Joshua Kimmich becomes transfer 'priority' for Man Utd - report

Manchester United are the latest club linked with Joshua Kimmich as the Bayern Munich midfielder assesses his future at the Allianz Arena and a potential new challenge.

Kimmich has long been seen as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world, who is also capable of playing at right-back. But, as revealed at the time, he began feeling unsettled at the end of last season, leading to most of Europe's top clubs being contacted by intermediaries.

The Germany international now has just over a year left on his current contract and Barcelona and Manchester City in particular have been credited with interest in recent months.

writes that Bayern's €50m (£42.7m) valuation, while low for a player of Kimmich's age and quality at the elite level, is still too much for Barcelona to bear financially. The Catalans would instead bank on him running down his contract and moving as a free agent in 2025.

But the report explains that is difficult because of the expected competition, throwing Manchester United's name into the mix as a serious rival.

The claim is that the Old Trafford club intend to sell Casemiro, both raising money in the transfer market and also removing one of the highest salaries from the wage bill, that will facilitate an approach for Kimmich, now described as a «priority».

Kimmich admitted earlier this month that new contract has not yet been up for discussion with Bayern, although he referred to himself as feeling «very relaxed» about the situation.

«In general, my situation is very clear,» he said. «I still have over a year left on my contract. Nobody has spoken to me yet. That's why I'm very relaxed. Let's see what happens. For me, the most important thing is that I perform well, that I reach my maximum