Red Devils have now joined the race for Selecao star.
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Manchester United are set to scupper Liverpool’s attempts to sign Anzhi Makhachkala playmaker Willian this summer, according to reports in the Daily Mail.
The occasional Brazil international has been made available to buy by his big-spending Russian employers, who are currently attempting to offload as many high earners from their wage bill as possible before the transfer window closes for business for the year on Sept 2.
And it had been expected that the 25-year-old would be joining Liverpool in the close season after the Reds entered into negotiations with Anzhi over a possible £35 million deal for Willian on Thursday.
That was until Liverpool’s arch rivals from Old Trafford joined the race for the skilful wide man, who has only been at Anzhi since the start of the year, when he arrived at the club from Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk for a fee of 35m euros.
However, in his first six months at Anzhi, the Brazilian only managed to score just the one goal in his 12 appearances at his new club, and now the Russian giants are understood to be prepared to let the player go, albeit for the right price and one that also sees them making a small profit on their original investment.