Report: United eyes Aurier as alternative to pricey Fabinho deal
Paris Saint-Germain's troubled right-back Serge Aurier has been identified as a target for Manchester United after the Premier League club grew increasingly frustrated with its stuttering approach for Fabinho, according to The Independent's Miguel Delaney.
Aurier's promising career has been blighted by disciplinary issues, including using homophobic slurs to describe the relationship between Laurent Blanc and Zlatan Ibrahimovic - his boss and teammate at the time - and being convicted in September 2016 for assaulting a police officer.
Nevertheless, Jose Mourinho believes Aurier could be the man to resolve his right-back conundrum, and at around £25 million the player should prove considerably cheaper than Fabinho, who AS Monaco values at £40 million or more. United would likely have been encouraged by Aurier's exclusion from PSG's party flying out to Miami for training last Friday.
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Mourinho recently told reporters that he's resigned to the prospect of welcoming just one more player to Old Trafford in the summer transfer window. Romelu Lukaku and Victor Lindelof have already arrived at an approximate cost of £106 million, but the Portuguese gaffer would still like to bring in a right-back, a defensive midfielder, a winger, and perhaps another striker.
Fabinho can satisfy both the defensive-midfield and right-back positions, but Monaco's tough negotiating after already relinquishing Bernardo Silva and Tiemoue Bakayoko in the transfer window has acted as a deterrent.
That would leave Aurier, Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic, and the long-winded pursuit of Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic as the likelier deals to be completed.
United is currently preparing for the first Manchester derby outside of England on Thursday night. The Red Devils will take on City in Houston, Texas, before concluding their U.S. tour with money-spinning matches against Real Madrid and Barcelona.