Manchester United are reportedly prepared to shell out almost £60m to win the race for an in-demand Serie A midfielder this summer.
Atalanta BC lynchpin Teun Koopmeiners sent tongues wagging back in March, confirming his desire to leave the Italian giants amid interest from the Premier League.
Despite his admission, the Netherlands international continued to play a key role for Gian Piero Gasperini's men in 2023-24, ending the campaign with a Europa League winners' medal around his neck.
Formerly a defensive midfielder, Koopmeiners has since enjoyed a seamless transition into a number 10 role and contributed 15 goals and seven assists from 51 matches last season, including 12 strikes in Serie A.
The 26-year-old also completed the full 90 in Atalanta's 3-0 Europa League final success over Bayer Leverkusen, who had otherwise gone through the entire season unbeaten, and he was unsurprisingly summoned to the Dutch squad for Euro 2024.
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Atalanta 'stalling' over Koopmeiners decision amid Man United interest
Despite having a contract with La Dea until the summer of 2027, Koopmeiners is likely to be sold for a hefty figure in the coming weeks, and according to Calciomercato, Man United are ready to bow to Atalanta's financial demands.
The Red Devils are apparently prepared to offer at least €60m (£51m) and as much as €70m (£59.6m) to win the race for Koopmeiners, who is also on Liverpool and Juventus' summer wishlists.
The former are considered Man United's greatest competition due to the fact that new Reds boss Arne Slot managed Koopmeiners while at AZ Alkmaar, and Juventus will struggle to meet Atalanta's asking price.
The Bianconeri are supposedly only willing to offer up to €40m (£34m), but Atalanta already rejected a €47m (£40m) bid from Napoli last year and are now "stalling" over selling Koopmeiners this early in the window.
Should the Netherlands international shine at Euro 2024, Atalanta could realistically up their demands and hope to spark a bidding war, meaning that not even a £59.6m package might be enough.
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Koopmeiners has amassed a total of 29 goals and 15 assists in 129 matches for Atalanta and is still capable of doing a competent job as a number eight or number six, despite his recent switch to a more attacking role.
Man United already have a cheap alternative to Koopmeiners
While the Red Devils seemingly have the most financial muscle out of all of Koopmeiners's suitors, the club could instead prioritise a cheaper alternative who has already donned the famous strip in recent months.
The deal to sign Fiorentina's Sofyan Amrabat on loan initially did not work out too well for either party, as the Morocco international struggled to adapt to the Premier League and was soon upstaged by teenager Kobbie Mainoo.
Amrabat enjoyed a strong end to the season, though, playing the full 90 in Man United's FA Cup final triumph over Manchester City, and the Red Devils can still trigger their option to sign him permanently for €25m (£21.3m).
Man United have not yet made a decision on the future of the 27-year-old, though, and he will supposedly not learn whether he will stay or leave until the fate of head coach Erik ten Hag is confirmed.
Ben Knapton
