Man United in talks to sign Real Madrid and Barcelona target

Manchester United are determined to beat the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona to the signing of Kees Smit, who is quickly emerging as one of the players to watch ahead of the winter transfer window.

Smit has been on the radar of Real Madrid and Barcelona for a number of months, with Los Blancos holding a particular interest in the AZ Alkmaar midfielder. However, both clubs could be beaten to his signature by Man United, with CaughtOffside revealing that the Premier League giants are the only club to have made contact with the 19-year-old and his representatives.

The report has also stated that “everyone at AZ is aware that Smit is likely to attract offers, and they’re open now to letting him go for the right price next summer”, and it is expected that a deal can be done for a fee in the region of £25m (€28m).

Smit deal could be done in January, finalised in the summer

It’s projected that a transfer would be agreed in January, with the ideal being for Smit to stay at AZ for the remainder of the season. This would be acceptable for Real Madrid or Barcelona, but if either club is to sign him, work needs to be done in the coming weeks, given that Man United are setting their stall out early.

It will be very interesting to see whether other clubs follow in the footsteps of Man United, and if Barcelona are one of those to do so, they would have an excellent chance of signing him. In recent weeks, it has been reported that Smit is a big fan of the Catalan club, so it would be likely that he favours a move to the Spotify Camp Nou above all else – including Real Madrid.