Manchester United are willing to “triple” Athletico Paranaense striker Vitor Roque’s wages if he agrees to move to Old Trafford, according to Mundo Deportivo.

The Brazilian was reportedly poised to make the switch to Barcelona, with the Catalan club agreeing to pay €5om (£43m), including add-ons.

However, Athletico chief executive Alexandre Mattos is said to have issued an “ultimatum” to Barca to sign off on the deal in the “next 24 hours” or he will start negotiating with other teams.

Mundo Deporitvo claim that United, Tottenham and Paris Saint-German have been in constant contact to see if they can hijack the deal, and they the trio are prepared to offer more generous terms in both the transfer fee and salary.

It will be hard to change the player’s mind

The reason why Athletico have gone with Barcelona’s offer is down to the fact that Roque is dead set on making the switch to the Camp Nou.

Even if Athletico do go through with their threat and pull the plug on the move to Spain, it’s hard to see United agreeing a deal to sign the player.

There have been numerous offers from across Europe for Roque, but the striker has shown no signs that he will change his stance on joining Barca.

United are pursuing other targets

While the Red Devils are clearly interested in Roque, manager Erik ten Hag is believed to be more interested in recruiting another promising young forward.

Atalanta’s Rasmus Hojlund is a player with huge potential and, while he could cost as much as €60m (£51m), paying the fee could be worth the investment in the long term.

Other players, including Eintracht Frankfurt’s Randal Kolo Muani and Juventus’s Dusan Vlahovic have been mentioned as potential alternatives, but it looks as though the club may go all-in to snap up Hojlund.