Panic buy?- Man Utd close in on completing signing of £40m star after reaching agreement

Reports making the round claims Manchester United have reached an agreement with Tottenham Hotspurs defender Toby Alderweireld but Spurs have refused to complete the deal until they have brought in a replacement for the Belgium international.

Jose Mourinho is in the market for a new central defender and Alderweireld is one of the United manager’s more experienced targets in comparison to Leicester City’s Harry Maguire and Barcelona’s Yerry Mina.

According to the Daily Mirror, United insist they will not pay Spurs more than £40m for Alderweireld with Spurs holding on to a fee of £70m which could force United to explore other alternatives should the North London club refuse to do business.

United have also held talks with Bayern Munich over a potential deal for Jerome Boateng, who has also attracted interest from Paris Saint-Germain.

The Red Devils moved swiftly to land Fred, Diogo Dalot and Lee Grant but, since those deals were done in June, there has been little transfer movement.