Manchester United are unlikely to sign Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic before the end of the month, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.

The Italian journalist has confirmed that Erik ten Hag’s side did make an enquiry for the American international last week. However, there are two reasons why a move to Old Trafford is not expected to happen. Chelsea are against loaning out a player to a rival, while United are currently focused on other targets:

“A lot continues to be written about Christian Pulisic’s future, and I expect this could be resolved soon. Still, I wouldn’t bet on him ending up at Old Trafford. Manchester United’s only request for information for Pulisic was a week ago, but Chelsea would not want to accept a loan deal with an important club like Man Utd. Newcastle have also wanted him on loan for months, certainly a decision will be made soon. As for Man United, they are now focused on Antony or Cody Gakpo for that position.”

It always seemed like a long shot in terms of United’s interest in Pulisic. While the 23-year-old was reportedly open to joining the Red Devils, Chelsea were never likely to sanction the move.

The Manchester club have also considered bids for two other Blues forwards (Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi) but the prospects of either player making the switch look just as low as Pulisic.

Ironically, Ziyech could actually move back to Ajax as Antony’s replacement, if United do manage to secure the Brazilian’s signature ahead of deadline day.