Although Man Utd confirmed that they’d reached an agreement for Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Fred, there has yet to be an official announcement to confirm the signing.
As per the club’s official site, they appeared to take a major step forward on June 5 towards confirming the arrival of the Brazilian international.
SEE MORE: Crucial update for £100m-rated Man Utd target, makes decision on his future
The Guardian added that the 25-year-old is likely to cost around £52m, and with a five-year contract touted, it seemed a mere matter of time before he was unveiled as a Man Utd player.
While the World Cup will undoubtedly now slow that process down as Brazil prepare for their opening game against Switzerland on Sunday night, it’s claimed that no announcement on the signing could arrive until next week.
BBC reporter Simon Stone, as seen in his tweet below, has suggested that Fred will not be announced as a Man Utd player on Friday as previously expected, but instead it will take a little longer for the deal to entirely go through.
Fred to Man Utd not going to be completed today. Should be next week.
— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) June 15, 2018
It remains unclear what the issue is which is holding up the big reveal, as while The Sun report that he returned to training on Wednesday after picking up an ankle knock, it doesn’t seem as though any fitness concerns seem to be at the heart of the delay.
In turn, it remains to be seen whether or not the new timeline provided by Stone holds up, or if Mourinho and the Red Devils are forced to wait longer to announce their second summer signing after wrapping up a move for full-back Diogo Dalot earlier this month, as per BBC Sport.