Porto set price for Manchester United to sign Evanilson after opening £51.5m bid is rejected

Manchester United appear to have identified Porto striker Evanilson as their top striker target this summer but will need to increase their opening offer, according to reports.

Erik ten Hag wants to bring in a new number nine, with the club very short on forward options after Edinson Cavani left the club, while Anthony Martial – who was loaned out last January to Sevilla – is not thought to be in the new manager’s plans.

United had long been linked with a move for Erling Haaland and also showed interest in Darwin Nunez, but that duo opted to join Manchester City and Liverpool respectively.

According to Portuguese newspaper Record, United have now turned their attention to Brazilian striker Evanilson and have already had an opening bid rejected.

United offered €60million (£51.5m) plus bonuses for the 22-year-old, but Porto rebuffed the bid and believe he is worth considerably more.

With Nunez having left Benfica for an upfront fee of £65m – with the deal potentially reaching £85m if various bonuses and add-ons are met – Porto feel that is a useful benchmark for Evanilson’s price tag.

That means an upfront offer of €70m (£60m) would be enough for Porto to sell, so United need to up their initial proposal by a further £8.5m to land their man.

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The deal is being driven by super-agent Jorge Mendes – who famously represents Cristiano Ronaldo – who presented the original offer on behalf of the Red Devils.

There is one quite significant catch that could prevent a deal, however, with Porto only willing to let one more of