Manchester United have still to find agreement with Lecce over defender Patrick Dorgu after talks in Milan on Tuesday.
United director of football negotiations Matt Hargreaves met with agents Frank Trimboli and Leon Angel as well as Lecce president Sticchi Damiani.
‘We explained to Manchester that our will at the moment is to try to keep our staff unchanged, retaining all the big ones, especially Dorgu,’ said Damiani.
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.
The 20-year old Dorgu 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 out with United facing Rangers in the Europa League on Thursday and still in the FA Cup.
Man United are targeting Lecce’s Patrick Dorgu intently but the club are adamant they will not sell the player
Ruben Amorim is keen to bolster his ranks as he looks to overcome a woeful run at Old Trafford
Erik ten Hag signing Antony is understood to be en route to Real Betis but there are still details of the deal to be finalised
Terms for Antony’s departure to Betis have roundly been agreed but there are still details to be finalised as Amorim evaluates what he has to work with going forward.
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.
