Manchester United are likely to sign Sofyan Amrabat on a permanent basis next summer, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.

The Red Devils have the option to buy the 26-year-old for €30m (£26m) and Romano believes that, if the Moroccan international performs to the best of his ability, the player “will be” playing at Old Trafford next season:

“Usually if you spend €10 million on a loan deal, it means you want to sign the player the following summer. We know it was not possible to spend €30m last summer because of Financial Fair Play so it was crucial to find a creative solution.”

“But if Amrabat will do what Amrabat is absolutely able to do, he will be a Man United player on a permanent transfer next summer. It depends on him, but that is the idea of the club.”

United fans will be keen to see the player in action

It is slightly surprising to see Romano making such a definitive statement about Amrabat’s future when he has only played a few minutes for the club so far, after his cameo from the bench against Burnley.

The midfielder had been sidelined with a back injury up until last weekend, but he could be set for his first start in the Carabao Cup against Crystal Palace on Tuesday night.

The nature of the loan deal does suggest that United were looking to keep Amrabat

As Romano points out, paying a €10m (£8.7m) loan fee is very unusual, especially for someone like Amrabat, and it does suggest that FFP was the deciding factor in the player not moving to Manchester straight away.

It is a bit strange, therefore, that United insisted on a purchase option rather than accepting a mandatory clause to buy, but it may be the case that they were being cautious, possibly because the Moroccan international was injured.

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