Man Utd Women close in on securing Lauren James to new 3-year contract (Mail)

Manchester United Women are close to securing highly-rated teenager Lauren James to a three-year contract, according to Dailymail.

The 18-year-old forward, who is the younger sister of Chelsea defender Reece James, has been tipped to become the best player in the world by her manager Casey Stoney.

Indeed, James is so well regarded globally she has been snapped up by RocNation, the agency founded by music mogul Jay Z, who are also looking after the commercial interest of players such as Romelu Lukaku and Kevin de Bruyne.

A number of Europe's elite clubs have been monitoring developments between James and United but the England U19 international has decided to commit her immediate future to the club that is currently fourth in the Women's Super League.

United manager Stoney, who won 130 England caps, said earlier this year: 'I think if you speak to anyone who has been around Lauren, trained with her and worked with her, they know how good she is. I genuinely believe she can become the best player in the world and one of the best players in the world for a long time.'

James has scored seven goals in 12 games and hopes to add to her tally when United face Birmingham City Women on Sunday.

United hope to be in a position to announce the contract this week.