Manchester United are believed to be keen on pursuing a deal for Tottenham Hotspur defender Toby Alderweireld in January.
The Belgian, who has one year remaining on his current contract, was available for £25m during the summer, but no interested clubs came forward.
Now, according to Tuttosport (via Sport Witness), United could actually move to sign Alderweireld in January, and they would be prepared to pay Spurs a sizeable figure to ensure they win the race for his signature.
Their rush appears to stem from the fact that Juventus have also been linked with Alderweireld. The Serie A giants are thought to be keen on luring him away for free at the end of the season, but United do not want to miss out on Alderweireld.
Spurs appear prepared to part ways with the veteran defender. Tuttosport claim Mauricio Pochettino wants his centre back pairing of the future to be Davinson Sanchez and Juan Foyth, which obviously leaves no room for 30-year-old Alderweireld.
Should United choose to act on their interest in January, it is likely that Spurs would demand a fee similar to his previous £25m release clause, given he will have just six months remaining on his contract by then, although Spurs may choose to demand extra if they are to sell to a top four rival.
The Red Devils chose to spend heavily on Harry Maguire during the summer, but even the towering Englishman has failed to improve United's defence. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men have won just two games this season and have often left fans wanting more defensively.
Maguire has lined up alongside Victor Lindelof for the majority of the season, and signing Alderweireld would give Solskjaer another high-level option in his squad.
However, whether they will be able to fight off interest from Juventus remains to be seen. I Bianconeri see Alderweireld as the perfect partner for Matthijs de Ligt and, when they want to sign someone on a free transfer, they rarely fail to pull it off.
Source : 90min