Sheffield United are close to signing Brentford striker Neal Maupay in a £15m deal, according to The Sun.
The Bees were originally holding out for £22m, but have lowered their asking price after Maupay made it clear he wants to move to the Premier League.
The 22-year-old is also interested in the prospect of playing for the Blades. This is despite the fact Aston Villa – managed by Maupay’s former boss Dean Smith – are also keen.
The forward was left out of Brentford’s 3-0 friendly victory over Wimbledon on Friday; although manager Thomas Frank insisted this was a precaution because of a slight injury.
Frank also responded to questions about the future of Maupay at Griffin Park.
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“I think as a coach you want to keep your best players, always,” he told the Richmond and Twickenham Times.
“Approaches? No.”
When could Neal Maupay sign?
(Photo by Kate McShane/Getty Images)
United have now flown out for warm weather training in the Algarve. However, the club will still push forwards with new signings.
Luke Freeman and Phil Jagielka were announced as their first new arrivals of the summer before flying out to Portugal. Meanwhile, free agent Ravel Morrison is currently on trial.
So Maupay could potentially join at any time, with Chris Wilder keen to add at least one new striker to his squad following promotion.
The Frenchman was in fine form last season, scoring 28 goals in all competitions. Maupay netted 25 of those in the Championship to only finish behind Teemu Pukki and Tammy Abraham in the overall list.
The Evening Standard reports that the transfer of Che Adams from Birmingham City to Southampton has set the precedent in this deal.
The former Blade cost the Saints £15m. Maupay is the same age but scored and assisted more in 2018/19 and the Bees previously told Villa the attacker was worth £20m.
The Villans no longer view him as a priority signing, though, following the arrival of Wesley from Club Brugge.
