MANCHESTER UNITED will have to offer Monaco at least £40m to regain pole position in the race to sign Benoit Badiashile.
United had a £22m bid for the France Under-21 defender rejected in the summer of 2020.
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The Old Trafford club remain interested in Badiashile but now face stiffer competition and Monaco can be confident of generating a bidding war for their latest young star.
West Ham approached the Ligue 1 club about the 6ft 4ins centre back in January.
Then Newcastle failed to persuade Monaco to sell with an offer of £33m for the 20 year old.
United want to boost their defensive options as part of a summer revamp of the squad.
Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof and Phil Jones all have uncertain futures at Old Trafford.
Interim boss Ralf Rangnick, set to take up a consultancy role at the end of the season, shares United’s long-term admiration for Badiashile.
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The left-sided centre back has played only 45 minutes of football since early November because of a hamstring problem.
But Monaco believe his stock will be high by the time summer comes around.
And that means United and other suitors will have to dig deep if they want to sign him.
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