Borussia Dortmund are targeting potential replacements for Jadon Sancho in preparation for the winger's exit.
The 20-year-old continues to be heavily linked with a move to Man Utd despite claims the Premier League club are only willing to pay half of Dortmund's asking price.
United have reportedly put a £50million budget on landing Sancho - which falls well short of Dortmund's £100million valuation.
Insiders feel this is a ploy by United though to tempt Dortmund into lowering their price tag.
In any event, the Bundesliga outfit are still making contingency plans in case Sancho does end up departing the club this summer.
The club's sporting director Michael Zorc told Kicker: "If Jadon left, we would do something again in the offensive area.
"There are certainly one or two players we are targeting."
Dortmund are more than happy to keep hold of Sancho for another season, as they feel they could still command a high fee for the star next summer, despite the fact he'll be entering the final year of his contract.
They are not interested in having a long, drawn-out transfer saga this summer, and have set United a deadline of August 10 - around the time the window is expected to open - for them to complete a deal.
That would give them adequate time to complete a deal for a replacement prior to the Bundesliga season getting back up and running again.
United are not particularly concerned with Dortmund's deadline however, as The Athletic report Red Devils' chiefs believe a deal could still be configured beyond that date.
Whether United will be able to fund a move could also depend on if they achieve qualification for next season's Champions League.
Should they miss out on a top four spot, they may be reliant on winning the Europa League, and would potentially not know their fate until after the final - due to be played on August 21.
fati-fc
77
if United sign Sancho...then the world will knoe about United once more...Ole is the new Fegurson
AlexKingWeche
37
BREAKING: UNITED LOOKING FOR REPLACEMENT OF LINGARD N JONES EXIT...🤣🤣"SANCHO IN"
FutbolLeninDaMaster
22
that's easy... go shopping to at Eredivisie or bring another Talented Premier player that's wasting his time and skillset at that semi slow league.
Mykill_Yeboah
15
if i was Madrid, barca or city i will target which player dortmund is targeting as sancho replacement and get him now rather than buy him 100mil from dortmund in 2 years time.