Manchester United and Manchester City have both contacted Atlanta United about signing playmaker Thiago Almada, according to journalist Bruno Gonzalez Garcia.

The Argentinian reporter claims the two Manchester teams are weighing up moves for the 22-year-old:

Manchester United🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 y Manchester City🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 consultaron a Atlanta United🇺🇸 por Thiago Almada🇦🇷.

Manchester United 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿and Manchester City 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 consulted Atlanta United 🇺🇸 for Thiago Almada 🇦🇷. pic.twitter.com/T1MrH1ROw8

— Bruno González García (@gonzalezbruno) July 3, 2023

It should be pointed out that Gonzalez Garcia also reported last month that United were closing in on a move to sign Aston Villa’s Emi Martinez so it may be wise to take this information about Almada with a pinch of salt.

However, there is no doubt that the Argentinian midfielder will be turning heads due to his recent performances for Atlanta in the MLS.

This season, Almada has scored eight goals and provided nine assists in only 18 appearances, helping his team to sixth in the Eastern Conference.

Do United need a player like Almada?

The Argentinian international is very much a no.10 so you can’t see him getting much game time if he were to move to Old Trafford due to Bruno Fernandes.

There is, though, a possibility that Almada is being considered as an understudy and, potentially, a long-term successor for the Portuguese midfielder.

Donny van de Beek is angling to leave United and, with Christian Eriksen not getting any younger, having someone of Almada’s creativity in the squad could prove very useful for manager Erik ten Hag.

Almada won’t be available on the cheap

Atlanta paid $16m to bring Almada in from Velez Sarsfield last year, so it is unlikely that the MLS club will be willing to sell for a low price.

For that reason, you can’t see the Red Devils prioritising a move for him at this time, especially due to their limited transfer budget.