Manchester United have yet to table an official offer for Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.

Chelsea are said to have proposed a loan deal, with an option to buy, making them favourites to land the 26-year-old. Romano claims that the Red Devils have not gone further than holding discussions:

Chelsea are not including permanent or obligation to buy clause in Saúl deal, as of now. Official proposal is loan with buy option. NO bid from Man United, only talks. ? #CFC

Chelsea are close to complete Bakayoko to AC Milan loan deal [€20m buy option] extending until 2023.

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 25, 2021

The majority of journalists believe United will only make a move for a midfielder before the transfer window closes if they can offload some fringe players.

Jesse Lingard, Phil Jones, Alex Telles and Diogo Dalot could all be allowed to leave if good enough bids are made but, so far, the Manchester club have yet to receive an offer that satisfies their demands.

Atletico are keen to offload Niguez on a permanent basis so whether they’d be happy with Chelsea’s proposal, it seems unlikely. Negotiations are expected to continue ahead of the transfer deadline next week.