now. We are alive in three competitions.

My heart is happy where I am, with what I have, with the colours that I am defending. The same desire I had when I came to this club still exists to this day—even with the speculation about my future.

"

David Ramos/Getty Images

From United’s perspective, pursuing Alves with any great endeavour would make little sense. While he’s still a classy option and a menacing attacking threat, the 31-year-old Brazilian would be a short-term, expensive fix to what is a problem area of this team that needs addressing with longevity in mind.

Barcelona probably won’t want to let him leave, either. As noted by MisterChip, after a fine pass from the Brazilian set up Luis Suarez’s recent winning goal against Real Madrid, Alves is a player who often comes up with big plays for the Blaugrana in key contests:

Given Barcelona will be unable to draft in a replacement this summer because of transfer sanctions, and given Alves’ deputy Martin Montoya has yet to sign a new deal with the club—his contract also expires at the end of the season—the Brazilian’s departure could potentially pose big problems for Luis Enrique.

But if Alves is offered a deal that’s privy to his demands, you suspect he’ll stick around. It’s clear from the aforementioned quotes that he remains enamoured by the Blaugrana, and for a popular player that’s become part of the fabric in Catalonia, it’d be extremely out of character for him to leave them in the mire.