Manchester United will wait right up until the final week of the October 16 domestic transfer window to make a move for Bournemouth's David Brooks, according to reports.
Wales international Brooks has been considered by the Old Trafford hierarchy for some time, but the club remain keen on landing Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho.
The clock is ticking loudly for that deal, though, with the deadline for international transfers quickly approaching. If United do not get it over the line by 11pm on Monday, October 5, then they will have no option but to turn to alternatives.
That is why, the Manchester Evening News report, United are willing to bide their time with Brooks, who Bournemouth value at somewhere north of £40m, perhaps even closer to £50m.
That, however, still represents a cut-price option, with Dortmund holding out for more than £100m for England international Sancho and United set to lodge a bid of around £90m this week.
If the two clubs cannot agree on a valuation by next Monday, however, a deal will be off the table.
But the two-week domestic extension affords United extra time to land their Plan B.
Between October 5 and October 16, Premier League clubs can still trade with teams in the EFL, meaning United could still strike a deal with Championship outfit Bournemouth.
That is the ploy they are also thought to be adopting with regards to Josh King, the MEN add.
United were keen to land King last January, before they brought in Odion Ighalo from Shanghai Shenhua until January, but the report claims Bournemouth believe the striker could leave the south coast club before the deadline.
As for Brooks, it all appears to hinge on Sancho.
The Welshman missed his club's game last weekend, a 1-0 win over Watford in the Championship, after coming down with "feverish symptoms".
The winger underwent a coronavirus test but the results have fortunately come back negative, as reported by the Bournemouth Daily Echo.
Bournemouth boss Jason Tindall said earlier in the window that players would only leave if their valuations were met, meaning United will likely have to fork out the asking price if they are to land the 23-year-old.
"First and foremost, it needs to be right for the football club and once it's right for the football club then, as you've seen in the past, I don't think it's a club that will stand in anybody's way providing that the club's happy with and it meets the valuation of the player," Tindall said.
"Until any offers come in for any players then they remain in Bournemouth regardless anyway. The squad are happy here. They know they're at a fantastic club and it's a club that's going places and want to achieve something this year."
