Manchester United are increasingly confident of signing Mario Mandzukic as they line up a £9million transfer bid for the Juventus misfit this winter.
Mandzukic has dropped down the pecking order in Turin and is yet to feature either domestically or in Europe this season under Maurizio Sarri.
The Serie A champions are open to offers for the 33-year-old, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain all favoured by Juve’s new manager.
United have identified Mandzukic as their priority attacking target heading into the January transfer window as Marcus Rashford fails to impress as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s lead striker.
According to Goal, Juventus’ eagerness to find a buyer for Mandzukic has convinced United they can wrap up a deal for the forward.
The report claims United are ‘closing in’ on the signing and expect Juve to accept their opening £9m proposal for Mandzukic, with the Croatian set to put pen to paper on an 18-month contract at Old Trafford.
It’s understood Mandzukic will be offered wages of £4.4m-a-year by the Premier League giants.
Many have questioned United’s decision to allow both Romelu Lukaku (permanent) and Alexis Sanchez (loan) join Inter Milan in the summer despite their struggles in front of goal last term.
Dimitar Berbatov believes Mandzukic could have a similar impact to Zlatan Ibrahimovic when he signed for United back in 2016.
‘They have the talent in the young players but at the same time you need someone like Mandzukic,’ Berbatov told Betfair.
‘I think he is a really good football player and he hasn’t played before in England, but I hope if he comes he can straight away get into the rhythm of the Premier League.
‘Zlatan Ibrahimovic was 34 years old when he signed for United and he didn’t have any problems.
‘Mandzukic is a similar age and hope he could have the same impact if he signs.
‘I think his age is a good thing, [Anthony] Martial, Rashford and [Mason] Greenwood are all young players so they need that time and assurance that they don’t need to worry and they can learn from the experience of Mandzukic.’
Berbatov added: ‘The winter transfer window is going to be difficult and on the pitch Manchester United aren’t producing as a team at the moment.
‘It doesn’t matter how good you are, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo could go there and they would have difficulty because the team is not producing.’
