Manchester United Closing In On 'First Big Signing' Amid Jadon Sancho Race, Report Says

Manchester United has taken a step closer to completing a deal for Partizan winger Filip Stevanovic. He could be United’s first big signing this summer after the club encountered a roadblock in its pursuit of Borussia Dortmund star Jadon Sancho.

Just when the Red Devils thought they were inches away from signing Sancho, Dortmund made a shocking revelation that the prolific winger will stay in Germany. Apart from Sancho, however, United has also been actively pursuing other signings. In fact, new reports from Serbia revealed that the Premier League club is close to securing a deal for Serbian wonderkid Stevanovic.

Since making his first-team debut for Partizan in December 2018, Stevanovic quickly emerged as a revelation for the Serbian side. Last season alone, the 17-year-old managed to score nine goals in 35 appearances, making him one of the most promising youngsters in Europe.

Aside from United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool were among the biggest clubs monitoring the progress of Stevanovic. However, it has been revealed that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side is already on the verge of signing the youngster after agreeing to a €12 million ($14.2 million) fee with Partizan, Serbian outlet Republika reported.

Prior to the agreement, Partizan boss Savo Milosevic suggested that the club will be putting a €20 million ($24 million) price tag on Stevanovic, the report said. However, they have now decided to cash in on the winger and accepted United’s bid.

With a deal close to being completed, self-proclaimed world’s largest soccer community and news platform 90min speculated that Stevanovic would be “United's first big signing of the summer window.”

Stevanovic has also shown that he is willing to move to United as it isn’t every day a Premier League club would make an offer.

The winger has taken to his Instagram to hint that he is already Premier League-bound after posting a picture of himself playing against United. Stevanovic tagged “Old Trafford” as his location with the shifty eyes emoji in the caption.

Aside from Stevanovic, United is now looking at Napoli star defender Kalidou Koulibaly as its next top target amid the possible collapse of the Sancho deal, previous reports said.

United’s initial bid for Koulibaly is expected to be around €70 million ($82 million), an amount that “cannot be refused” by Napoli, making Solskjaer’s side the frontrunner to land the world-class defender.