MANCHESTER UNITED have been scouting a holding midfielder from fellow Ineos-owned club Nice as they consider cut-price options.
United sent a scout to Sweden’s international friendly against Algeria last week to check on the player, who has been tipped to leave the Ligue 1 club this summer.
The Red Devils’ official went to Friends Arena in Solna to monitor Hicham Boudaoui, according to reports in Algeria.
Despite coming off after an hour, with his team trailing 4-0, Boudaoui demonstrated why many in France think he is ready for the Premier League.
The 25-year-old won all of his ground duels and looked unruffled when put under pressure inside Algeria’s half.
He also showed a great range of passing with one excellent switch of play out to the right flank.
And he even came close to grabbing a goal with a drilled effort from the corner of the penalty area that flew only a yard or so wide of the far post.
Boudaoui is coming off an excellent season in France in which he emerged as one of the best in Ligue 1 in his position.
In figures published in April by Datascout, he came out on top among 49 defensive midfielders for sprinting speed, fourth for the number of accelerations and sixth for high-intensity distance covered.
Ruben Amorim is desperate to bring players with a more physical profile to the Old Trafford and Boudaoui certainly fits the bill.
The Red Devils were unable to sign players from Nice last summer because both clubs were set to feature in the Europa League.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe agreed not to move any players between the clubs until September 2025 to satisfy Uefa’s concerns over multi-club ownership.
That means any deal for Boudaoui cannot take place until the final day of the summer transfer window with the deadline for Premier League clubs set for 7pm on September 1.
Other Premier League clubs have been sniffing around while reports in France have linked Boudaoui, who has two years left on his contract, with unnamed clubs in Spain and Germany.
Nice could demand £20m for the midfielder but transfer funds are likely to be tight at Old Trafford.
United have already splurged £62.5m on Matheus Cunha and may now need to sell in order to finance further high-profile transfers.
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