Manchester United have "raced ahead" of Tottenham in the sprint to sign Bruno Fernandes as they slapped in an increased bid for the Sporting star.
And they've received a double boost in the form of Matthijs de Light being advised to choose Old Trafford as his next destination.
Those are the latest rumours on the Continent as transfer season gets into full swing.
United and Spurs have seemingly locked horns over the Portuguese midfielder, but it's the Red Devils who have lodged an offer that could rise as high as €80million.
According to Jornal de Noticias , Spurs have only bid €65m in comparison.
A deal for the likes of Fernandes and full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka would perhaps make United a more attractive prospect for de Ligt, who is arguably the hottest property in world football.
The 19-year-old Ajax captain has enjoyed a meteoric rise and has Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain battling for his signature.
He insists his next destination will be decided with a view to which club can offer him the most minutes on the pitch - in this case perhaps Manchester United .
Spanish outlet SPORT claim those close to de Ligt have advised him to pitch up at Old Trafford with a view to joining Barca in the future.
It seems a rather protracted way to do things but the Dutch prospect is almost guaranteed to be No.1 choice in Ole Gunnar Solksjaer 's defence, which is badly in need of quality.
Back at Spurs, Christian Eriksen's future remains up in the air.
The Danish playmaker hinted last week his time in London was up amid reported interest from Real Madrid.
But it's being claimed in Spain by AS that Zinedine Zidane has put all his focus on signing Paul Pogba instead, at the expense of Eriksen.
It's thought to have increased the probability of the 27-year-old renewing with Mauricio Pochetinno's side.
