Lecce president offers huge update on Man Utd’s pursuit of Patrick Dorgu

Lecce president Saverio Sticchi Damiani has admitted he rejected an offer from Manchester United for versatile star Patrick Dorgu.

Dorgu has emerged as a key target for United as they look to provide head coach Ruben Amorim with an attack-minded left-back and the Red Devils held a meeting with Lecce on Tuesday to try and get a deal over the line.

They left without an agreement, however, and Sticchi Damiani has now revealed the details of the meeting.

"We have explained to Manchester that our will at the moment is to try to keep our squad unchanged, keeping all the big names, especially Dorgu. We have tried to make them understand that for us it is an important time in the story of the season. We could achieve the third historic survival [from relegation].

"Although we are flattered by Manchester's offer, for us the priority is the sporting result, which is fundamental."

United are believed to have offered an initial €30m (£25.4m) plus a further €5m (£4.2m) in bonuses to sign Dorgu this month, but Lecce are looking for something closer to a guaranteed €40m (£33.8m) to sell their star defender, with Napoli reportedly close to meeting that asking price.

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