Manchester United are preparing an improved offer for Lecce’s Patrick Dorgu after their initial £23m plus add-ons was rejected.
United director of football negotiations Matt Hargreaves left Milan on Wednesday night after meeting with Lecce president Sticchi Damiani, as well as agents Frank Trimboli and Leon Angel.
Mail Sport understands that Lecce want £33million for full-back Dorgu, while United have other options on the table too.
The left-sided wing-back is one of the options United have been exploring to strengthen their squad with manager Ruben Amorim poised to give the green light for Antony to join Real Betis on loan.
Meanwhile, United also discussed offers from Napoli for Alejandro Garnacho.
The Red Devils are understood to be enquiring about wingers should Garnacho depart. Napoli have also asked about Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi.
Manchester United are preparing an improved offer for Lecce’s Patrick Dorgu (pictured)
Ruben Amorim is keen to bolster his ranks as he looks to overcome a woeful run at Old Trafford
Dorgu, 20, is 6ft 2in tall, has four caps for Denmark and can also play as a winger.
United had initially targeted Nuno Mendes at Paris Saint-Germain but that was always a difficult deal due to the expense.
Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez was another under consideration but again would not be sold cheaply.
Amorim is keen to strengthen his options before letting players leave with United facing Rangers in the Europa League on Thursday and still in the FA Cup.
Dorgu’s contract with Serie A side Lecce expires in 2029.
He started out in his youth career at Copenhagen-based side Husum Boldklub before moving to Nordsjaelland’s youth academy.
In 2022 he signed for Lecce and a year later he was promoted to the senior team, making his debut in August 2023 in the Coppa Italia.
Since then he has gone on to establish himself as a first-team regular. He has started all but one of Lecce’s league games this season, with the one he missed being due to a red card.
In September he made his debut for Denmark against Switzerland and he scored his first international goal with his first touch after just 42 seconds.