Edinson Cavani may have had his heart set on a January move to Barcelona - but the Spanish giants appear to have made a U-turn on their plans.
The Uruguayan has only featured nine times for Manchester United this season, netting twice including the equaliser in Monday's underwhelming draw with relegation-threatened Newcastle.
A series of injuries have hampered his campaign thus far and it looks as though the Old Trafford forward may not get too many other opportunities to make his mark under interim boss Ralf Rangnick.
The 34-year-old has just over six months left on his current United deal, and it emerged this month that Barca were eyeing a January swoop for the experienced striker.
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However it appears the La Liga strugglers may have now changed their mind, as Xavi is keen on bringing Alvaro Morata to the Nou Camp.
Spanish publication AS claims that the Barca manager has made Morata, who is loan at Juventus from La Liga giants Atletico Madrid, his 'No.1 candidate'.
It is understood talks are well advanced between the club and the player's agent - but neither Juventus or Atletico have received a formal approach.
Cavani, it is claimed, remains a 'real option' for the Spaniards but Xavi considers Morata as one of the best attackers in the world and is keen to prioritise his signature ahead of the Uruguayan's.
It appears Barca have made a dramatic U-turn, after reports recently claimed that Cavani had been offered a mega-money contract.
According to Spanish journalist Gerard Romero, Barcelona made Cavani a 18-month contract proposal that would tie him down at the Nou Camp until June 2023.
The Catalan giants reportedly offered the United hitman €3.5million (£3m) with performance-related bonuses of around €1m for the first six months of his deal, before improving those terms.
It is believed Cavani's wages would then be upped to €4m (£3.4m) for the second season with add-ons potentially seeing him rake in a further €1.5m (£1.2m).
The player may not need much persuading either with Mundo Deportivo reporting that Cavani is keen to help revitalise the Spanish club which have endured a disastrous few months.
Indeed, Cavani has seemingly accepted that he doesn't have a Manchester United future - despite coming off the bench to secure a much-needed point against Newcastle on Monday night.
And interim boss Rangnick recently revealed that his plan was to start Cavani, but he was forced to alter his plan after pre-game talks with the striker.
"Actually, in the last two days I was also considering to play him from the start," Rangnick admitted.
"I spoke to him yesterday and the day before yesterday and he didn’t feel comfortable to play from the beginning.
"He didn’t know how fit he really was but today after being 1-0 down at half-time it was clear to me that we had to take more risks, we needed to change something and that’s why we decided to bring on him and Jadon [Sancho] at half-time."
