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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Samuel Meade

Fred facing awkward reunion after Man Utd 'offered' Alvaro Morata transfer

Manchester United have been offered Alvaro Morata according to reports - which could see him team up with Fred just weeks after the pair clashed in pre-season.

The Spaniard has a year left on his deal at Atletico Madrid having returned to the capital after two years away with Juventus. The LaLiga outfit could look to cut their losses and, with United on the lookout for a striker, have offered him to the Premier League outfit, as per ESPN.

Morata has previously played in England's top flight with Chelsea, but struggled to perform and produce consistently. Nevertheless, with time running out the Red Devils may have to pursue some alternative options, with Morata potentially among them.

Less than a fortnight ago Morata played for Atletico as they squared off against United in a pre-season friendly. It was after a stamp on the forward that Fred was sent-off after receiving a second yellow card in a game won by the Spaniards.

The incident occurred in the closing stages of the pre-season friendly in Oslo. Fred first hacked Morata's ankles, getting nowhere near to the ball. As the striker fell to the floor and collected the ball in his arms, clearly expecting the referee to blow his whistle for the initial foul, Fred lashed out with a stamp which connected with Morata's right thigh.

Any swoop for the striker may see him and Fred pair up with their pre-season incident no doubt fresh in the mind of both men. The United midfielder started in Erik ten Hag's first match in charge and was exposed during Sunday's surprise defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion.

Have your say! Do Man Utd need to sign a striker? Tell us what you think here.

His display saw him slammed by Roy Keane, who said on Sky Sports: "The [lack of] decision-making and football intelligence from midfield, particularly Fred. I've been going on about it for a long time – Fred and (Scott) McTominay are not good enough."

United started their opening Premier League game without a recognised striker as Christian Eriksen took up a false nine role before Cristiano Ronaldo was introduced in the second-half. His future remains unclear after he made it clear he wanted to leave the club, but it leaves the Red Devils looking for a replacement.

Old Trafford chiefs have struggled to get deals over the line this summer and saw target Benjamin Sesko recently move to RB Leipzig. Ajax star Antony has been linked with a move, but his price tag is around £80m, whilst they've ended their surprise interest in Bologna's Marko Arnautovic.

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