Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho would like to add Fabinho to his squad this summer.
But Mourinho may not get his man. Fabinho, 23, has become one of Europe's most sought-after players following his performances for A.S. Monaco last season.
The Brazilian is most comfortable as a defensive midfielder but he can also fill in at right-back, a versatility that is attractive to Mourinho as he seeks to revamp United's midfield around the attacking verve of Paul Pogba.
Mourinho has almost completed a deal for his former Chelsea midfielder, Nemanja Matic. Fabinho, better on the ball than Matic and younger, would represent the final piece of the midfield puzzle.
But RMC Sport in France reports that discussions between United and Monaco have "slowed" due to Paris Saint-Germain.
The Parisian behemoth is seeking to bounce back after a difficult season in which it was dumped out of the Champions League quarterfinals by Barcelona.
Perhaps as revenge, P.S.G. has made it a mission to plunder the principality down south for its best players. P.S.G. was linked with Kylian Mbappe earlier in the summer and now it wants Fabinho.
RMC's report claims Antero Henrique, P.S.G.'s sporting director, has "made contact" with Fabinho's advisers over a possible transfer to the French capital.
If that is the case, then Mourinho—or rather United's crack negotiating team—need to hot foot it to Monaco. A wounded P.S.G. isn't going to want to miss out on hurting a direct rival and there's also the cachet of potentially beating United to a high-profile transfer.
RMC describes the competition for Fabinho as a "soap opera" but TV soaps are traditionally watched for the machinations of their characters, and in this case the characters are a lot of boring men in suits discussing the minutiae of football finance.
More intriguing is the result, namely the prospect of United ending up with a midfield of Matic and Fabinho, with Pogba breaking ahead of them and a player as excellent as Ander Herrera in reserve.
That would be enough to make its rivals sit up and take notice.
Uncommon Knowledge
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