Deal crumbles as rival suitor enter 'concrete' talks

Manchester United have a mountain to climb if they’re to seal a deal for a title-winning star who is now in ‘concrete negotiations’ with a rival suitor, and TEAMtalk has exclusively learned one reason behind the expected failure.

Man Utd aim to make a plethora of impactful additions this summer, with Ruben Amorim given his first real shot at overhauling the squad he inherited.

Matheus Cunha has been lined up for one of the two No 10 spots behind the striker. A new striker is almost certain to arrive amid Rasmus Hojlund’s second-season struggles, while additions are also being explored at centre-back, right wing-back and in central midfield.

With Jonny Evans and Victor Lindelof due to depart via free agency, a new centre-back does look required, especially with Amorim fielding a back three.

Among the targets Man Utd have looked into signing in the position include Bayer Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah.

Indeed, Sky Sports recently revealed Man Utd were ‘actively’ pursuing Tah who won the Bundesliga with Leverkusen last season.

The 29-year-old has signalled his intention to leave Leverkusen when his contract expires this summer. He can be snapped up without having to pay a transfer fee and the golden opportunity sparked widespread interest.

Man Utd aside, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Real Madrid and more latterly Newcastle had looked into a move.

However, transfer insider, Rudy Galetti, told TEAMtalk on May 8 that Bayern Munich had stepped on the accelerator and began to push hard for Tah’s signature.

A fresh update from Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg has echoed our reporting and also declared ‘concrete negotiations’ to take Tah to Munich are now ongoing.

Plettenberg wrote on X: “FC Bayern have entered concrete negotiations with Jonathan Tah and his representatives!

“Tah is now Bayern’s number one defensive transfer target. Max Eberl, Christoph Freund, and Vincent Kompany are all pushing for the move.

“Tah has several options besides Bayern. As exclusively revealed, Xabi Alonso is keen to take him to Real Madrid.

“A deal with Barcelona has already been agreed in principle, but Barca are still facing Financial Fair Play issues. Bayern now pushing.”

Perhaps tellingly, Man Utd were not even mentioned by the reporter in his update. Barring a dramatic late change, United will not be the ones to sign Tah and TEAMtalk has learned one of the reasons why…

Why Jonathan Tah ISN’T sold on Man Utd

Galetti told TEAMtalk a major driver in Tah’s thinking when choosing his next club is Champions League football and major honours.

Tah is 29 years of age and has lifted just three major trophies during his career. All came with Bayer Leverkusen over the past 12 months.

Tah is desperate to add to his trophy cabinet and in Germany at least, Bayern Munich offer the closest thing to a guarantee in that regard.

The centre-back is also keen to play Champions League football. While Man Utd may yet secure UCL football if winning the Europa League, there’s no guarantee they’ll qualify the season after that, or the season after that…

Bayern’s dominance in Germany means they’re almost certain to play UCL football each and every season and even in the rare years they don’t win the Bundesliga.

The 2007/08 campaign is the only one since the year 2000 in which Bayern have not competed in the UCL. Man Utd, meanwhile, have missed out in four of the last 10 seasons.

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