Robert Lewandowski gives Manchester United transfer hope as war of words with Bayern Munich escalates
Lewandowski was originally considered an unlikely target, like Gareth Bale, by the club
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Your support makes all the difference.Manchester United have been given renewed hope that they could sign Robert Lewandowski after his agent reiterated his client’s anger towards Bayern Munich’s coaching staff and players.
Lewandowski was battling for the Bundesliga golden boot going into the final game of the season against Freiburg but drew a blank in the 4-1 win, leaving Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to overtake him after scoring a brace.
And Lewandowski was unimpressed with Carlo Ancelotti and his teammates, who he feels failed to help him in his bid to be the league’s top scorer.
The Poland striker already expressed his disappointment at how much it “hurt” him last month, but his agent insists the pain is still there for the 28-year-old.
“Robert told me that he got no support and that the coach gave no call to help him in the last game to win the top-scorer title,” Maik Barthel told Kicker.
“He was disappointed as I have never seen him before. He really hoped that the team would support him proactively.”
This dissatisfaction is likely to give long-term admirers United hope they can take advantage of the situation and by offering to make him the main man at Old Trafford, something he craves but clearly feels his isn’t at recognised as at Bayern.
The Independent reported last week that Jose Mourinho has drew up a list of 25 summer targets before the end of the season, made up of five players for each position he felt needed strengthening.
Lewandowski, along with Alvaro Morata, Romelu Lukaku, Antoine Griezmann and Andrea Belotti, was among the five identified as a replacement for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but it was felt he was the most difficult of the quintet to pursue.
However, this will give Ed Woodward renewed hope that he can persuade the former Dortmund hitman to trade the Allianz Arena for Old Trafford, as the United executive vice chairman is desperate to follow up last summer’s signing of Paul Pogba with another star name.
While Morata is still firmly United’s current first choice and they will continue to pursue him, Lewandowski is more the type of star name the board is after.
The Morata deal, which is threatening to become a saga, is expected to carry on until at least next week, with the Spaniard away celebrating his wedding to Italian model Alice Campello, whom he married on Saturday.
Romelu Lukaku has picked Chelsea over United, while United are unwilling to pay Belotti’s £84m release clause, with his club Torino telling them they must if they want to sign him.
Gareth Bale was the other ‘star’ player who the club fell into the same desirable-but-unrealistically-attainable category as Lewandowski and while it could be a ploy from his agent, a la Cristiano Ronaldo, to get a new contract, it’ll be something the United hierarchy will now be encouraged to explore.
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