Manchester United reportedly believe they can beat Ruben Amorim's AC Milan to the signing of Real Madrid attacker Endrick. The 20-year-old was of interest to several clubs during the summer transfer window but remained in the Spanish capital.
Endrick's limited minutes at Real Madrid
Similarly to the first few years of his career at Real - after agreeing to join from Palmeiras for £50million in 2022 - Endrick has struggled for minutes in the 2026/27 season so far. Injury saw him miss the opening four La Liga games of the campaign and he has got off the bench just once for a four-minute cameo since returning in early September.
With Arda Guler, Brahim Diaz and Carlos Espi appearing to be ahead of him in the pecking order, a January move is certainly possible. Liverpool, Arsenal, AS Roma and Borussia Dortmund have all been linked, but the latest reports suggest it could be between United and Milan if he does seal a mid-season switch.
United leading the race
According to Fichajes, United are looking to sign the Brazilian and can tempt him with a more financially appealing offer than any proposal submitted from Italy. It has also been claimed that United are leading the race for his signature despite the fact that he has spoken directly with Amorim over what his role in the team would be.
A guarantee is also what his agents are looking for, with a permanent transfer or loan that includes a mandatory purchase option as their stance. His immediate future could yet be with Los Blancos, though, and may well be decided at a meeting between his representatives and the club that has been scheduled for November.
Regardless of what is discussed in that, it has also been reported out of Brazil that if a bid was lodged from Old Trafford that included a sizeable buy-option, Real would be open to letting him depart.
United's challenging start to the season
United will almost certainly be looking at winter window signings having had a challenging start to the new season. Michael Carrick's side have won just once in the Premier League and are without a victory in their last four matches.
The latest disappointing result came on Saturday evening at home to Tottenham. Bryan Mbeumo put United in front midway through the second half, but Dominic Solanke equalised in stoppage time despite the fact Rodrigo Bentancur was sent off just after the opener.
Prior to their goal, it was a pretty lacklustre display from United, and that prompted boos at the full-time whistle. When asked about those after the game, Carrick said: "It's not nice, it hurts a lot because I care about this club.
"But I understand the disappointment, the reality is what it is, we need to get back to winning games. We found it tough to start with. For a number of reasons, we were not quite there. You could see it was a challenging time.
"But the lads grew into the game, in the second half I thought we were better in everything. To get the game as we wanted it, in such a good position - we should see it through. We have to manage those situations. That's two late goals which have hurt us, and things look very different. That's the reality."
