Pedro Rodriguez could be a Manchester United player soon, with the English Premier League club ready to trigger the Barcelona forward's release clause.
The Spain international has been widely tipped to leave the Camp Nou this summer, after it became apparent that he has a comparatively low £22million release clause in his contract, which he signed recently.
Arsenal and Liverpool have been linked with moves in the past, with Chelsea also reportedly making their interest clear. A few days back, Chelsea looked favourites to sign Pedro, with reports suggesting Cesc Fabregas had made a personal call to the 27-year-old asking him to snub interest from other clubs in favour of a move to Stamford Bridge.
However, it now looks like Pedro could sign for Manchester United, with the Guardian claiming the club are ready to trigger the buyout clause, with the player preferring a switch to Old Trafford.
Manchester United, who beat Club America in their first preseason match of the International Champions Cup earlier on Saturday, have been pretty busy this summer, signing Bastian Schweinsteiger, Memphis Depay, Morgan Schneiderlin – who scored the only goal in the 1-0 win -- and Matteo Darmian.
Sergio Romero is also reportedly close to agreeing a move, with Pedro now joining the list.
It's hard to say which team – Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea or Manchester United – actually need Pedro the most, as all sides are well-equipped with wide attacking players.
Arsenal certainly are spoilt for choice in that department at the moment, with Wenger even having the option of playing the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil and Jack Wilshere out wide, while Chelsea's move will probably depend on if Juan Cuadrado leaves the club in the summer.
Liverpool could always use more quality in their side – and Pedro certainly gives them that – as Brendan Rodgers looks to guide his team back into the top four, while Manchester United also have enough options in the wide attacking department at the moment.
However, if one or two players leave the club – Adnan Januzaj goes out on loan for instance – there might be a space for Pedro, who is capable of playing across the forward line, in the squad, and much depends on what Van Gaal thinks.
What Manchester United really require at the moment is a No.9, which Pedro certainly is not.
Signing someone like an Edinson Cavani, even if he hasn't convinced too much of late, or a Robert Lewandowski will certainly make more sense than signing Pedro. But then, if there is one thing that Manchester United do not have to worry too much about, it is money, which means they can probably do both.
