What is the going rate for a striker in today’s transfer market? It appears to be at least €100m. That is the price that Manchester United have been told they need to pay by Torino if they want 23-year-old striker Andrea Belotti.
That is the value of Belotti’s release clause and Torino president Urbano Cairo has told Gazetta dello Sport that if United want the striker, who scored 25-goals last season, that is what they need to pay.
“I’m not thinking about selling Belotti. Belotti is my player, we only renewed his contract recently. Our objective is to keep him” said Cairo.
“After that, there is a release clause that would make me obliged to sell him, providing someone came in with €100m from abroad.
“Let’s see. I haven’t talked to him yet because he is currently with the national team. We will see how things go, but our intention would be to keep him.”
Belotti is one of a number of strikers to have been linked with United, and has also been reported to be interesting AC Milan.
But Gianluca Petrachi, Torino’s sporting director, said the club had yet to receive any concrete offers.
“On paper, Torino do not want to sell Belotti, but you all know how the market works.
“If a club were to come to us with a big offer, we would have to consider it. Either the big clubs come now or they don’t come at all.
“It’s unlikely that a big club is willing to spend €100m in August. If Milan want him, they have to pay a big price for him and, to this day, no big offers from Milan have arrived.”
