A wild Manchester United center back rumour appears!

In our last rumours roundup, we noted that Bayer Leverkusen center back Jonathan Tah — who’s out of contract this summer — had re-opened his recruitment after realizing that previous suitors Barcelona might not be able to register him or actually pay him what they first proposed. Bayern Munich were the club that supposedly approached him, but SKY SPORTS UNDERSTANDS that Manchester United have entered the running.

Tah is a pretty solid all-around defender. He’s not truly elite at anything, but I don’t think he has any glaring deficiencies in his game. His aerial and passing stats are solid, and he’s consistent across Champions League and Bundesliga play.

He’s an above-average athlete with very good size and pace, but he’s a bit slow to change directions and can get beat one-on-one by quick and tricky attackers. He’s performed well at the center of Leverkusen’s back 3, and would presumably fill a similar role well in Ruben Amorim’s system.

The problem here, if there is one, is that I do not think Tah and Matthijs de Ligt should play together under ideal circumstances. Both of them have average change of direction and dribbling skills, and are much better suited to the center of Amorim’s back 3 than one of the outside center back roles.

And while Tah would join “on a free,” that’s not actually free at all. The additional wages, signing on fee and agent fee he’ll command will probably add up to less money than the transfer fee for an equivalent player, but it’s no guarantee.

So while Tah is a good system fit and has the resume to suggest he’d be a quality starter for Man United, I’m not sure it’s the best use of resources under the current circumstances. United needs to upgrade at almost every position, and has limited funds to do so. I’d only like this signing if de Ligt wanted to leave and could fetch a fee close to the £38m United paid for him last summer. —KM

Over on the premium gambling newsletter, Ted explains why he’s backing off a lot of games this week, but there’s still value to be found in 3 or 4 Premier League lines. The last week of Championship play is a minefield; enter at your own risk.

As the Premier League and Championship seasons wind down, we’ll be getting into Club World Cup and MLS over on the betting side. You can sign up here.

Games we’re watching

Aston Villa vs. Fulham — There might be some spicier looking games on the schedule, but Villa’s the team in the most perilous situation. They’re in a virtual must-win, following a really bad FA Cup performance, and Marcus Rashford is now out for the year.

Borussia Dortmund vs. Wolfsburg — From bottom half to top 4 contention in no time flat. Dortmund have saved their season with a pair of dramatic 3-2 wins, and they’re now 3 points out of a Champions League place.

Strasbourg vs. PSG — If you’re interested in whether Strasbourg’s slew of interesting prospects could play for Chelsea or anyone else with a big budget, you probably want to see how they perform against the best team in the league.

Real Sociedad vs. Athletic Bilbao — One of the best rivalries around for pure atmosphere, and Athletic are scrapping to hold onto 4th place.

Bologna vs. Juventus — 4th vs. 5th in a super tight battle for CL places.

Stuff we’re reading

Simon Stone at the BBC explains how much money Man United and Tottenham stand to gain from winning Europa League and making next year’s Champions League. It might be even more than you think, and will significantly affect what those teams can spend this summer.

Jake Entwistle at Scouted proudly presents passing performance projections.

Ryan Benson at Opta Analyst breaks down Wolves’ improvement under Vitor Pereira.

Alexander Abnos at the Guardian compares the continental championship exits of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and reminds us all how much getting old sucks.

Ryan O’Hanlon at ESPN details the amount of money Wrexham will need to spend to continue progressing and why there won’t be other clubs duplicating their model.

Ed Maylon and Matt Hughes at FootBiz report on Ligue 1’s risky new broadcast rights model that could save or sink the French top flight. If they get this right, they could be the No. 2 league in revenue behind the Premier League in a year. If they get it wrong, every French club that isn’t PSG could be bankrupt in a year. I cannot overstate the level of risk they’re taking.

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