MANCHESTER UNITED TRANSFER RUMOURS: Hazard, Modric, Lewandowski, Lucas Moura, Van Wolfswinkel Involved In Latest Speculation

The transfer saga of the summer again makes the headlines in Tuesday's gossip pages. Eden Hazard is the hottest property in town right now and looks to be interesting all four of England's Champions League qualifiers for next season.

The 21-year-old was thought to be heading to Manchester City, but The Times now reports that the club is refusing to be held to ransom by what they see as Hazard's excessive wage demands. As that deal has stalled, the attacking midfielder has said that Chelsea's Champions League triumph has led to him considering a move to Stamford Bridge.

And with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich set to spend big to capitalize on their success, the Blues have made signing Hazard their priority this summer, according to the Mirror.

United continue to wait in the wings and it could still be that Sir Alex Ferguson's renowned powers of persuasion see Hazard arriving at Old Trafford.

But it is unlikely that United will be putting too many eggs in the talented attacking midfielder's basket and will continue to pursue other options to improve their squad.

Indeed, the club could be ready to steal a march on Chelsea in the race to sign Luka Modric. With Tottenham failing to qualify for the Champions League, the playmaker will once again demand a move away from White Hart Lane this summer, according to the Telegraph.

The report also claims that Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is willing to soften his stance and is prepared to sell the Croatian, albeit for a mammoth £50 million. It is implausible that either United, or other interested parties Chelsea, Manchester City, or Real Madrid, will stump up that amount, which is £10 million more than the offer the club rejected from Chelsea last year.

However, with the risk of an unhappy Modric disrupting Tottenham's start to the season for the second-straight campaign, it is likely that Levy will eventually cede and do a deal for less. Given what transpired with United's pursuit of Dimitar Berbatov, don't expect a deal to be struck until the closing embers of the transfer window.

United also look set for lengthy negotiations this summer over another prime target, Robert Lewandowski.

German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung reports that Borussia Dortmund has turned down bids from both Manchester United and Bayern Munich for their Polish striker. The 23-year-old has hit 30 goals over the past campaign and is stalling over negotiations for a new deal with the German double winners, which has just a year to run.

Yet, if Dortmund does concede that Lewandowski will leave then there is little doubt that the club would much prefer to sell to United rather than rivals Bayern.

Sir Alex Ferguson watched Lewandowski, along with fellow Dortmund target Shinji Kagawa, in the recent DFB-Pokal final. And, with Michael Owen already confirming that he will be leaving the club this summer and Dimitar Berbatov likely to follow in quick measure, there is a vacancy up-front in United's squad.

Lewandowski seems the priority to fill that void currently, especially with reported alternative target Ricky van Wolfswinkel looking set to sign a new deal with Sporting Lisbon, according to TalkSport.

The Dutch striker enjoyed an impressive campaign in Portugal, scoring 14 league goals in 21 starts, but it is Lewandowski that remains a safer bet to make an impact at Old Trafford.

United has also continued to be linked on Tuesday with interest in exciting Brazilian talent Lucas Moura. The Times claims that the Red Devils are still pursing the Sao Paulo star, despite Chelsea looking to be favorites for the 19-year-old.

In fact Chelsea has had a £32.3 million offer rejected for the attacking midfielder, according to quotes from the Brazilian club's president Juvenal Juvencio, carried on Goal.com.

[We did not accept it] but obviously, at the moment, Chelsea are the closest team to Lucas, he said.

Inter made an offer of €25m (£20.2m), but this was not considered sufficient by us. Real Madrid is one of these [interested clubs]--there have been contacts with the president Florentino Perez, who admires the player.

Lucas is a big player who will triumph in Europe, but Sao Paulo will only sell him for an enormous offer.