Sporting Lisbon defender Goncalo Inacio is stalling on renewing his contract with his current club because he is “waiting” to see whether Manchester United or Liverpool make a bid for him this summer, according to O Jogo.

The Portuguese newspaper claims that Sporting are keen for the centre-back to sign an extension as they want to increase his release clause.

Inacio’s buyout fee currently stands at €45m (£38.5m) but his team want to almost double it to €60m (£51.3m) in order to protect his value.

The player doesn’t, though, want to price himself out of a transfer and he is willing to delay any negotiations over a new deal to find out whether teams such as United will table an offer.

United are in the market for defenders

It is believed that the Red Devils will look to reinforce their options at centre-half, with there being a strong possibility that captain Harry Maguire will leave this summer.

While there have been reports that the England international would prefer to stay at Old Trafford, his lack of game time may lead him to seek a move elsewhere, with the likes of Newcastle, Tottenham, West Ham and Aston Villa all interested.

Napoli’s Kim Min-Jae has been widely touted as Maguire’s replacement but there are claims that negotiations have stalled with the player so alternatives, like Inacio, could be considered.

What do we know about Inacio?

The 21-year-old has spent almost his entire career at Sporting, having moved from Almada AC when he was a youth player.

Inacio made his first-team debut in a 2-0 away win against Portimonense back in October 2020 and he had firmly established himself as a regular starter just a few months later.

The centre-back got his first senior cap for Portugal in March, playing in the 4-0 win over Liechtenstein.