Jamie Jackson 

Manchester United eye £12m move for Dnipro winger Yevhen Konoplyanka

Louis van Gaal is considering paying Yevhen Konoplyanka’s €15m (£12.1m) buyout clause, with the Dnipro winger willing to join despite Manchester United not being in next season’s Champions League
  
  

Yevhen Konoplyanka
Yevhen Konoplyanka has a €15m buy-out clause at Dnipro and is being scouted by a number of teams including Manchester United and Liverpool. Photograph: Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images Photograph: Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images

Louis van Gaal is considering paying Yevhen Konoplyanka’s €15m (£12.1m) buyout clause, with the Dnipro winger willing to join Manchester United despite them not qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

United have scouted Konoplyanka, who is also interesting Liverpool and Schalke, on more than one occasion, the most recent being on Sunday when Dnipro played Metalurh Donetsk.

Andrey Stetsenko, Dnipro’s sporting director who is in charge of transfers, accepts that Konoplyanka could leave the club, with United moving ahead of Liverpool as the Merseyside club have not been in contact since January.

“Our scouts are working to find his replacement. Sooner or later Konoplyanka will leave Dnipro,” he said. “We know that English, Spanish and German clubs are monitoring the situation and are interested in the player. But we have had no offers. His contract has a buyout clause worth €15m for foreign clubs. For Ukrainian clubs the buyout is more.

“Konoplyanka spoke to me and said that if he did not have offers from foreign clubs in the future it would not be a problem. He would stay with us with pleasure and continue to play for Dnipro.”

While United and Schalke scouts were at Sunday’s game, with Dnipro officials having ensured they were accommodated, it is understood that Liverpool retain an interest, though Stetsenko said that since the winter transfer window, the interest from Brendan Rodgers has cooled. “After negotiations in the winter Liverpool did not contact us further about Konoplyanka,” he said.

While the Merseyside club have the attraction of Champions League football if they were to firm up their interest, Konoplyanka would be minded to sign for United if Van Gaal moves for him.

The winger, who impressed for Ukraine during Euro 2012, is wanted by Van Gaal as he looks to overhaul his wide options, as Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia and Nani have all consistently disappointed.

One player who will not be joining United this summer, despite talk of a move, is Toni Kroos. The Guardian reported on Thursday that Van Gaal had decided against pursuing the Bayern Munich midfielder, who said on Friday that he expects to stay at the German champions.

Kroos has long been linked with a move to Old Trafford but the 24-year-old is no longer a target for United and has now confirmed that he thinks he will stay at the German champions. “I am expecting to play for Bayern Munich next season,” Kroos told Bild. “There was a lot of speculation, but Manchester is and was not an issue. At this point in time I am fully focused on preparations for the 2014 Fifa World Cup.”

Kroos has a year left with Bayern and has yet to accept their offer of an extension. Rumours of a United move for Kroos circulated when David Moyes was in charge, although talk has cooled since the appointment of Louis van Gaal.

Meanwhile, Patrice Evra has signed a one-year contract extension, ending speculation that he would be on his way out of the club.

 

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