Manchester United's remaining transfer targets appear to have been whittled down to four players with four days of the transfer window remaining, as Louis van Gaal hopes to bring at least one of Arturo Vidal, Daley Blind, William Carvalho or Nigel de Jong to Old Trafford.
Carvalho, linked with Chelsea and Arsenal, was watched by David Moyes last season as he scoured the continent for midfield options and could be a late fall-back option, since Van Gaal remains vexed by Vidal's knee injury which has prohibited him from completing a full match since March.
Sporting Lisbon have reduced their valuation of Carvalho, having quoted clubs in excess of £30 million earlier in the summer. A fee closer to £24m is deemed to be acceptable.
United have little time to seal a deal for Vidal
Meanwhile, Ajax technical director Marc Overmars said on Wednesday it will take an "absolute top price" to convince the Dutch champions to sell Blind, who worked with Van Gaal at international level. The 24-year-old is believed to be valued at £20m.
"We believe that we currently have a strong team and want Daley to stay for another year," Overmars told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. "Only if the absolute top price is paid is a transfer negotiable.
"Daley's management know how we feel at the moment.
Blind and De Jong worked with Van Gaal at the World Cup
"Next year we will have a much more lenient policy, we are willing to talk with Daley and we will settle for a reasonable price."
AC Milan midfielder and former Manchester City man De Jong is a rank outsider to join United, although he is the most attainable of the aforementioned quartet.