Man Utd have been scouting Bayern Munich midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic ahead of potentially making a move in January, according to reports.
The Red Devils are showing their inconsistent form from last season once again with Man Utd winning three, losing three and drawing one of their first seven Premier League matches.
Ruben Amorim guided the Red Devils to a 15th-placed finish last campaign and will need to do better this term in order to keep his job after spending over £200m on new players over the summer.
They improved their attack by bringing in Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, while Senne Lammens impressed in goal during his debut against Sunderland before the international break.
But there was one major area that Man Utd failed to improve with many fans and former players hoping to see them strengthen in midfield.
There were some links to Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba but the Seagulls’ huge asking price ended any realistic chance of the Cameroon international signing over the summer.
And now former Man Utd chief scout Mick Brown – who is still well-connected at Old Trafford – insists that the Red Devils are “watching” 21-year-old Pavlovic as Amorim “wants” a new midfielder in January.
Brown told Football Insider: “We know Amorim wants to sign a midfielder in January.
“They need somebody who gets about the pitch, isn’t afraid to put their foot in, has a drive and energy about him to make a difference all over the pitch.
“But also somebody who can keep possession of the ball and help them advance up the pitch because at the moment they’re relying very much on Bruno Fernandes.
“Ideally they would get somebody like Moises Caicedo who does a bit of everything at Chelsea.
“They’ve been having a look at a lot of options across Europe, we’ve spoken before about players Wharton for example, from the Premier League.
“The Bayern Munich lad Pavlovic is somebody on their radar and somebody they have been looking at.
“Whether or not they’d be willing to let him go, that will be up to United to find out, but they’re watching him and a number of other options for the January window.”
Man Utd could still look at further improving their forward line too with Italian website Tutto Juve insisting that the Red Devils are ‘ready to offer €90 million’ £78m for Juventus forward Kenan Yildiz.
While Quotidiano Sportivo claim that Juventus should be ‘beware of offers’ from the Premier League with the website backing up earlier claims that Man Utd are willing to pay between €85m-€90m for the Turkey international.