Manchester United are reportedly set to rival Arsenal for the signature of Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Alexis Mac Allister.
The 23-year-old was one of the breakout stars at the 2022 World Cup with champions Argentina, starting in six of their seven matches in Qatar.
Mac Allister became the first-ever Brighton player to start in a World Cup final, and he provided an assist for Angel di Maria before Argentina eventually beat France on penalties to win their first world title since 1986.
Before jetting off to Qatar, Mac Allister made a strong start to the 2022-23 campaign with Brighton, scoring five goals in 14 Premier League appearances and helping the Seagulls climb to seventh in the table.
Mac Allister is currently in his homeland with the rest of the Argentina squad celebrating their World Cup success, and the midfielder has been granted two weeks off by Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi.
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As a result of Mac Allister's rapid rise in the Premier League and at the World Cup, a number of clubs are said to be interested in his services ahead of the New Year.
A recent report claims that Arsenal have entered the race to sign the former Argentinos Juniors youngster, while Tottenham Hotspur, Juventus, Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid have also been credited with an interest.
According to Fichajes, Man United are now the latest club who will consider tabling an offer for Mac Allister, who has been tracked by the Red Devils since the start of last season.
The report adds that United do not want to 'miss the opportunity' of recruiting the highly-rated Brighton star, who could provide healthy competition for the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Christian Eriksen.
Mac Allister's value is thought to have significantly increased from the €8m (£6.9m) that Brighton spent on the Argentine in January 2019, and the Seagulls are currently under no pressure to sell the midfielder who is under contract until June 2025.
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Indeed, Brighton CEO Paul Barber recently confirmed that the club are in talks with their No.10 over extending his deal, telling talkSPORT: "We were working on a new contract for Alexis in the build-up to the World Cup."
Barber has, however, admitted that he is expecting more clubs to register their interest in Mac Allister off the back of his impressive performances for Argentina at the World Cup.
"As we've always said, when players do well, when their profile increases, there's always going to be interest in them," Barber added.
"And this will be no different, Alexis is no different, there was interest in him before the World Cup and I'm sure there will be more interest in him afterwards.
"All we can do in situations where you've got a great asset is to try and protect yourself as best as possible. We've done that with several of our players and staff over the last several years, and that's all you can do in these situations.
"We hope Alexis will continue to be playing for us for some time to come."
While Mac Allister is said to be on Man United's radar, Erik ten Hag is thought to be prioritising reinforcements in attack following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, with PSV Eindhoven star Cody Gakpo believed to be one of their main targets ahead of the January window.
Oliver Thomas
