Manchester United set to re-sign Michael Keane in £25m deal... TWO years after selling him for just £2m- Manchester United emerge as favourites to sign Michael Keane from Burnley
- Former manager Louis van Gaal sanctioned his £2m move to Turf Moor in 2015
- The Red Devils will benefit from 25 per cent sell-on clause inserted into that deal
- Chris Smalling could leave as a result after growing disillusioned with United life
Manchester United are set to re-sign Michael Keane from Burnley in a £25million deal this summer.It's understood that United have emerged as clear favourites to take the 24-year-old England centre-back back to Old Trafford.Keane has developed into one of the Premier League's most highly-rated defenders since leaving United to join Burnley for £2m in January 2015. United included a clause in the deal entitling them to 25 per cent of any sell-on fee, so they will have to pay less for Keane than any of their rivals.Keane, who has continued to live in Manchester and is a boyhood United fan, can expect to quadruple his £25,000-a-week wages if he returns to a club that he first joined at the age of 11.Louis van Gaal allowed him to go to Burnley on loan before sanctioning a permanent move to Turf Moor.
However, Jose Mourinho has identified Keane among several players that should have been retained by his predecessor, and has made him one of his top summer targets alongside Romelu Lukaku and Antoine Griezmann.
The move is bound to raise questions after United paid a world record £89m last summer to sign Paul Pogba, four years after selling him to Juventus for £800,000.
But it's understood there are no qualms among the Old Trafford hierarchy about re-signing Keane who made his England debut against Germany in March.
Keane is said to be desperate for a return to his boyhood club. The player and his advisors are seeking assurances that he will play in excess of 30 games a season, but that is unlikely to be a sticking point.
Chris Smalling could be the odd man out at United as Mourinho creates space in central defence. Smalling has grown disillusioned at United this season after being singled out in public on several occasions by his manager for not making more of an effort to play when he was injured.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4512290/Manchester-United-set-sign-Michael-Keane-25m.html#ixzz4hK1hoQvf
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