Manchester United may have to stump up a hefty transfer fee to land one of their key targets despite his willingness to move to Old Trafford, according to reports.

Is Odysseas Vlachodimos heading to Manchester United?

As per A Bola via The Mirror, Benfica stopper Odysseas Vlachodimos reportedly has a release clause worth €60m (£51m) in his current contract at the Portuguese giants that was extended just five months ago.

The Greek international is believed to be keen on a move to Old Trafford and has emerged as a 'contingency plan' for Manchester United to potentially strengthen their goalkeeping department due to interest in Dean Henderson from Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace.

The Daily Mail report that Manchester United have already approached Benfica regarding Vlachodimos to ask about his availability amid further goalkeeping concerns at the club following the departures of Nathan Bishop to Sunderland and Matej Kovar to Bayer Leverkusen, respectively.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has issued an update on X regarding the permutations of Vlachodimos prospectively moving to the North West, as he stated:

"Manchester United are informed on the conditions of Odysseas Vlachodimos deal, as revealed yesterday. He wasn’t in Benfica squad last week as he’s expected to leave the club by the end of the window. Deal with Man Utd could only advance if Dean Henderson leaves the club."

Veteran goalkeeper Tom Heaton has sustained a calf injury which has complicated matters even more and it remains to be seen whether the arrival of Vlachodimos or anyone else between the sticks will occur before the end of the window, as per The Manchester Evening News.

Would Vlachodimos be a good fit for Manchester United and who else could join?

Vlachodimos would definitely help to boost numbers in the goalkeeping department at Old Trafford and carries a wealth of experience that could help when he needs to deputise for Manchester United's new number one stopper Andre Onana.

Over the course of his time at Benfica, the 29-year-old has made 227 appearances, keeping 94 clean sheets in total for the Primeira Liga holders, as per Transfermarkt.

Last term, Vlachodimos played a major part in Benfica's title triumph, recording a save percentage of 75% across the campaign and a clean sheet rate of 58.8%, according to FBRef.

With current backup goalkeeper Henderson looking likely to depart from Old Trafford before the close of the window, bringing in someone in the image of Vlachodimos may prove to be a wise decision from Erik ten Hag, all things considered.

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ESPN sources claim that the Red Devils are keen on bringing in a midfielder and a goalkeeper within the remainder of the window; nevertheless, they will need to trim the squad first before being able to sanction new arrivals.

According to The Mirror, Manchester United and Liverpool are both locked in a tussle to sign Bayern Munich midfielder Ryan Gravenberch, who is out of the picture at the German giants.

Bayern Munich will aim to recoup a fee in the region of £22 million for the out-of-favour Netherlands international, though Liverpool may look to tempt Thomas Tuchel into accepting a loan proposal, so it could be a busy end to the window for the Red Devils.