Samba starlet set to Costa too much
Manchester United target Douglas Costa is likely to be too expensive for the Premier League champions this summer, according to the player's agent.
Manager Sir Alex Ferguson is on the hunt for a replacement for FIFA World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo after agreeing a world record £80 million fee with Real Madrid.
And, according to agent Cesar Bottega, the 18-year-old Brazil U20 international - recently dubbed the new Ronaldinho - was being lined up as the man to fill the Portuguese forward's shoes.
However, despite Bottega claiming that talks have taken place between the Old Trafford giants and Costa's club Gremio, he believes the Brazilian outfit's asking price of around £20 million for their samba starlet will exceed what the Red Devils are willing to pay.
"I don't believe that they will reach this figure," Bottega told Zero Hora.
"Right now, an offer might come in at a maximum of £6.7 million. But this would not be enough for [Gremio] president Duda Kroeff."
NEWS: Costa lined up as Ronaldo replacement
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Gregg Davies is the Chief Sub Editor of FourFourTwo magazine, joining the team in January 2008 and spending seven years working on the website. He supports non-league behemoths Hereford and commentates on Bulls matches for Radio Hereford FC. His passions include chocolate hobnobs and attempting to shoehorn Ronnie Radford into any office conversation.