Manchester United have reportedly fallen behind Juventus in the race to sign Valencia midfielder Andre Gomes this summer.
The 22-year-old moved to the La Liga outfit in an outright deal last July, and has gone on to establish himself as one of the most sought-after talents in Europe.
With United’s interest reported for several months now, it appeared as though they would possibly be in pole position to sign him, but according to reports in Italy as noted by The Sun, Juventus have ramped up their interest.
Speculation suggests that Gomes has all-but accepted the move to join the Bianconeri, who made their move after Claudio Marchisio suffered a serious knee injury a few weeks ago which is likely to rule him out until around November.
If true, it is another bitter blow for the Red Devils who have already missed out on reported target Renato Sanches this month, with the Portuguese starlet opting to join Bayern Munich instead.
Gomes, who has scored four goals and provided seven assists in 40 appearances in all competitions this season, is expected to play a key role for Portugal at Euro 2016 this summer and could therefore see his price-tag rocket further with a string of impressive performances.
However, Juve have seemingly opted to move quickly to avoid such a scenario, and ultimately it could mean more frustration for United supporters who continue to see their club miss out on top talents and big-name players.
That in turn is likely to earn executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward more criticism, as he will be under growing pressure to bolster the squad this summer given their failure to compete at the top of the Premier League as well as in Europe this season.