Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr draw up 4-man shortlist including Manchester United and Chelsea stars to replace 29-year-old superstar: Reports
Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr have allegedly included Manchester United defender Raphael Varane and Chelsea veteran Thiago Silva in their shortlist to replace star centre-back Aymeric Laporte.
Laporte, who won the treble with Manchester City last season, joined Al-Nassr for around £23.5 million ahead of the ongoing season. He has made 33 appearances for his club so far, registering three goals.
Earlier in January, Laporte expressed his dissatisfaction about life in Saudi Arabia just months after joining Ronaldo's side. As a result, the 29-year-old is speculated to seal a transfer away from Al-Alami soon.
Now, according to 365Scores, Al-Nassr have prepared a four-man shortlist ahead of the upcoming summer transfer window. They are keeping tabs on Varane, Silva, Milan Skriniar, and Nacho Fernandez now.
Varane, who is in the final two months of his current deal, is reportedly expected to leave Manchester United this summer. The 31-year-old could decide to move to Al-Nassr to reunite with ex-teammate Ronaldo.
Silva, on the other hand, is likely to depart Chelsea after the end of his contract on June 30 this year. The 39-year-old could prove to be a great signing for Ronaldo's outfit should he join them in the near future.
Manchester United striker names Cristiano Ronaldo and Chelsea star as inspirations
During a chat with Sky Sports, Manchester United star Rasmus Hojlund was asked to name the ex-Red Devils striker he would have loved to play alongside with. The 21-year-old replied (h/t Mirror):
"I would take Wayne [Rooney] to be fair because he's like a bulldog. He likes to work and he would do a massive job for me. He's selfish but he wants to make you better and he wants to score goals as well. I think we could have a nice partnership together."
Hojlund also named three other attackers he drew inspiration from:
"There were a lot of players. I used to look [Robert] Lewandowski. Cristiano, of course, is my idol, so I watched him a lot and Romelu Lukaku. They go into the minute details, they go deep and focus on that and I tried to take from every part of their games. Rom is very good with his back to goal and protecting the ball whereas Lewandowski is very good at his movement in the box."
Since arriving from Atalanta in a potential £72 million deal last August, Hojlund has cemented himself as Manchester United's starting number nine. He has registered 14 goals and two assists in 37 outings across competitions, including 32 starts, so far this campaign.
Hojlund will next play for the Old Trafford side in their Premier League home clash against a struggling Burnley team on Saturday (April 27).