Manchester United could abandon signing Bruno Fernandes amid fears it could derail plans to land Jadon Sancho and James Maddison in the summer window.
United and Sporting Lisbon have been unable to compromise on a transfer fee to land the midfielder this month, with the Portuguese club demanding £70million for Fernandes.
Manchester United consider this valuation to be wholly unrealistic and have instead made a £50m bid for the Portugal international.
If a compromise cannot be reached then United plan to walk away from the deal.
The reason for this, is there are fears behind the scenes at United that paying over the odds for a player sets a dangerous precedents.
If the Red Devils give in and stump up the extra £20m and hand over a wildly inflated £70m to sign Fernandes this month, they will have to do the same in the summer window.
Manchester United have plans to sign both Jadon Sancho from Dortmund and James Maddison from Premier League rivals Leicester City at the end of the season.
Fees to land both these two players will be astronomical as it is - but they'll be even more so if clubs view United as a team with a history of buckling when it comes to transfers.
United believe the bid they have made for Fernandes - £10m more than what Tottenham offered in the summer - is both fair and realistic.
