Man Utd are reportedly confident of reaching a deal for Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic, with Jose Mourinho forced to give up on Eric Dier.
With Victor Lindelof and Romelu Lukaku signed up already, the missing piece this summer for United is the addition of a midfielder to strengthen the core of the side.
The same two names have continued to be linked with a move to Old Trafford, and as per The Guardian, it looks set to be Matic who will arrive rather than Dier.
Despite raising their bid from an initial £25m to £40m, Man Utd have failed to make Tottenham budge for the England international, as they have reiterated in no uncertain terms throughout that he simply isn’t for sale.
That reported bid of £40m was seemingly backed up by Sky Sports presenter Jim White, as seen in the tweet below.
Source close to player says @ManUtd have bid £40million for @SpursOfficial‘s Eric Dier.
— Jim White (@JimWhite) July 22, 2017
In turn, United’s constant peppering has only served to annoy their Premier League rivals, but finally it looks as though they will give up that pursuit and now look to wrap up a deal for Matic.
The Serbian midfield general wants to move to Man Utd, as noted in the report, and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is said to be willing to allow him to leave and grant him his wish of joining their rivals as a gesture of goodwill after his services to the Blues.
Having signed Tiemoue Bakayoko from Monaco, Antonio Conte will be more inclined to allow the move to go ahead now, and it seems as though United will land their long-time target, although it could cost them up to £50m to bring an end to the transfer saga.