Manchester United are eyeing a shocking move for former Chelsea midfielder, Ross Barkley, who is currently playing for Premier League side Luton Town as the player impressed new owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe at French club Nice.
The billionaire Ineos chief and the firm's head of sport, Sir David Brailsford, secured the signing of the former England international, 30, for the French club at the start of the 2022-23 season.
Former Everton and Chelsea player Barkley featured regularly for Nice before making a return to the Premier League with the newly promoted Luton Town back in August.
He has been a standout performer in Luton's midfield for much of the season and put in a solid display against United when Erik ten Hag's side secured a 2-1 victory at Kenilworth Road last weekend.
Barkley came close to salvaging a point for his team when he hit the crossbar with a header in stoppage time.
According to reports in England, United could secure Barkley's signature at a discounted price if the Hatters face relegation at the end of the season.
With uncertainty surrounding the future of their Brazilian international Casemiro and the departure of Sofyan Amrabat back to Fiorentina after the end of his loan spell, United are in need of midfield reinforcements.
The reports suggested that Ratcliffe and Brailsford hold Barkley in high regard. The midfielder, who earned 33 England caps between 2013 and 2019, has scored three goals and provided three assists in 20 Premier League appearances for Luton this season.
Currently, Luton sit 18th in the table, just one point behind Everton with a game in hand.
Although Ratcliffe, who recently acquired a 27.7 per cent stake in United for £1.3 billion, is prepared to approve significant spending on new players in the summer, cost-effective options like Barkley would be appealing.
This is particularly important for United as they require reinforcements in other positions such as central defence and in the attacking department.
The need for reinforcements was evident on Saturday when they suffered their 10th league defeat of the season, losing 2-1 at home to Fulham, which has increased the pressure on coach Erik ten Hag.
