Manchester United have no intention of buying Ousmane Dembele from Barcelona and only consider him as an emergency loan option.
United are expected to make a last-ditch attempt to sign their priority target Jadon Sancho before next Monday's 11pm deadline but are actively considering alternatives.
Dembele, 23, has two years left on his Barcelona contract but has struggled in Catalonia since his £135million move from Dortmund in 2017.
Barcelona have denied they are in talks with United but would be willing to offload the winger due to their financial situation. United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward privately predicted last year Barcelona were set for a testing period and the Spanish club has the largest wage bill in world football.
Luis Suarez has already left Camp Nou but Barca are still saddled with their three nine-figure signings - Dembele, Philippe Coutinho and Antoine Griezmann.
As part of the recruitment reboot overseen by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, United have decided to eschew opportunistic moves for 'superstar' signings and did not move for one-time target Gareth Bale when Real Madrid offered to sell him last year.
Dembele only started three La Liga games last season due to a troublesome hamstring injury and lined up in 32 out of 76 league games in his first two seasons in Spain.
United sources have dismissed reports of a new bid for Sancho, 20, and believe it is a method to exert pressure on Dortmund to yield before next week's deadline.
The MEN reported on Tuesday morning United are holding various discussions in an attempt to secure more signings before the transfer window closes. United are continuing talks with Porto over a possible deal for Brazilian left-back Alex Telles and have just six days to pull off a British record deal for Sancho.
Telles, 27, has entered the last year of his Porto contract and his valuation is understood to be a sticking point in negotiations, as Telles can sign a pre-contract deal with any club in January.
Dortmund have been adamant for close to two months that Sancho is staying and Bournemouth forward David Brooks, Juventus winger Douglas Costa and Ivan Perisic of Inter Milan have all been considered as alternatives by United. The club has also explored the possibility of signing 18-year-old Atalanta winger Amad Traore.
