Manchester United Reportedly in Talks over £45 Million Fabinho Deal

Manchester United have reportedly moved a step closer to securing the signature of AS Monaco midfielder Fabinho and hope to complete the deal when the summer transfer window opens, per Sky Sports Italia (h/t the Mirror). 

The Brazil international played a key role in Monaco's Ligue 1 title win in 2016/17, and he was linked with Jose Mourinho's Red Devils in January, according to the article. 

Things have moved on since the winter transfer window closed, with Sky Sports Italia reporting "United chiefs have made contact with Monaco in a bid to get a deal thrashed out before the summer."

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Fabinho was one of the few Monaco stars who remained at the club following their successful 2016/17 campaign, with Kylian Mbappe, Benjamin Mendy, Bernardo Silva and Tiemoue Bakayoko among the most high-profile names to move on to pastures new. And now Fabinho is reportedly ready to leave.

"My time with Monaco was good, but I feel my time here is coming to an end," Fabinho recently told Lancenet (via Metro). "I arrived as an unknown, I made my name at the club, won things—but maybe I need a new challenge."

Fabinho's interest in a new challenge comes during a less successful year for Monaco. The club are 12 points behind league leaders Paris Saint-Germain and finished bottom of their Champions League group without recording a single win in the competition.

United's reported interest in Fabinho comes at a time when manager Jose Mourinho is reportedly keen to update his central midfield, with the Portuguese hoping to "revamp his engine room" in the summer, per James Robson for the Manchester Evening News.

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Michael Carrick is set to retire at the end of the season, and Mourinho played academy graduate Scott McTominay in central midfield ahead of Paul Pogba for the 2-0 Premier League victory over Huddersfield on Feb. 3. That decision came just three days after the France international was substituted in the 63rd minute of the defeat at Tottenham Hotspur, following an animated discussion with Mourinho, per Reuters.

Fabinho would add competition for places, but United will have to fight off competition for his signature from PSG, according to Sky Sports Italia (via the Mirror). And it would appear Les Parisiens will be in the market for a new central midfielder after 32-year-old Lassana Diarra was handed a short-term contract in January following his release by Al Jazira in December. 

For now, Fabinho will remain a Monaco player, and Mourinho will have to complete the remainder of the 2017/18 season with the current crop of United players. However, it looks as though another promising young Monaco player will soon be playing his football elsewhere.