Manchester United reportedly failed in a late bid to nab Idrissa Gueye from under Paris Saint-Germain's noses.
Gueye is poised to complete his switch from Everton to the French champions over the coming days in a deal thought to be worth £28million.
The midfielder will pen a five-year contract after impressing PSG boss Thomas Tuchel with his performances in the Premier League over the past couple of years.
But the deal has taken longer than expected and that has reportedly come because of late interest from United.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side are in the market for a new midfielder and have pursued deals for both Sean Longstaff and Bruno Fernandes, but are struggling to get any traction with them.
According to L'Equipe, United turned their attentions to Gueye as they looked to potentially hijack his switch to PSG.
While the offer came late, it did not go unnoticed, as Gueye reportedly asked for more time to consider his options and think about the offer from United.
However, he decided to stay with the initial offer and join PSG.
Everton fought hard to keep Gueye in their ranks six months ago but have been resigned to losing him this summer, despite trying to convince him to stay.
They have already tried to combat his exit by bringing in Fabian Delph from Manchester City and making Andre Gomes' loan from Barcelona permanent.
United, meanwhile, are still assessing a wealth of potential targets and are desperate for a midfielder to sign before the window shuts in under two weeks' time.
Lazio's Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is the latest name linked, with his agent flying to the UK earlier this week for talks.
