Manchester United have made their first official offer for Porto left-back Alex Telles, according to reports in the English media.

The Red Devils have tabled a £12m bid for the Brazilian, but it falls £6m short of Porto’s £18m valuation of the player. With the defender inside the final year of his contract at the Portuguese club, there is likely to be a compromise between the two positions before the transfer window closes.

Porto have lost two important players, Hector Herrera and Yacine Brahimi, on free transfers over the last two years after they ran down their contracts, and they will not be keen on a repeat.

However, United’s tactics, to try and reduce the asking price, may leave them open to the deal being hijacked by another club. Paris Saint-Germain have been interested in Telles in recent months so the Red Devils will have to be mindful of a potential last-minute offer from the Ligue One champions.