Manchester United Transfer News: Sneijder, Zaha, Baptistao And Gil Involved In Latest Speculation

Manchester United could yet hijack Wesley Sneijder’s move to Galatasaray with the Dutch star reportedly eager to move to the Premier League.

Internazionale have confirmed that they have accepted an offer of €10 million (£8.2m) from the Turkish giants. Sneijder has been frozen out of the first team at Inter in recent weeks reportedly after failing to agree to a reduction in his wages.

Galatasaray director Bulent Tulun has said that everything is agreed for the deal to go ahead and he is just waiting for Sneijder to put pen to paper.

“Sneijder will give us a response inside 24 hours, but in 99 per cent of these cases the transfer negotiations are already done,” he revealed to Turkish radio station Radyospor.

According to the Independent, however, Sneijder has told his agent that his preference remains a move to England.

Sneijder was thought to be close to a move to Manchester United in the summer of 2011. And the 28-year-old is also said to have been offered to United, as well as Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham in recent weeks, but all turned down the proposal because of the player’s wage demands.

But, with Sneijder’s choices having rapidly dwindled, there is now the prospect that he could lower his demands from the €6 million (£4.9m) a year it is believed he stands to earn at Galatasaray.

With Shinji Kagawa having arrived at Old Trafford this summer, it appears doubtful that even a cut-price deal will persuade United boss Sir Alex Ferguson to recruit Sneijder.

One player that Manchester United would appear to hold an interest in is Rayo Vallecano forward Leo Baptistao. Spanish publication AS reports that United’s chief scout Martin Ferguson was at Rayo’s 3-1 win over Getafe on Monday, when the 20-year-old Brazilian notched up his fifth assist of the season.

Leo, who can play either as a main striker or deeper-lying forward, has also scored six goals in 17 La Liga appearances this season. United may have to act fast if they are to land Leo, with Atletico Madrid having reportedly already opened negotiations to sign the player next summer.

Martin Erguson appears to have been busy in Spain of late with Marca claiming that he has also been to Madrid to watch Atletico goalkeeper David Gil train with the club’s B side.

Gil, who turns 19 this month, has yet to appear for Atletico’s first team, but has represented Spain at all levels up to Under 20.

Of course, only 18 months ago United snapped up another young Atletico goalkeeper in David de Gea. As then, Atletico are reluctant to sell Gil, but could be persuaded by a sizable offer.

Finally, there have been continued reports that Manchester United are strong front runners in the chase for Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha. The Times has now claimed that Arsenal’s interest has waned with Theo Walcott poised to sign a new contract at the Emirates and due to their desire to avoid a bidding war with United.

According to the story, United have already opened talks with Palace. While the Championship club are still hoping to attract a fee close to £20 million for the England international, it is believed that he will depart for between £12 million and £15 million.