Ed Woodward will not fly out to China for the last leg of Manchester United's pre-season tour as the club continues to work on two transfers.
Woodward has been present on every pre-season tour since he assumed the executive vice-chairman role in 2013 but will not travel to Shanghai, where United are preparing to play Tottenham on Thursday. United managing director Richard Arnold was in Singapore and has flown onto China.
United want two more signings amid interest in Leicester defender Harry Maguire and Newcastle midfielder Sean Longstaff. United have prioritised a deal for Maguire, having had a £70million bid rejected by Leicester, but are still in for Longstaff. A tweet on Monday claiming United were agreeing an £80m move for Maguire was false.
The United head of corporate development Matt Judge has been tasked with negotiating deals. However, Woodward is believed to have called Newcastle to enquire about their asking price for Longstaff and is not taking a back seat role in transfers. Judge has assisted Woodward on deals since 2016.
United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said on Friday: "As I've said and answered a few times, we're working on one or two cases. But obviously my objective now when I'm here is we've got to get ready for the games and training sessions.
"And if I've got to travel somewhere I will. And you won't be able to ask me."
Woodward attended United's first and last tour matches in the United States last year and was filmed hurriedly catching up with Jose Mourinho in the mixed zone at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Mourinho ended the window without two priority targets.
Woodward made a fleeting appearance on United's 2017 tour of the States and arrived in Beijing in 2016. He sat down for MUTV interviews on the States tours of 2015 and 2014 but infamously left the 2013 tour in Australia on 'urgent transfer business'.
Sources close to Longstaff told the MEN United hoped to have the 21-year-old available for their pre-season tour but when Woodward touched base with Newcastle on July 6 The Magpies demanded £50m.
Newcastle sold totemic striker Ayoze Perez to Leicester for £30m earlier this summer and Longstaff's camp hope a similar fee would be enough to convince Newcastle to sell him to United. United mooted an opening bid of £20m before Newcastle demanded £50m, citing the £45m and £5m of add-ons United invested in Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
