Sporting Libson have denied speculation that Manchester United have made an opening bid for their star midfielder Bruno Fernandes.
There were rumours on Tuesday that United had made an offer to the club through the player's agent Miguel Pinho.
However, a Sporting spokesman told Portuguese publication RTP that this was not the case, and that there had still been no official bid for their player.
"The rumours are completely false," said the spokesman, pouring cold water on the idea that United were closing in on Fernandes.
The 24-year-old has been linked with a move all summer following an impressive season in the Primeira Liga which saw him score 19 goals in 31 appearances.
He has also been linked with Liverpool and Tottenham , but United's interest is thought to be the strongest of all of them, with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer desperate to add another central midfielder to his squad.
They are running out of time, however, with the transfer window closing in less than two weeks.
Sporting are thought to want to hold on to Fernandes until at least after the Portuguese Super Cup, which sees them take on Benfica on Sunday.
Their manager Marcel Keizer admitted Fernandes' departure is a strong possibility, saying: "We’ll see if we can keep our players and then we’ll see what we do.
"I hope he [Fernandes] stays, of course, like everyone else at Sporting, but we don’t know."
United moved early in the transfer window to sign Daniel James from Swansea and Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Crystal Palace , but it has now been more than a month since they have announced a new player, leaving some fans worried about the state of the squad going into the upcoming season.
United face their final pre-season game on Saturday when they take on AC Milan in Cardiff .
