Manchester United have reportedly suffered a setback in their pursuit of Brazilian centre-forward Evanilson, with FC Porto rejecting their €60 million bid.

According to Portuguese outlet Record, Manchester United have submitted a huge €60 million bid for FC Porto’s Brazilian centre-forward Evanilson. The Portuguese giants have, however, rejected the bid as they value the 22-year-old at €100 million.

The Red Devils are in the transfer market for an attacker, with Edinson Cavani’s contract expiring this month and Anthony Martial facing an uncertain future at Old Trafford. Erik ten Hag currently has Cristiano Ronaldo as his recognised striker, while Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Anthony Elanga are the other three forwards set to stay. And the Manchester United boss wants to add depth in the department.

Manchester United were said to be in talks to sign Darwin Nunez from Benfica as well but were not ready to pay the sum quoted by the Portuguese club. Liverpool eventually swooped in to complete the Uruguayan striker’s signing for a reported fee of €75 million.

The Premier League heavyweights have continued to look for other options, with Ajax’s Antony emerging as an option. Former interim manager Ralf Rangnick reportedly advised Manchester United to go after Evanilson, and they have now been tracking the Brazilian striker for four months.

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The 22-year-old joined FC Porto in 2020 from Brazilian club Tombense but spent most of his time on the bench. In the recently-concluded season, however, Evanilson shone through, scoring 21 goals across competitions for the club.

Porto needed to sell a couple of their players to balance their books, with Fabio Vieira, who has joined Arsenal, and Vitinha, previously a target for Manchester United, linked with exits. However, the latter’s proposed move to Paris Saint-Germain is yet to go through.

If Vitinha’s move to PSG does not materialise by the end of the month, Porto could think of selling Evanilson, with the Red Devils showing interest. The report by Record claims Porto could even accept a bid of €70 million if they fail to offload Vitinha to PSG, giving Manchester United the impetus to push for the signature of the Brazilian striker.

Meanwhile, Manchester United are addressing issues in other areas as well, with central midfield seemingly of the top-most priority. A deal for Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong is reportedly in the works, and the Red Devils are confident of sealing the Barcelona midfielder’s signature.

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