Manchester United Transfer News: Andrea Belotti Contact Reported, Latest Rumours

Manchester United have reportedly held talks with Torino to confirm their interest in signing striker Andrea Belotti.

Citing unnamed sources, ESPN FC's Mark Ogden reported manager Jose Mourinho is interested in making the Italian one of two forward signings this summer.

Belotti signed a new deal with the Serie A outfit in December that includes a €100 million buyout clause if approached by non-Italian clubs.

Ogden added the Red Devils are also considering Antoine Griezmann, Romelu Lukaku and Kylian Mbappe among their options.

Belotti's goalscoring exploits this season compare well with the trio's:

	Belotti	Griezmann	Lukaku	Mbappe
Age	23	26	23	18
Apps (all comps)	34	48	36	38
Goals (all comps)	27	25	25	24
Assists (all comps)	6	11	7	11

The 23-year-old hit an excellent patch of form midway through last season—scoring 11 goals in the second half of that campaign—and as his numbers above reveal, he has not stopped scoring since.

BT Sport commentator Adam Summerton places him among the top striking talent in Serie A:

He has also been rewarded with seven caps for Italy's senior side and netted three goals for them.

The Italian is a strong and powerful centre-forward who works hard for the team from the front, and he's a potent weapon in the final third thanks to his excellent positioning and movement.

Belotti is powerful in the air, too—according to Squawka 10 of his league goals this season have come from headers—and he can also find the net with his left foot having done so with five of them.

Hesham Bilal-Hafiz of the Manchester Evening News believes he would be a strong choice for United in the summer along with Griezmann:

The main issue would be his cost—nine figures for a player who, while excellent, has only 18 months of goalscoring pedigree under his belt would be an enormous sum.

GianlucaDiMarzio.com's David Amoyal does not believe it would be a bad investment, though:

All four of United's attacking targets would be costly purchases and each of their clubs will be reluctant to part with them.

Of the four, Belotti is only superior to Mbappe in terms of career goalscoring and experience, but the Frenchman is just 18 and is reaching a phenomenal level much earlier than the Italian has.

Belotti could still make for a tremendous signing, but if Torino are unwilling to accept less than his release clause then United might be better off pursuing the others.