Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward is hoping to seal a deal for Ajax star Donny van de Beek but he will only be given the green light if Zinedine Zidane opts against completing formalities to take the 22-year-old to Real Madrid.
Spanish publication Marca claim Real have an agreement in place to sign the midfielder at the end of the season.
The rubber stamp will be processed if Zidane decides Van de Beek is their best hope of rejuvenating a struggling squad.
But if the Frenchman decides to pursue other targets then Woodward will apparently move quickly to snap up the highly-rated ace.
United are set to lose Jesse Lingard this summer and the future of Paul Pogba is up in the air.
Real could move for Pogba which would then allow the Red Devils to sign Van de Beek unchallenged.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is desperate to sign reinforcements when the transfer window reopens so he can try to return United to their former heights.
And Van de Beek’s potential arrival at Old Trafford could take the team to the next level.
The Ajax ace was an instrumental part of the side which reached the Champions League quarter-finals last year.
He has gone on to make 50 appearances for both club and country this campaign, scoring 10 goals.
Solskjaer will not only be chasing Van de Beek as he feels his squad needs several reinforcements.
“We feel we are improving all the time,” the Norwegian boss said. “We know we lack one, two, three players to be considered a title contender and some experience and we know that.
“We are just going to start talking about going up the table, getting more points.
“Chelsea and Leicester are too far ahead for my liking.”
