Real Madrid have reportedly entered pole position ahead of Manchester United to secure the services of Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek.
The Dutchman emerged on the radar of several top clubs due to his superb performances alongside Frenkie de Jong during the club's route to the Champions League semi-final last season.
United are said to have backed away from signing Van de Beek after they were quoted an asking price of £35m over the summer.
According to The Mirror, Los Blancos have stepped up their efforts to complete a deal for the 22-year-old, who is now valued at around £100m by the Eredivisie champions.
Van de Beek has revealed that Real are indeed interested in him, but he stressed that he would not consider his next move until the conclusion of the 2019-20 campaign.
The dynamic midfielder was expected to follow in the footsteps of Matthijs de Ligt and De Jong, who completed moves to Juventus and Barcelona respectively over the summer.
Leo Nieboer
