Manchester United will have to pay in excess of 50m (�42m) to have any chance of signing Borussia Dortmund midfielder Felix Nmecha, reports in Germany state.
It's been another desperately disappointing season for the Red Devils, who are likely to address their issues with a complete squad overhaul in the summer one that will see a number of players leave in addition to a cast of new Ruben Amorim-approved arrivals.
United have a number of areas that need addressing but perhaps none more important than bulking up Amorim's central midfield engine room. Casemiro is available for transfer after a sharp decline in performance levels and Christian Eriksen is expected to depart on a free at the conclusion of his contract.
Exits for both would leave Amorim with Kobbie Mainoo, Manuel Ugarte and Bruno Fernandes at his disposal the latter has flourished in a deeper midfield role of late but is usually seen playing higher up the pitch in order to make United tick. Toby Collyer is also an option for Amorim but is inexperienced at the highest level.
Dortmund's Nmecha was first linked to United on Thursday in a potentially huge Bundesliga raid involving Xavi Simons, though the likelihood of both arriving at Old Trafford would appear, on the surface at least, to be slim.
Fresh information from Sky Germany confirms United's interest in Nmecha is genuine, but a hefty price will need to be paid if the 13-time Premier League winners are to have any hope of convincing last season's beaten Champions League finalists to sell.
An offer in excess of 50m is the figure quoted in the report, owing to the fact that Nmecha still has three years remaining on his contract. It effectively means that Dortmund are under no pressure to sell from a contractual standpoint, but their own underperformance this season BVB are 11th in the Bundesliga table could mean a cash-in is required to subsidise for revenue lost from not being in the Champions League.
United have often overpaid for players in recent years and have made it abundantly clear that they don't intend to tread the same transfer path with future deals. Indeed, Amorim's main desire to sign young, hungry players who can be moulded into his tactical system, rather than signing more established stars who may not take to his tactics.
Patrick Dorgu and Ayden Heaven arrived in January, with both fitting the profile of player Amorim wants to associate with moving forward.
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