According to reports in The Mirror, Manchester United are leading a four-way chase to bring £35m-rated Nice midfielder Jean Michael Seri, who is seen as long-term replacement for Michael Carrick by Jose Mourinho, to the Premier League this summer.
What's the word, then?
Well, The Mirror says that United are in pole position ahead of Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City to land the Ivory Coast international at the end of the season.
The Mirror reports that the 26-year-old has a release clause set at €40m (£35.3m) in his contract, which is due to run out in the summer of 2019, and there is set to be a big scramble for his signature in the summer.
The report adds that sources close to the player says that he would prefer a move to England, which would rule out interest from the likes of Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.
How has Seri done this season?
He certainly hasn't been as effective as he was during the previous campaign – his success saw him come close to joining Barcelona last summer – but he has still impressed.
The 26-year-old has scored one goal and provided a further five assists in 25 appearances in all competitions – compared to last term when he netted seven times and picked up 10 assists in 39 outings in total – although he has been playing in a more defensive role in the middle of the park.
According to WhoScored.com, his main strengths are his passing and ability to make key passes, and he has an overall passing accuracy of 91% in 18 appearances in Ligue 1 and the Europa League for Nice this season.
He has also made 41 key passes, which is an impressive total given he has primarily been playing as a defensive midfielder – he managed 80 in 38 games last term.
Would he be a good signing for United?
He certainly would be.
If Mourinho is looking for a long-term successor to Michael Carrick than Seri has shown that he can be the answer with his ability on the ball and to play as a defensive midfielder, but he also has the ability to play further forward too.
The 26-year-old is probably more suited to the box-to-box role in reality though – he would be most effective alongside Nemanja Matic – and it remains to be seen whether Mourinho would be happy to have a player that stands at 5ft 6in tall playing in a defensive role given the Portuguese manager's usual preference of tall and strong players.
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