Manchester United are weighing up a move for Barcelona star Ousmane Dembele if they fail in their chase for Jadon Sancho this summer, according to reports.
The highly-rated Borussia Dortmund winger, who remains the club's top target, is likely to cost United over £100million and a shortlist of other cheaper alternatives is said to include Dembele.
The Athletic report the 23-year-old may find himself moving to Old Trafford with Dortmund continuing to stand firm over their valuation of Sancho.
United stretched their impressive unbeaten streak to 17 games after defeating Aston Villa on Thursday evening, and boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is eager to add reinforcements to this squad to challenge for more silverware.
Reports suggest he is keen to recruit at least a central midfielder and winger at the end of the season, with Sancho emerging as a perfect candidate after enjoying another sensational campaign in the Bundesliga.
But negotiations are certain to be prolonged due to Dortmund's insistence in collecting a hefty amount for the England international, and United may also have to negate the financial impact of the coronavirus crisis.
Dortmund may understandably be holding out for an exorbitant amount, but the club's sporting director Michael Zorc admitted they have a contingency plan in place with Sancho still expected to depart.
Reports in Germany also recently suggested a firm deadline of August 10 has been put in place for United to decide whether they want to sign Sancho, who has scored 20 goals and created 20 more across all competitions this term.
Dembele could, therefore, prove a shrewd addition and is likely to cost considerably less than Sancho. The former Rennes star, who also played for Dortmund between 2016 and 2017, has endured an injury-hit season.
He has been ruled out for the foreseeable future after making just nine appearances and has been dogged by various setbacks.
The emergence of starlet Mason Greenwood has rendered him as the first-choice option for the right flank, but Solskjaer is still targeting formidable strength in depth in every position to gear his team up for an eventual title tilt.
According to the same outlet, United will accept offers for Alexis Sancho, Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling this summer.
Jesse Lingard and Diogo Dalot may also be directed towards the exit door to raise funds for transfer business over the coming months.
MrSadat
422
This Beast Ousmane Dembele should join EPL team like utd, in which he can play his natural game, Spain weather doesnt suit him.. He Is Worthy for man utd
JamesWalker
66
This Rumor is as injured as Dembele.
maycmoruz
26
Dembele is more of a team player than Sancho, I would prefer Dembele all day over Sancho!! If we happen to get Ousmane Dembele instead of Sacho, we wil teach these small small clubs a lesson. Every small wil no longer want to take advantage when negotiating with us. Jst look at Birmingham, when United asked about Jude Bellingham, they demanded we would have to pay 50 million pounds for kid who's not even near Greenwood's level. Meanwhile Dormund are now getting the same player(Jude) on jst 18 million pounds This more the reason am so in love with Ole's transfer policy n his style of management
In Ole we trust🔥✊ GGMU⚽🔥