1 After a season where Manchester United suffered more than 50 separate cases of injury or illness, maintaining squad depth will be something that INEOS should have their eyes on.

Midfield was an area which suffered as a result of all these injuries while poor form and age also caught up with their two best performers from the preceding campaign - Casemiro and Christian Eriksen.

The Brazilian, especially, had a nightmare season as he struggled to adapt to Erik ten Hag's high transition style as he simply does not have the legs to cover so much space in the middle of the park.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is keen to move on the former Real Madrid superstar but finding an adequate replacement has not been easy so far.

Midfield reinforcements If the club decide not to keep Sofyan Amrabat permanently, there might be a need to recruit more than one midfielder to compensate for the loss.

INEOS' plan is to try and acquire one top-class player while also adding a diamond in the rough, someone with the potential to grow. Red Bull Salzburg's Lucas Gourna-Douath fits the bill perfectly.

Despite being only 20, the defensive midfielder has already played over 100 senior games in his career including more than 10 in the Champions League.

FLASH ZONE

Lucas Gourna-Douath suscite de nombreux interets en Europe... et c'est actuellement l'AS Monaco qui est en pole !

Le milieu de Salzbourg attire egalement plusieurs clubs anglais, ainsi que le grand frere de la filiale Red Bull.

@Abdel_hamed6 pic.twitter.com/N2rxSHftqF

- SPORTS ZONE (@SportsZone__) June 23, 2024

According to GFNF, his impressive displays have alerted multiple clubs to his availability including AS Monaco in France, RB Leipzig and United just to name a few.

Gourna-Douath is highly coveted

"Lucas Gourna-Douath is attracting a lot of interest all across Europe. And it is currently AS Monaco who are in pole position! The Salzburg star is also attracting several English clubs, as well as the big brother of the Red Bull subsidiary," Sports Zone wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Monaco are resigned to losing France international Youssouf Fofana, incidentally a target for the Red Devils, and are eyeing the French U21 international as a like-for-like replacement.

Gourna-Douath has a market value of EUR9 million, which should not be a problem for the 20-time English league champions. His current deal with Salzburg is valid until 2027 which gives them the advantage when it comes to negotiations.

The midfielder ranked in the top 1 percent among his peers in the Austrian Bundesliga for long passes and interceptions (as per fotmob), which shows he is ready for the step-up.

He can slowly start his adaptation to English football if the club can secure a more high-profile star. Whether United take the risk and jump for the midfield ace remains to be seen.

Ayantan Chowdhury Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25

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