Manchester United must reportedly decide whether to reignite their interest in Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong next year or push ahead with a proposed swoop for Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham.
The 20-time English champions spent much of the summer transfer window pursuing De Jong, with the Netherlands international being identified as Erik ten Hag's leading target after his arrival as head coach.
However, Man United were unsuccessful in signing the 25-year-old, who said on a number of occasions that he wanted to remain at Camp Nou.
According to The Independent, the Red Devils have remained in contact with Barcelona, as they are considering reigniting their interest in January or during next summer's transfer window.
The report, though, claims that the English giants could ultimately drop their interest in the Dutchman in order to fully focus on competing for Bellingham's signature.
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Man United and Liverpool are allegedly the two most interested sides from England, but Real Madrid are also being heavily linked with the former Birmingham City youngster.
Bellingham's camp are reportedly not making any decisions at this stage, as they wait to see what type of seasons the two English giants have, with Liverpool seemingly set for a tough campaign.
De Jong has made nine appearances for Barcelona this season, scoring once, but he is not currently viewed as a certain starter, with Gavi and Pedri largely lining up alongside Sergio Busquets in the first-choice midfield.
There have been suggestions that the Catalan outfit remain keen to sell De Jong, as his departure would make room in their wage budget for more additions next year.
Bellingham, on the other hand, is viewed as one of Dortmund's most important players, and he has captained the German outfit in two of their last three matches.
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The 19-year-old has four goals and two assists in 13 appearances for BVB this term, including three goals in three Champions League appearances.
Meanwhile, since arriving at Dortmund from Birmingham in July 2020, he was represented the club on 103 occasions, contributing 14 goals and 20 assists in the process.
Manchester City are also said to be keeping a close eye on the developments surrounding the Englishman, but the Citizens are not currently viewed as one of the frontrunners for his signature.
Dortmund are likely to demand in excess of £100m for the youngster, as his current deal still has another three years left to run, placing them in a strong position when it comes to his future.
After missing out on De Jong over the summer, Man United signed Casemiro from Real Madrid, and the Brazil international made his first Premier League start against Everton on Sunday, putting in a man-of-the-match performance in his side's 2-1 victory at Goodison Park.
Matt Law
