Man Utd 'prepare bid' for Portuguese youngster Inacio who impressed Fernandes

Manchester United are reportedly preparing a 'formal proposal' for Sporting Lisbon centre-back Goncalo Inacio.

Inacio, who came through Sporting's youth ranks, made his senior breakthrough in the 2020/21 season after Ruben Amorim took over from Silas early 2020. The Portuguese boss who is renown for helping young talents handed Inacio 25 appearances in all competitions last year, before he became a vital member of the squad this current season.

He helped Sporting break an 18-year title drought last year, as the Lions claimed the Primeira Liga silverware. So far this campaign, he has made 44 appearances in all competitions, contributing to five goals and two assists.

According to Portuguese outlet A Bola, the Sporting academy graduate has been attracting interest from Europe despite still being contracted until the summer of 2027. It is reported that Newcastle had shown an interest, but United are said to be "in the front line" to sign the player - stating that the club has a plan to convince Sporting to accept their bid.

However, Sporting have already made publicly that due to still being under contract, any interested clubs will have to meet the release clause fee of €45million (£39m). Inacio has been in the spotlight in the Portuguese top-flight this campaign after Sporting conceded rivals Porto the league title, finishing second.

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United playmaker and former Sporting captain Bruno Fernandes, who shares the same agent as Inacio, Miguel Pinho, admitted back in 2019 that he had been highly impressed by the youngster. "There is a player I like a lot from the under-23s, the left footed guy, Goncalo Inacio. I've spoken about him many times," Fernandes told Record.

"It's a player that if he comes to train with us [senior team], then he will learn a lot from [Jeremy] Mathieu. We are talking about different aspects but the style of play is exactly the same."

Sporting boss Amorim hailed the youngster's all-round qualities : "[Goncalo] Inacio can play on one side and then come back in, [making it unpredictable for our opposition] so we have been making some good use of his characteristics. Inacio is very fast as well, offers long passing, can play inside and can even get to the top of the pitch before other players, giving [Pedro] Porro more freedom."

After a successful couple of seasons, his youth coach Jose Lima told Radio Renascenca, last month: "The psychological aspect is one of his great strengths, as he shows a lot of tranquility in any situation, in addition to his technical skills.

"In the formation, he could play as a left-back because his dominant foot is his left. Although at Sporting, now, he plays on the right side, even though that is not the dominant foot."