Man Utd table opening £45m bid as Red Devils step-up talks to sign 23-year-old star

Manchester United have opened the bidding for Ousmane Dembele at £45m after stepping-up talks with Barcelona, according to L’Équipe.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants to sign an attacker and United have lined-up Dembele as an alternative to Jadon Sancho after struggling to agree terms with Borussia Dortmund for their number one transfer target.

The German giants insists Sancho is going nowhere after Man Utd failed to meet their asking price before their August 10th deadline and Solskjaer now appears to be targeting a late swoop for Dembele instead.

AS reported recently that United were closing-in on a deal for the 23-year-old attacker and L’Equipe now claims negotiations are intensifying with Barcelona over a possible move ahead of Tuesday’s deadline.

The French outlet says Dembele is now ‘enthusiastic’ about a possible switch to Old Trafford this summer after holding talks with compatriot Paul Pogba about life in Manchester and playing in the Premier League.

Manchester United were initially hoping to secure a season long loan but L’Equipe, via GFFN, claims they’ve now opened the bidding at £45m [€50m] after Barcelona insisted on a permanent deal.

The report says Barca are determined to get a better fee so United are going to need to go back in with an improved offer but provisional contract terms with Dembele are close to being agreed.

Dembele was once regarded as one of the best young players in Europe but his time at Barcelona has been plagued by injury issues that have seen him fall down the pecking order and it doesn’t look like he’ll be a regular under new boss Ronald Koeman.

However, there is no doubting his ability so Dembele could actually prove to be a shrewd piece of business by Manchester United if they can get him for a decent fee and keep him fit this season.

The Frenchman can play from either wing or even through the middle if needed so he’d give Solskjaer another top class option to support the likes of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood.

We’ll have to wait for further developments over the coming days but it looks increasingly likely that Man Utd may end up signing Dembele unless there is a late breakthrough in their attempts to land Sancho from Dortmund.