Manchester United have held “informal talks” with Barcelona about signing winger Ousmane Dembele, according to ESPN.

The website claims that while Jadon Sancho remains their number one priority, they are looking at potential alternative options. Bayern Munich’s Kingsley Coman and Juventus’s Douglas Costa have been considered but Dembele’s name has also been discussed.

Dembele will be available this summer as Barca look to raise funds for transfers but it would be a massive risk going after the Frenchman with the player having suffered with serious hamstring problems over the past eighteen months.

To that end, United have enquired about whether the Catalan club would be open to offloading the 23-year-old on a season-long loan with an option to buy at the end of next season.

At this stage, no official offer has been tabled but it’s clear that the Red Devils do intend to move quickly onto other targets if their disagreements with Dortmund over the Sancho deal cannot be resolved soon.