Three-man Man Utd shortlist touted after they ended interest in €44m Chelsea signing

Man Utd reportedly ended their interest in Ajax star Hakim Ziyech as they have plans to target Jadon Sancho, James Maddison and Jack Grealish instead.

The Red Devils made a splash of their own last month with the signing of Bruno Fernandes, although ex-defender Jonathan Spector believes they needed more of a short-term fix as noted in an interview to compare.bet.

Ajax confirmed a deal had been agreed with Chelsea on Thursday for Ziyech, which would see the Moroccan international seal a €44m move in total to Stamford Bridge this summer.

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While he had also been linked with a switch to Man Utd, it appears as though the Red Devils have their sights set on other marquee names instead.

According to the Evening Standard, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has shortlisted Sancho, Maddison and Grealish as his preferred targets to bolster his attacking options moving forward.

Sancho is tipped to cost in excess of £100m, but given the quality that the 19-year-old has displayed for Borussia Dortmund over the last year and a half, it would arguably be a brilliant move from United to take him to Old Trafford.

Meanwhile, Maddison and Grealish are shining for Leicester City and Aston Villa respectively so far this season, and so with their creative quality and eye for goal, they could be equally as impressive additions to the United squad.

Combine that with the pace, movement and finishing offered by the likes of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, and Man Utd could arguably find the ideal balance in the final third to become a real threat to their rivals.

Solskjaer saw the club back him with the big-money signing of Fernandes in January, and so add the likes of Sancho or Grealish or Maddison to his list of attacking stars, and there will surely be a lot more quality on show at Old Trafford moving forward.

Time will tell what that means for other individuals who are perhaps considered surplus to requirements if they fall further down the pecking order, namely the likes of Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata, but for Man Utd it’s a case of prioritising quality individuals who can help them build a long-term plan for success.

Sancho, Grealish and Maddison all tick the right boxes in that regard, just as Fernandes, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Daniel James and Harry Maguire do, and so while they are still well off the pace set by rivals Liverpool and Man City at the top of the Premier League table, they would surely take another important step towards where they want to be with one of the signings named above.

As for Chelsea, well they’ll still be delighted that they’ve managed to add a player of Ziyech’s class to their squad to give Frank Lampard a major boost next season.