Premier League champions Manchester United have seen their interest rebuffed for Athletico Bilbao midfielder Ander Herrera.
The La Liga side were said to have rejected a bid of around £30M for the Spanish international – citing how the player has no intention of leaving, nor do Bilbao have nay intention of selling.
‘Yes, we received an offer last night – an official offer from Manchester United. Players have to tell us they want to leave, and that’s not the case with Ander, at the moment. We received the offer from Manchester last night, and what we told them was we don’t negotiate for our players.’ – official club statement from Athletico Bilbao.
The Lancashire outfit are seemingly admitting defeat in their pursuit for Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini, and are subsequently shifting their interest to other targets.
Herrera is highly-regarded among many to have a bright future in store, and has been on United’s shortlist for a while.
Bilbao also added how they have a buy-out clause inserted in his contract which would make him free to leave regardless of their wishes, but Manchester United’s offer didn’t meet it.
Manager David Moyes was coy on the news, and failed to reveal whether he would up his bid for the 24-year old.
Last season, the uncapped midfielder made 29 La Liga appearances for Bilbao, scoring one goal. Herrera has made no word of wanting out of the side this summer, but the chance to win a league title and push for major honours does interest him.
Sources close to the player have suggested he has hopes of making the Spanish national team this season, which would be greatly enhanced playing at the top-level.
With Manchester United in desperate need of a creative central-midfielder that has all but alluded them, they may prepare a bid of around £35M to sign Herrera before the transfer window closes on Monday night.
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