Manchester United looking to beat Manchester City to another transfer target

Manchester United have turned their attention to the signing of Nice midfielder Jean Seri less than 24 hours after announcing the arrival of Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez, claims The Sun.

Jose Mourinho’s side beat Manchester City to Sanchez’s signature and now want to deal another blow to their Premier League rivals by landing Seri, who has a £36m release clause.

City are also interested in Seri but appear to have switched their focus to signing Shakhtar Donetsk ace Fred, which has given United the upper hand in their pursuit of the Nice midfielder.

Seri was on the verge of joining Barcelona in the summer only for the Spanish giants to pull out of a deal to leave the Ivory Coast international in limbo at Nice.

Mourinho is now weighing up whether to sign the 26-year-old before the end of the month or wait until the summer before making his move for the Nice No.6.

The United manager faces the prospect of signing at least two midfielders this summer just to replace Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini, who are both expected to move on at the end of the season.

Mourinho is looking for players who can control the middle of the park and bring the best out of star midfielder Paul Pogba. In the last two Ligue 1 campaigns, Seri has completed the most passes (3799).