Louis van Gaal is considering paying Yevhen Konoplyanka's €15m (£12.1m) buyout clause, with the Dnipro winger willing to join Manchester United despite them not qualifying for next season's Champions League.
United have scouted Konoplyanka, who is also interesting Liverpool and Schalke, on more than one occasion, the most recent being on Sunday when Dnipro played Metalurg Donetsk.
Andrey Stetsenko, Dnipro’s sporting director who is in charge of transfers, accepts that Konoplyanka could leave the club, with United moving ahead of Liverpool as the Merseyside club have not been in contact since January.
“Our scouts are working to find his replacement. Sooner or later Konoplyanka will leave Dnipro,” he said. “We know that English, Spanish and German clubs are monitoring the situation and are interested in the player. But we have no offers.
“His contract has a buy out clause worth €15m for foreign clubs. For Ukrainian clubs the buy out is more.
"Konoplyanka spoke to me and said if he would not have propositions from foreign clubs in future – it's not a problem. He will stay with us with pleasure and continue to play for Dnipro." Has cooled While United and Schalke scouts were at Sunday's game, with Dnipro officials having ensured they were accommodated, it is understood that Liverpool retain an interest, though Stetsenko stated that since the winter transfer window, the interest from Brendan Rodgers has cooled.
“After negotiation in winter Liverpool never make contact with us about Konoplyanka,” he said.
While the Merseyside club have the attraction of Champions League football if they were to firm up their interest, Konoplyanka would be minded to sign for United if Van Gaal moves for him.
The winger, who impressed for Ukraine during Euro 2012, is wanted by Van Gaal as he looks to overhaul his wide options, as Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia and Nani have all consistently disappointed.
One player who will not be joining United this summer, despite talk of a move, is Toni Kroos. Expects to stay The Guardian reported on Thursday that Van Gaal had decided against pursuing the Bayern Munich midfielder, who admitted yesterday that he expects to stay at the German champions .
Kroos has long been linked with a move to Old Trafford but the 24-year-old is no longer a target for United and has now confirmed that he thinks he will stay at the German champions.
"I am expecting to play for Bayern Munich next season," Kroos told Bild.
“There was a lot of speculation, but Manchester is and was not an issue. At this point in time I am fully focused on preparations for the 2014 Fifa World Cup.”
Kroos has a year left with Bayern and has yet to accept their offer of an extension.
Rumours of a United move for Kroos circulated when David Moyes was in charge, although talk has cooled since the appointment of Van Gaal.
French international Patrice Evra has signed a contract to stay at Manchester United for another year, the Premier League club said on its official website yesterday.
There had been media aspeculation he would leave but with two other experienced defenders, Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand, both departing Old Trafford, United said they were “delighted” to announce Evra would stay for a 10th season. Guardian Service
