Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim sees Sporting Lisbon’s Geovany Quenda as the “perfect” player for his 3-4-3 system, according to reports.

The Red Devils are hoping to bring in a wingback during the January transfer window and the I Paper claims that the 17-year-old would be among Amorim’s preferred targets.

Quenda was handed his senior debut by Amorim last year, and he is capable of playing on the right or left flank. He could also be signed for a lower fee than another option: Paris Saint-Germain’s Nuno Mendes.

However, the I Paper report that one of the main stumbling blocks is the fact that Sporting are reluctant to do a deal this month.

Amorim has vowed not to sign any players from his former club in January

Speaking before he was officially appointed by United back in November, Amorim confirmed that he wouldn’t raid Sporting for players midseason:

“I will not sign any Sporting player at Man United in January… then, what happens in the summer I don’t know. Sporting players are good players. We will see what happens…”

That would explain Sporting’s reluctance to agree the sale of Quenda, especially if Amorim has some sort of gentleman’s agreement with them. Of course, with United in dire need of reinforcements, he may decide to break that promise.

The United target has a high release clause

If Sporting are insistent on keeping the teenager, the Red Devils could still try and sign him, but the second obstacle in the way would be the size of the buyout fee.

When Quenda signed a contract extension back in mid-September, Sporting revealed that the release clause price had increased to €100m (£83m).

Considering United are up against it in terms of PSR, they may need to sell several players to fund a move for the wingback in January.

Find out who is in Manchester United’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here