Vivell masterplan to secure Man Utd ‘new Moises Caicedo’ as star still wants OUT despite Carrick return

Manchester United are reportedly looking to secure the signature of a top South American talent who is already being labelled the ‘new Moises Caicedo’, while the appointment of Michael Carrick as the club’s caretaker boss until the end of the season might not have the desired effect on one star that had been expected.

Carrick returned to the United dugout on Tuesday after he was preferred to Red Devils legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to guide the club through the rest of the campaign, with the focus now returning to the pitch ahead of Saturday’s Manchester derby against City.

However, the January window also remains open and it appears that Man Utd are looking to land another supremely talented youngster ahead of some heavyweight rivals.

Manchester United are reportedly showing significant interest in signing LDU youngster Ederson Castillo , who is also of interest to LaLiga giants Real Madrid and Barcelona .

While the Red Devils are expected to focus on signing more experienced midfielders this month, with sources revealing a Saudi Pro League star as a player very much on their radar (more on that below), there also continues to be one eye on the future.

Brazilian outlet Bolavip claims that United could make a concrete approach to secure the services of Ederson Castillo in January or next summer, with director of recruitment Christopher Vivell and director of football Jason Wilcox leading the chase for his signature.

The report states that LDU would be ready to cash in on the 17-year-old Ecuadorian for a fee of around £4million (€4.6m / $5.3m), for a player who is being considered as the ‘new Moisés Caicedo’.

However, United’s chase for the midfield talent will be far from straightforward, with Real Madrid and Barca also in the hunt. Indeed, it’s stated that the Blaugrana have also made concrete moves of their own to sign Ederson Castillo .

At this stage, however, a January transfer looks much tougher to pull off, leaving United looking to pick up the pieces again in the summer, by which time they may also have their new permanent manager at the helm.

A shock report claims that Kobbie Mainoo is still considering leaving Manchester United during the January transfer window even after the appointment of Michael Carrick as caretaker boss until the end of the season.

The 20-year-old England star would no doubt have been pleased to see the back of Ruben Amorim, having failed to start a single Premier League game under the former United boss this season.

However, a report from the Daily Mail claims that Mainoo is still considering an exit from the club, amid continued links to Italian giants Napoli, given his determination make Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for this summer’s World Cup.

The report comes as somewhat of a surprise, given how Darren Fletcher, who has been in interim charge of United’s last two outings, claimed that Mainoo is in a ‘good place’ at Old Trafford despite his struggles for minutes this season.

The Mail goes on to add that Mainoo ‘would be open to a loan exit’ before the February 2 deadline, if his opportunities are going to be limited for the rest of the campaign under Carrick.

It’s also stated that his stance comes from a fractious relationship with the United hierarchy, given that he remains one of the lowest-paid members of the first-team squad after contract talks broke down last year.

However, his preference is still to remain at Old Trafford and play more regularly, in his attempts to impress Tuchel and book his place on the plane to North America come the end of the season.

With Michael Carrick now officially on board, the new Man Utd interim boss will waste no time in stamping his authority at Old Trafford, while he could immediately dip into the transfer market to bolster an area of weakness within the current first-team squad.

Funds are available in the January window to bolster the squad – potentially addressing midfield concerns – should targets align.

Reports suggest that Carrick wants to make Al-Hilal midfielder Ruben Neves his first signing, adding another player to that engine room mix.

It’s claimed that Carrick has given United the green light to pursue a deal for the former Wolves man, although Neves will need to take a significant pay cut for a move to happen, given his current £300,000 a week package in the Saudi Pro League.

Our sources have previously revealed that Nevs will cost in the region of £20million, giveb that he will be out of contract at the end of the season.

Barcelona have ramped up their efforts to sign Marcus Rashford outright, though fresh talks with Manchester United have centred on a deal that Old Trafford will not like.

Rashford has excelled at the Camp Nou, notching an impressive 18 goal contributions (seven goals, 11 assists) in 27 appearances so far.

The 28-year-old England international would love nothing more than to move to Catalonia in a permanent deal in the summer, with cash-strapped Barca also keen on an outright deal.

However, a fresh update from talkSPORT , and reporter Ben Jacobs, has detailed that Barcelona have held official club-to-club talks this month with United regarding Rashford’s permanent transfer. Those talks, however, have NOT centred on simply taking up the €30m option to buy.

Instead, Barca want to secure a brand new deal with Man Utd for a fee BELOW that price point. Failing that, they hope to secure another loan deal that, this time, contains a conditional obligation to buy instead of an option.