Man Utd line up £30m Gabigol bid

Manchester United are lining up a £30 million bid for Brazilian sensation Gabriel “Gabigol” Barbosa, according to reports.

The Sun is reporting that Manchester United are set to launch a £30 million offer for Santos striker Gabriel Barbosa, who is nicknames “Gabigol” for his goal scoring exploits with the Brazilian club.

The 19-year-old has attracted interest from a host of Europe’s biggest clubs, with Juventus, FC Barcelona and Atlético Madrid all thought to be keeping tabs on the talented youngster.

Premier League champions Leicester City are also thought to be in the hunt for Gabigol’s signature, with rumours of an imminent bid from the Foxes.

But it appears that United could be set to swoop in to steal the prodigious striker, with their reported £30 million bid designed to blow all of the other contenders out of the water.

Barbosa has been identified by new United boss José Mourinho as the man to come in and add competition to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney and Marcus Rashford for the centre-forward role.

The Manchester Evening News reported earlier in the summer that Mourinho wanted to sign an unnamed Brazilian, only for the club’s board to veto a move as the player in question was considered unproven.

If that player was indeed Barbosa, the Brazilian’s impressive displays at the Olympics might have convinced the United hierarchy of his worth.