William Carvalho: Manchester United 'increase interest' in Sporting Lisbon midfielder but £37.5m asking price could hamper move

The Portuguese club are reluctant to sell Carvalho for anything less than his buy-out clause but reports claim a United delegation has arrived in Lisbon to negotiate a move

Jack de Menezes
Monday 30 June 2014 10:15 BST
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Manchester United officials have travelled to Portugal in an effort to sign Sporting Lisbon midfielder William Carvalho, according to reports in Portugal.

However, United are said to be concerned with the £37.5m asking price that Sporting are demanding, as they refuse to bow to anything less than his buy-out clause, lading to United’s delegation flying out to Lisbon for negotiations.

The Daily Mail claims sources in Portugal have confirmed that United are keen on landing the 22-year-old midfielder, who has also attracted interest from Chelsea and Monaco. Despite new manager Louis van Gaal yet to arrive at Old Trafford as he continues his World Cup run with the Netherlands, United have already secured the signings of Spanish midfielder Ander Herrera and England international Luke Shaw for a combined fee believed to be over £60m.

Monaco are said to have already offered £27m for Carvalho, while there is reported interest coming from Real Madrid and Juventus. The Italian side are monitoring Carvalho as a potential replacement for Paul Pogba, should Chelsea follow up their interest in the Frenchman.

But United are hopeful they can benefit from their good relationship with Sporting to beat their rivals to Carvalho, given that they landed both Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani from the Portuguese club in years gone by.

With a defensive midfielder the priority at United, the club could also move for AC Milan and former Manchester City midfielder Nigel de Jong, as Italian side are keen to raise funds to reinvest in the squad after a similarly poor season that saw them finish seventh in Serie A.

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