Enzo Perez Won’t Come Cheap For Manchester United

Another day, another Manchester United rumour – this time talkSPORT claim United are in pole position to sign Benfica midfielder Enzo Perez after Spanish side Valencia could not meet the Portuguese giants’ valuation of the Argentina international. 
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The 28-year-old has been in fine form, helping Benfica rise to the top of Primeira Liga and has scored nine goals in 68 appearances for the club since joining in 2011.
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TalkSPORT understands United boss Louis Van Gaal is an admirer of Perez and wants to bring the midfielder to Old Trafford in January after abandoning a move for Roma midfielder Kevin Strootman because of his injury problems.
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Van Gaal is believed to be keen in adding a box-to-box midfielder to his squad having identified the area that he wants to strengthen with the treasure chest at his proposal. The United hierarchy has stated “money is no barrier” should the Dutchman want to improve his squad.
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Valencia were put off by Benfica’s valuation of £25 million but it appears United are prepared to splash the cash once the January transfer window opens.
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Perez has been a star player for the Os Encarnados in the Champions League this season, playing five of the six group stage matches with an impressive record of 83% completed passes and won 50% of his tackles.
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Van Gaal has since described reports of the heavy spending in January as “disgusting” and “disrespectful” to his players, but with United in a transitional period, it would be very surprising if the Red Devils make limited use of the chequebook having crept up to third in the Premier League after five straight wins.
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The Dutchman has already spent £150m on new players in the summer, including a British record of £59.7m to bring Angel Di Maria from Real Madrid.
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Whilst Di Maria has received plaudits for his performances, the other big name signing in Falcao, albeit on loan,  has struggled with injuries since his move to Old Trafford.
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Van Gaal will decide on the futures of current United players Rafael, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Jonny Evans and striker Robin Van Persie, who are all out of contract at the end of next season.
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You can bet there will be some transfer activity in and out at Old Trafford next month but with all the rumours flying around, which will intensify over the next few weeks, only time will tell if Perez will be one of the players that joins the Van Gaal revolution.