Pedro is carried by Barca teammate Lionel Messi. (Photo : Reuters)
Spanish league champions FC Barcelona have agreed to the transfer of their star winger Pedro to Manchester United for £22 million, but will release him to Old Trafford after the 2015 UEFA Super Cup in Tbilisi on August 11, as per the Independent.
The rumors of a United sign up for Pedro had been swirling for weeks and it was finally validated by these latest reports.
It was said that the Spanish international has had enough playing second fiddle to Barça's forward super trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Luis Suárez and he wants more first team playing time of his own.
Louis van Gaal and the Red Devils, meanwhile, are looking for help to provide for English striker Wayne Rooney up front after the mass exodus of strikers from the Premier League club this summer.
Pedro is reportedly one of van Gaal's top striker targets along with Paris Saint-Germain's Edinson Cavani, Bayern Munich's Thomas Müller and Robert Lewandowski, and "Galácticos" Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo. Any of these signings would immediately impact United's contention in England, but the closest opportunity that have come so far is this deal with Barça.
Daily Mail Online indicated that aside from holding out until after the European Super Cup, United would also like to settle the transfer of Ángel Di María to PSG first before formally bidding for Pedro.
The £22-million figure is the official amount in the Spaniard's buyout clause, but van Gaal reportedly wants to negotiate for it using the Di María sale. It seems like the Dutch manager is still looking for another signing this offseason after Pedro.
