Manchester United are close to agreeing a loan deal for Barcelona wide-man Ousmane Dembele, according to reports.

After a storming season with Borussia Dortmund, the Frenchman landed in Catalonia as Neymar’s replacement back in 2017, for a fee believed to be around £120 million. Dortmund soon replaced the World Cup winner with Jadon Sancho, giving him Dembele’s old No 7 shirt.

While Sancho has flourished at Signal Iduna Park, though, Dembele’s development has stalled at Barcelona. The 23-year-old has had injuries and apparent fallouts with managers – now Manchester United are about to offer him a new challenge.

United are growing tired of the Sancho saga. They did believe that Dortmund would perhaps soften their stance on letting the former Manchester City academy talent leave – but with the transfer window shutting soon, the Red Devils are beginning to look at a plan B to the precocious Sancho.

Dembele is a phenomenally talented player and should United succeed in being to get him back to his best, they may not want Sancho. The winger is two-footed and fantastically creative – an area that United would like to improve in.

It’s thought that Ole Gunnar Solksjaer was previously interested in Gareth Bale before the Real Madrid star secured his move to Tottenham Hotspur, while Bournemouth’s David Brooks has also been touted as a potential signing.

Manchester United have so far only signed Donny van de Beek from Ajax but it’s thought that they still want to make at least one more signing before deadline day. Luka Jovic has emerged in recent days as a surprise option, with Real Madrid said to be unconvinced with the Serbian striker since he signed last summer.

Jovic is keen on a loan move away from Spain, with United one of a number of European giants interested in his services. It’s thought that Inter Milan are another club keen on pouncing for the forward.

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Ainsley Maitland-Niles of Arsenal has also been linked with a move to Old Trafford in recent days, though sources at United have denied this. The Arsenal utility man has forced his way into Mikel Arteta’s plans with some excellent performances of late.

Manchester United have also shown an interest in signing a left back and a centre back in this window, along with swooping for N’Golo Kante. At this late stage, however, it looks to be a fairly quiet window for the club.