Manchester United are ready to open talks with Club Brugge about a £30million deal for left-back Joaquin Seys after being knocked back by two of their targets.
United's left-back search hits third target
The Red Devils have added two new faces in midfield but left-back is another area where they are looking to bring in reinforcements. It has proved challenging throughout the summer however with the club onto their third different target.
The Belgian side are in no hurry to sell and have Seys under contract for another three years. They will not ease off their £30m price tag, but it Mirror Football understands United are strongly considering an opening bid.
Seys impresses on international stage
The 21-year-old is a regular for Club Brugge and forced his way into Belgium's World Cup squad, featuring in his country's quarter-final defeat to winners Spain last month.
United did have Newcastle's Lewis Hall on their radar after the ex-Chelsea man had enjoyed the best season of his career to date, but the Magpies are refusing to sell up.
Newcastle and Racing stand firm
Already this summer Newcastle have lost marquee players in Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes. Hall is one of the leading lights and St James' Park bosses have refused to entertain his departure. United had ultimately been priced out whilst another target, young Spaniard Jorge Salinas, is poised to remain in La Liga.
He reportedly remains fully committed to Racing Santander and "doesn't want to leave" despite interest from Manchester and Barcelona. His manager Jose Alberto has grown tired with the incessant speculation regarding Salinas' future during the summer window.
The left-back could be available for just €16m (£13.7m) due to a release clause in his contract at Racing, but his boss maintained that he and another of his in-demand team-mates want to remain. "They don't want him to leave. And they show every day that they don't either," he said. "But we know how this world works and there are release clauses. If a team comes along and pays the clause, they cease to be our players."
Future-proofing the position
United currently have Luke Shaw as their first choice left-back, but he has struggled to remain fit throughout his career and, now into his 30s, the club are looking to future proof the position.
