Man Utd 'preparing' summer deals as £105m West Ham United & Crystal Palace pair 'eyed'

Manchester United have reportedly cast their eye towards West Ham United and Crystal Palace as they seek defensive additions this summer. Red Devils manager Ruben Amorim has ambitions of playing with three centre-backs as he looks to imprint his style at Old Trafford.

It means the Manchester club will be preparing moves for players in the heart of their defence and GiveMeSport claim there is already a shortlist of possible options - four of which already play in the Premier League.

United target Guehi

One of the names on the list is in-demand England international Marc Guehi. The Palace centre-back was the subject of a shock £70m bid from Tottenham Hotspur on deadline day during the January window but the Eagles refused to sanction an exit at such short notice. The defender will have one year left on his deal at Selhurst Park come the summer and Palace have been keen to keep him around. He was the subject of interest from Newcastle United last summer, with the Magpies submitting four bids. The highest came in at around £65m but was not enough to Palace to sell.

Speaking about a possible move for the player, Palace chairman and co-owner Steve Parish said in September: "We would like to keep hold of him. There is a price and a situation where we might consider it. Somebody [in another interview] said he is a superstar, so somebody has got to pay superstar money. Realistically, he is homegrown, 24 years old and a sensational talent - so somebody has to make it difficult for us. At the moment, it isn't.”

Manchester World reports a summer deal for Guehi would cost in excess of £70m. That number could increase if the defender opted to pen a contract extension. Guehi has been named as one the Red Devils main targets this summer, alongside Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite. The Toffees man was the subject of interest from the Old Trafford club last summer but Everton refused to sell after they had done enough to satisfy profit and sustainability rules.

Todibo also on shortlist

West Ham defender Jean-Clair Todibo is also being eyed by Amorim’s side, after the Manchester club were thwarted in their attempts to sign him last summer. Sir Jim Ratcliffe has a minority stake at Old Trafford and also owns French side OGC Nice. The Red Devils wanted to sign Todibo directly from the Ligue 1 club, but the move was blocked by Uefa due to multi-club ownerships rules. The player instead moved to West Ham on loan, with a £35m obligation to buy the player at the end of the season.

Speaking in the summer, Ratcliffe said: “They [UEFA] have said we [Nice] can sell him to another Premiership club, but we can’t sell to Manchester United. But that’s not fair on the player, and I don’t see what that achieves.”

The centre-back has not played for West Ham since the 4-1 loss at Manchester City at the start of January. He has been out with injury and has not played under new manager Graham Potter yet. If the Red Devils want to sign him, they will need to go north of the £35m that the Hammers are set to pay later this year.

In other news, West Ham have been dealt a potential setback in their bid to land a frontman this summer, although there is some good news elsewhere.