Manchester United have asked Fiorentina for “a few more days” before tabling a formal bid for Sofyan Amrabat, according to La Nazione.

The Italian newspaper claims the delay in the Red Devils making a move for the Moroccan international was down to the club trying to offload Fred.

Now that the Brazilian international has finalised his switch to Fenerbahce, it is thought that United’s attempts to sign Amrabat will be stepped up.

La Nazione says there have been fresh contacts between Erik ten Hag’s side and Fiorentina recently, with the Premier League club reiterating their “interest” in the 26-year-old.

However, Fiorentina have also made it clear that they won’t sell Amrabat for less than €25m (£21.4m); a fee which is unlikely to put off United.

United may still need to offload another midfielder

Despite La Nazione‘s claims, though, the sale of Fred may not be enough to finance a move for Amrabat. Speaking on his Debrief podcast, journalist Fabrizio Romano said that the departure of Donny van de Beek is also required:

“Man United want to complete more outgoings before making an official bid for Amrabat so they keep working on the Donny van de Beek deal with Real Sociedad.”

Progress in negotiations with Real Sociedad have been slow so, while United are still hoping to make a bid for Amrabat in the next few days, there is no guarantee that it will happen.

Why are United struggling to finance a bid for Amrabat?

After splashing out approximately £175m on three summer signings, the Red Devils are mindful of Financial Fairplay regulations.

To bring in Amrabat, they really need to balance the books first. On top of that, manager Erik ten Hag does not want to have a bloated squad either. With the addition of Mason Mount, there are currently seven central midfielders at the club, including Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes, Christian Eriksen, Scott McTominay, Kobbie Mainoo and van de Beek.